Russian leaders have nothing to fear from a US national missile defense and are "off the mark" in calling it a threat to arms control, US Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said yesterday.
In his first interview since taking office two weeks ago, Rumsfeld told reporters traveling with him from Washington that the anti-missile system envisioned by the Bush administration will be too limited in scope to threaten the deterrent value of Russia's large arsenal of strategic nuclear weapons.
"They know and we know and you know that the systems that are being discussed are not in any way relevant to the Russians'" nuclear force, which totals about 6,000 warheads and is shrinking, Rumsfeld said.
The secretary flew to Munich to attend an annual gathering of European defense officials and specialists where consternation about US missile defenses -- not only in Moscow but also in European capitals -- was expected to be a major topic of discussion.
Rumsfeld also scheduled private meetings with several of his NATO counterparts, including the defense ministers of Britain, Germany and Italy.
It was the first trip abroad for Rumsfeld in his second stint as defense secretary.
He served in the position for the final 14 months of the administration of former President Gerald Ford a quarter-century ago and he also is a former ambassador to NATO.
Rumsfeld said he has just begun assessing the state of the current US national missile defense program and did not plan to discuss in his Munich meetings any specifics on how President George W. Bush will proceed.
Then-president Bill Clinton determined late last summer that the technology of missile defense was not sufficiently mature, and the diplomatic obstacles too serious, to commit to an early deployment.
Russia has steadfastly maintained that the US project is a threat to international stability because it violates the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which prohibits anti-missile systems that defend an entire nation. Russia also has said that if the US were to withdraw from the ABM treaty, Moscow would feel compelled to abandon agreements that limit numbers of long-range nuclear weapons.
In Geneva on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told the 66-nation Conference on Disarmament that it was "illusory" for the US to think it could, by itself, create "isolated islets of well-being and stability in today's world" by erecting a missile shield over its own territory.
Rumsfeld stressed to reporters his view that Russia cannot make a serious case that a US national missile defense will threaten it or any other nuclear power.
Prefacing his comments by saying he was trying to "be diplomatic, now that I'm back in government," Rumsfeld said "it's off the mark to suggest" that missile defenses threaten Russia.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft