Canada ready to negotiate with US on anti-missile shield
PLA Daily 2004-01-17
OTTAWA, Jan. 15 (Xinhuanet) -- Canadian Defense Minister David Pratt said on Thursday that his country is ready to negotiate withthe United States on a planned missile defense project, according to a communique released by the Defense Ministry.
In a letter to his US counterpart, Donald Rumsfeld, Pratt said the Canadian government wants to become a participant in the US anti-missile shield system.
Canada should cooperate with the United States in establishing the shield to cope with the increasing threats from ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction, he added.
If an agreement is reached between the two countries on this issue, the Canadian government and industrial sector will give their support, the communique said.
Nevertheless, Canada will make a decision on participation onlyafter it is allowed to have access to information about the US missile defense system.
The United States hopes that it will be protected from potential threats by developing a shield against ballistic missiles.
Differing from former US President Ronald Reagan's "Star Wars" plan, which was supposed to fend off a mass missile attack, this project aims to shoot down one or two missiles fired by some "rogue" state or a weapon launched by accident.
The United States wants its allies such as Britain, Canada and Australia to join the project. In December, Australia said it would join the program.
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