German Chancellor Angela Merkel says disarmament efforts must include China as well as US, Russia
- Merkel’s call to include rising military power China met with a brisk rebuff from a top Beijing official
- German leader’s remarks come amid rising concern about Beijing’s missile arsenal and the suspension of a key US-Russia arms treaty
China must be involved in international disarmament efforts, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday, amid rising concern about Beijing’s missile arsenal and the suspension of a key US-Russia arms treaty.
Fears that the web of agreements limiting the proliferation of nuclear warheads and other weapons could be in jeopardy have grown since Washington and Moscow announced their withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty.
But Merkel’s call to launch a fresh push for disarmament and to include rising military power China met with a brisk rebuff from a top Beijing official – and was simply ignored by senior US and Russian figures.
“Disarmament is something that concerns us all and we would of course be glad if such talks were held not just between the United States, Europe and Russia but also with China,” Merkel told the Munich Security Conference.
Washington began pulling out of the INF treaty this month in response to Moscow’s deployment of a new missile system the US and Nato say violates the accord, prompting Russia to announce its own withdrawal.