‘No’ to nuclear deterrents
Chen Shih-min’s (陳世民) Taipei Times story is irresponsible and dangerous (“Likelihood of nuclear deterrent in Taiwan,” Sept. 16, page 8).
There is no need for Taiwan to have nuclear weapons.
One obvious reason is that one nuclear weapon is enough to destroy the planet. So, the solution is not to increase the number of nations with nuclear weapons — which would increase the number of nuclear weapons in the world, which would increase the risk of a launch, which would, in turn, increase the risk that all 7.5 billion of us will die.
The solution is to use diplomacy to rid the world of nuclear weapons: This can be done.
North Korea can be negotiated with. In the 1990s, then-US president Bill Clinton sent former US president Jimmy Carter to North Korea. He negotiated a halt to North Korea’s weapons program in exchange for fuel.
However, former US president George W. Bush did away with the deal, and North Korea resumed its program.
Bush later said that he would defend Taiwan against China, but Taiwan and the world would have been safer if he had just kept the Clinton deal in place.
Chen writes: “North Korea’s nuclear weapons development program appears to have progressed rapidly in a short time and there is a real possibility that it will soon be able to strike the US.”
This statement is untrue.
Yes, there was a recent earthquake in North Korea that Pyongyang claims was the result of an underground test detonation of a thermonuclear or hydrogen bomb. A second quake followed, which it claims was caused by the collapse of the cavern where the weapons test was conducted.
However, according to Robert Kelley, the former director of nuclear inspections of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is highly unlikely that North Korea’s claims are true.
Kelley, who has 35 years of experience in nuclear weapons, stated several reasons why North Korea’s claims are unreliable:
First, any time North Korea claims anything, it is unreliable.
Second, the earthquake could have been caused by an explosion that was not from a nuclear weapon.
Third, if its claims were true, then small amounts of radiation might have been released from the collapsed cavern. None has been detected.
Fourth, Pyongyang released a photo of Kim Jong-un looking at a device that it claims is their weapon of mass destruction.
According to Kelley, who saw that photo and others, there are flaws in the device, which casts doubts on its authenticity.
Fifth, according to Kelley, North Korea does not have a single missile that can reach America with any accuracy. They only have the ability to reach or fly over Japan.
Even then, they do not have the ability to track or guide their missiles. In other words, the US is in no danger of a North Korean attack.
Finally, Chen plays the China card. China and Taiwan have not had a battle for more than 35 years. No evidence suggests they will go to war any time soon.
Neither war nor nuclear weapons are the way for Taiwan to protect itself or stand on the world stage. Taiwan needs to project its soft power, like the recent Taipei Summer Universiade as just one example.
Andres Chang
Taipei
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