China has urged relevant countries to abolish the “nuclear sharing” arrangement and not to replicate it in any way in the Asia-Pacific region, reported the Xinhua News Agency.
The warning was made by Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning at a press conference on July 26 when she was asked to comment on a research report released at a side event during the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the 11th Review Conference of the Parties to the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in Geneva.
Titled “NATO’s Nuclear Sharing Arrangements: Challenges to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,” the report shows relevant parties’ concerns over NATO’s nuclear sharing arrangement and questions the legality of the arrangement.
Mao accused the US of deploying nuclear weapons on the territory of non-nuclear NATO member states and allowing these countries’ fighter jets to carry and deliver nuclear weapons, saying those moves clearly violate the NPT and essentially constitute a form of nuclear proliferation.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry published a document on nuclear arms control in late July, calling on nuclear-weapon States to abandon the nuclear deterrence policy based on first use of nuclear weapons and adopt the policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons.