Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

THE Cox report is a fiction whipped up to stir anti-China sentiment in the United States and distract the attention of the people in the United States and the world from US-led NATO's barbarous missile raids on the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, said Chinese experts in nuclear and space technologies in Beijing.

"The wording of the report _ using 'may,' 'could' and 'likely to' _ displays the US Government's uncertainty about China's so-called theft of US nuclear warhead design information," said Wang Fei, a researcher with the China Defence Science, Technology and Information Centre.

In other words, the report contains nothing but conjecture and prevarication.

"It is a deliberate provocation of some US congressmen following the US-led NATO's missile attacks against the Chinese Embassy on May 7," said Wang.

The Cox report alleged that China stole classified information on US nuclear warheads during the past two decades, namely W-88 Los Alamos Trident D-5 SLBM, W-87 Lawrence Livermore Peacekeeper/M-X ICBM, W-78 Los Alamos Minuteman III Mark 12A ICBM, W-76 Los Alamos Trident C-4 SLBM, W-70 Lawrence Livermore Lance SRBM, W-62 Lawrence Livermore Minuteman III ICBM, W-56 Lawrence Livermore Minuteman II ICBM systems.

"Actually, the information on the seven nuclear warheads was not secret, but had already been published," Wang said.

In 1979 Howard Moland, a US columnist, wrote an article on fundamentals of US hydrogen bombs. In 1984 a book entitled "Nuclear Weapons Databook: US Nuclear Forces and Capabilities" written by William M. Arkin, was published. In 1988 "US Nuclear Weapons: The Secret Hisitory" written by Chuck Hansen, a US nuclear physicist, was marketed.

"You can easily get the useful information such as weight, size, power, equivalents of the above-mentioned nuclear warheads from the publications," Wang said.

"The Cox report's assertion that China has stolen US nuclear warhead information is a lie US politicians have fomented for political purposes," Wang said.

The Cox report was contrived to assert that China's "theft" of US nuclear warhead information could build up its nuclear strength and constitute a threat to US national security to whip up anti-China sentiment in the United States, the researcher said.

The Chinese experts said the United States has overestimated its own nuclear technologies and has miscalculated China's nuclear development.

According to the Cox report, "While it is sometimes argued that eventually the PRC might have been able to produce and test an advanced and modern thermonuclear weapon on its own, the People's Republic of China had conducted only 45 nuclear tests in the more than 30 years from 1964 to 1996 (when the PRC signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty), which would have been insufficient for the PRC to have developed advanced thermonuclear warheads on its own. This compares to the approximately 1,030 tests by the United States."

But, Wang said, "The number of a country's nuclear tests do not necessarily display the real picture of its nuclear development. It is absurd to reach a conclusion that a country having fewer nuclear tests should steal other countries nuclear secrets to develop its nuclear weapons."

Up against menaces from hegemonism and a nuclear threat from the United States, particularly during the early 1950s, the Chinese Government resolved to develop nuclear capabilities through self-reliance. Chinese scientists have developed a limited nuclear capability during the past four decades for self-defence.

After China opened to the outside world, Chinese scientists commenced academic exchanges with their counterparts of other countries, including the United States. Such activities have benefited all parties.

The Cox report's accusations of China's espionage at US nuclear technology centres through the normal academic exchanges are nothing but rumours fabricated out of thin air and brazen lies.

"It threw dirt at both Chinese and US scientists," said Li Ying, another expert in nuclear technology from the China Defence Science, Technology and Information Centre.

In terms of space technology, China has developed its space flight sector with a fine competitive edge in the international market through self-reliance.