Joint statement for stopping NMD-TMD deployment plan
NMD construction will damage the prospect of peace and unification on the Korean peninsula. Return of the cold war era in east Asia means resurrection of ideological confrontation and national division on the Korean peninsula. This will, of course, have an adverse effect on the thawing mood between the two Koreas.
Source : Korean network against NMD-TMD / Japan NGOs
Since the beginning of the 21st century, we have been witnessing active solidarity movements across the globe to establish peace and human rights, as well as to discard the past tainted with war and violence. East Asia, in particular, has a painful history plagued with barbaric violence and human rights abuse, such as imperial colonialism and World War Ⅱ. Ironically though, east Asia still remains one of the regions with the weakest regional solidarity movement for peace and human rights. Indeed, despite worldwide efforts toward reconciliation and arms reduction since the end of the Cold War, east Asia still is a volatile region of heated arms races.
Worse yet, recent series of events involving east Asia are threatening to endanger its vulnerable stability and further to bring back a cold war-era confrontation. They are US's NMD(National Missile Defense) and a joint project of the US and Japan to build TMD(Theater Missile Defense) in the region.
We, with the support from east Asians, must protest against BMD(Ballistic Missile Defense) for the following reasons.
1. Currently there is an active movement going on in the US and Europe against the construction of NMD-TMD. Yet, there is no such movement in east Asia, which, after all, will bear the most damages from NMD and TMD.
2. Missile threats from North Korea, Iran, Iraq - the US and Japan's rationale for BMD construction - do not exist in reality. Rather, such threats are only virtual scenarios made up by the two countries.
3. NMD construction is a violation of ABM Treaty, which had been a cornerstone of limiting arms race during the cold war era. Also, NMD may threaten other such regimes including START.
4. NMD construction may trigger global-scale nuclear arms race. Russia has already announced that it will stop its ongoing nuclear arms reduction process if the US goes ahead with its NMD plan, and China also challenged to strengthen its nuclear capability.
5. NMD construction is highly likely to bring back cold war-era confrontation in east Asia, which still remain a tinder box of fierce arms race. The worst case scenario may come true when "US finalizes its NMD plan→ Russia stops nuclear arms reduction, and China strengthens nuclear capability→ Japan plans to build TMD and strengthen nuclear capability, military alliance among South Korea, the US, Japan is strengthened→ military alliance among North Korea, China, Russia is partly restored→ military capability of US troops stationed in South Korea and Japan is strengthened, and US forces are positioned forward→ another cold war returns to northeast Asia".
6. NMD construction will perpetuate the stay of US forces stationed in South Korea and Japan, which is already a controversy for issues related to various human right abuse, environmental pollution, and national sovereignty invasion. The current position of the US is to continue to station its troops on the Korean peninsula in order to maintain power balance and to limit arms race in the region. However, the US must bear in mind that its hegemonism in its east Asia strategy is, in fact, an essential threat to the peace in northeast Asia. It is a contradiction in itself for the US to build missile defense system for stability in northeast Asia, and at the same time, to station its forces in the region. In this regard, it is most important to deter the construction of NMD and TMD so that we will have "Asia without the US forces".
7. NMD construction will seriously degrade the quality of life for all east Asians, because the ensuing arms race will waste resources, which is precious for enhancing social welfare and human rights in the region. If we are truly committed to ending the wasteful arms race and enhancing the standard of living for east Asians, we must deter the construction of NMD, which requires an endless stream of resources.
8. NMD construction will damage the prospect of peace and unification on the Korean peninsula. Return of the cold war era in east Asia means resurrection of ideological confrontation and national division on the Korean peninsula. This will, of course, have an adverse effect on the thawing mood between the two Koreas.
Korean network against NMD-TMD , Japan NGOs
civil@peacekorea.org
October 5. 2000
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