ANALYSIS - China Rejects Arms Control Talks Given US Track Record Of Broken Promises

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th May, 2019) China refused to join nuclear arms control talks with Russia and the United States because it sees Washington under President Donald Trump reverting to its traditional pattern for 200 years of pulling out of major treaties or cheating on them, analysts told Sputnik.

US President Donald Trump told reporters on Friday that he would soon launch bilateral talks with Russia on a new nuclear arms control deal that could see both sides reduce their arsenals, adding that the negotiations could eventually be expanded to include China.

On Monday, however, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang ruled out any participation in US-Russian arms control negotiations even if they could be revived.

Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space Coordinator Bruce Gagnon told Sputnik that China's leaders had no confidence whatsoever in the willingness of the US government to honor any treaties or solemn undertakings it offered in such negotiations.

"Why go through the process and then see the US pull out or cheat?" Gagnon asked, noting how the United States has pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) and the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaties.

Gagnon recalled that Trump's policy of scrapping one major international agreement after another was consistent with a pattern of US diplomatic behavior that stretched back for well over two centuries.

"Just ask the American Indians about Washington's record on honoring treaties," he suggested.

Trump's track record in such negotiations over the past two years therefore s was not just setting new bad precedents but was reopening distrust against the United States around the world based on widespread arrogant and lawless behavior going back for generations, Gagnon pointed out.

"Washington has a bad reputation on such matters and it is getting worse... When you say you are out for 'control and domination' then treaty 'partners' just lose incentive to even consider such a process," he said.

On February 2, the United States formally suspended its obligations under the INF Treaty and triggered the six-month withdrawal process. Washington has said it would terminate this procedure if Russia agreed to be compliant with the pact.

Moscow has also suspended its participation in the treaty, with Russian President Vladimir Putin having instructed the country's authorities not to initiate any new talks with Washington on the matter. Putin has, however, stressed that all of Russia's earlier proposals remained on the table.

California State University Chico Professor Emeritus of Political Science Beau Grosscup told Sputnik that China's distrusted US negotiators in nuclear arms talks and pointed out that Beijing was determined not to agree to get frozen into an inferior position to the United States and Russia on strategic arsenals.

"They are very clear that at this point no other nation has the right to interfere in their nuclear plans, especially as long as the two major nuclear powers are taking no responsibility to reduce their nuclear arsenals," he said.

China supported a reduction in the US and Russian nuclear arsenals but felt that was the responsibility of Moscow and Washington to pursue and that Beijing had no need or to be involved, Grosscup explained.

"China has made it clear that nuclear arms reduction is the responsibility of the two nations with the largest nuclear arms arsenals, thus China with its much smaller nuclear capability is a bad 'fit' for such talks or agreement," he said.