TNAG-1341-FCO40-17721-Visit-by-Margaret-Thatcher--UK-Prime-Minister--to-Beijing-fo-1985 — Page 85

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PRIME MINISTER

Look, the fact is that we have had peace in Europe

for, next year, 40 years. That is a very long period of

I peace compared with previous periods, historically. believe that the deterrence of nuclear weapons and the fact that their use would be so horrific has, in fact, helped to

keep that peace.

That kind of deterrence is the policy

that we are going to have to live with for some time, because the research will take some time to complete and I think you are probably referring to Secretary Weinberger's speech. I think, if you look, you will find three occasions in that speech when he pointed out that this was a feasibility study and it would take a long time before we could get all of the options worked out. So we are going to have to live with

that same doctrine for a considerable time.

QUESTION

What issues would need to be negotiated before any

further SDI hardware would be deployed?

PRIME MINISTER

·

Well, once you come into making the requisite weapons,

then you are bound by the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty of 1972 I think the ABM Treaty is not limited by time and you are also bound by, I think it is the 1967 treaty on outer space and therefore you have, if there is any question of deployment, if the research indicated that deployment