West fears fresh arms race

By Batuk Gathani

BRUSSELS, JUNE 17. The decision of the Russian President, Mr. Vladimir Putin, to visit North Korea in mid-July has evoked much interest as this is the first trip of its kind by a Russian leader. The decision has surprised many Western officials as North Korea is widely suspected of selling long-range missile technology to ``rouge states''.

Mr. Putin's visit in the aftermath of the North-South Korean summit would give him a fresh perspective of the future developments in the region, especially the impact on the defence strategies of the U.S. and Russia. North Korea's spectacular advances in the development of short and long-range nuclear missile systems coupled with South Korea's growing industrial and economic clout in the eastern Asian region have a special significance.

The visit is interpreted in the Western media as an attempt to counter the Clinton administration's plan for the National Missile Defence (NMD). The moot point is if Russia also rates North Korea as a ``rouge state'' as the U.S. does. The European quandary also highlights the differing perceptions between the U.S. and Russia over defence strategy which may portend a fresh arms race with the collapse of the ABM treaty.

In some Western quarters, Russia and China are also seen as willing sellers of nuclear missile technology. Indian observers, like many Europeans, are also watching the unfolding scenario of long-range nuclear missile strategy with some dismay and trepidation.

The Japanese media notes that the visit takes place just before the summit of the world's richest industrial nations in Japan, from July 21 to 23. This has evoked much interest and speculation in the European media.

It is ironical that prominent American commentators are now overtly wondering why the so-called American ``infatuation'' with the strategic missile defence `baffles' Europe. This is in the background of the U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton's meeting with Mr. Putin on June 4. In Moscow, the two leaders found themselves at odds over the American plan for the deployment of a limited anti-missile strategy.

Under the proposed strategy, the U.S. proposes to amend the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty, to allow limited land-based defence against future limited missile attacks, not from Russia but from the so-called `rouge' states. However, the Russian Defence Minister, Mr. Sergeyev, met senior officials at the NATO headquarters here for two hours last Friday. He briefed them on the joint missile defence project outlined by Moscow. He said the Russian proposals were first broached in Rome early this month by Mr. Putin.

The Russian perception is that the current proposals would `fall safely' within the 1997 demarcation agreement between U.S. and Russia, that would permit regional defence against missile sites with a range of less than 3520 km. The U.S.-Russian pact has not been ratified by anybody.

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Section  : International
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