Defense Ministry Vows Not To Develop Nuclear Weapons 


Taiwan Central News Agency  04 Aug 98


Taipei, Aug. 4 (CNA) -- The Ministry of National Defense (MND)
reiterated Tuesday that it is Taiwan's firm policy not to do research on,
develop, or produce chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons.
An MND spokesman made the statement when asked by the press to comment
on an article in Tuesday's Asian Wall Street Journal by Gerald Segal,
director of studies at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in
London.
The article, titled "Taiwan's Nuclear Card," said that, "In order to
forestall American efforts to push them into the arms of mainland China,
representatives of the Taipei government are embarking on a subtle campaign
to remind the world that Taiwanese military retains the option of
completing the development of a nuclear deterrent."
"They evidently hope that a nuclear card will force the US to reaffirm
its commitment to protect Taiwan's security, in order to avoid seeing the
stand-off across the Taiwan Strait go nuclear," it added.
Taiwan's armed forces only conduct defensive training against
chemical, biological, and nuclear attacks, the spokesman said, adding that
there is no point in speculating on Taiwan's capability to produce nuclear
weapons.  The MND has made similar statements before.
The spokesman said that it is the responsibility of any nation to
defend its own national security, and that Taiwan has never asked the
United States for protection.  "We only hope that the US government will
continue to sell US defensive weapons according to the Taiwan Relations
Act," he said, refuting an assertion in the article that "a nuclear card
will force the US to reaffirm its commitment to protect Taiwan's security."
In the article Segal quoted Australian analyst Andrew Mack as saying
in 1996 that "There is little doubt that Taiwan's scientists and engineers
have the technical ability to build nuclear weapons." However, Segal said
Taiwan's nuclear weapons program remains hobbled by its lack of a
capability to enrich fissile material to weapons grade.