Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=03/11/2002

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-287405

TITLE=CHINA NUKE TARGET L ONLY

BYLINE=JIM RANDLE

DATELINE=BEIJING

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

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INTRO: Beijing has a mild response to reports that Washington is rethinking its contingency plans for nuclear war -- putting China higher on its list of possible targets. V-O-A's Jim Randle reports from Beijing.

TEXT: China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi says the report will cause "uneasiness and worry" in many countries.

Mr. Sun is referring to news reports that the Bush administration is telling Pentagon nuclear experts to put less emphasis on possible Russian targets and more on targets in China, North Korea, and several nations in the Middle East. The reports came out in the United States on Saturday in the Los Angeles Times newspaper.

U-S officials say it is reviewing its nuclear policy to take prudent look at changes in the world situation - not a prelude to action.

The reports say the new guidance calls war with China, should Beijing attack Taiwan, a more "immediate" possibility than war with Russia.

Taiwan split politically from China in 1949, and has been ruled separately since. Reuniting Taiwan with the mainland is China's most important political goal and Beijing has threatened to attack if the island's political leadership declares independence. Washington has pledged to help defend the island against an unprovoked attack.

Until this review, the possibility of war with Russia had dominated U-S nuclear planning for decades. The strategy review comes after the Bush administration said it would slash the U-S nuclear arsenal from six thousand warheads to around two thousand over the next 10 years.

The idea that the United States might attack with nuclear weapons is no surprise to Beijing. Decades ago, China developed its own nuclear missiles to deter attack by Washington, Moscow or anyone else.

China maintains between 18 and 24 long-range missiles, which could deliver nuclear weapons to targets in the

United States or Russia.

China's mild reaction to the possible change in U-S nuclear strategy follows Beijing's muted response to potential conflicts with the United States since the September 11th terrorist attacks. Beijing supports the U-S-led war on terror. (Signed).

NEB/HK/JR/KPD