TNAG-2714-FCO40-3920-House-of-Commons-Select-Committee-on-Foreign-Affairs-enquiry-1993 — Page 48

14-JUL-1993 16:34

TRANSCRIPT B

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JAMES LEE

0494536249 P.16

MR. ALASTAIR GOODLAD FOREIGN AFFAIRS SELECT

- 14 JULY 1993

COMMITTEE

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15

CHAI RMAN:

What about China's nuclear ambitions as a military power? How do they view North Korea's alleged movement into the nuclear weaponry field and generally, do we see them as potentially quite an aggressive military force in Asia or merely a country naturally concerned with its own self-defence?

MR. ALASTAIR GOODLAD:

We have no reason to believe that they have aggressive intentions in the region. They are modernising their forces but their forces needed modernisation, particularly the navy and the air force, and they enjoy the inherent right to self-defence that everybody else does.

There are concerns in the region about their long-term intentions particularly obviously at the moment over the Spratley Islands but they have publicly stated that they wish to set aside differences. They do supply arms to the developing world but so do plenty of other people. They have been helpful behind the scenes on the North Korean nuclear problem and I hope that their influence with North Korea will be fruitful.

They are now signatories of the Non-Proliferation Treaty as of two years ago so although one can

never be certain about anything,

there is no reason of which I am

aware to believe that they have aggressive nuclear intentions or aggressive conventional intentions either within the region or elsewhere or that they will be anything other than helpful over the North Korean problem.