US agrees to give advance warning of missile tests
The United States agreed to notify other nations before it launches most ballistic missile tests or satellites, in a measure that builds on a landmark arms agreement with Russia and is meant to encourage Moscow to reciprocate.
The American decision was contained in a confidential note and confirmed by three diplomats familiar with the issue.
The move is less far-reaching – or binding – than the treaty signed last month by the US and Russian presidents that outlines cuts in both nations’ massive nuclear arsenals. But it is significant in reflecting Washington’s determination to build on the success of that agreement.
For years, Russia voluntarily provided such pre-notifications regarding the launch of ballistic missile tests or satellites. But it stopped doing that two years ago, complaining that the US and other nations were not following suit.
One senior diplomat familiar with the issue said that Moscow is now expected to resume its reporting. That would add to the confidence building that received a huge push with last month’s signing of the nuclear arms agreement.
“The United States ... will provide pre-launch notification of commercial and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) space launches as well as the majority of intercontinental ballistic and submarine-launched ballistic missile launches,” said the note forwarded to HCOC, an organisation overseeing efforts to curb the spread of such weapons.
The wording indicated that not all missile tests would be subject to pre-notification, but it was not clear from the note what would be exempt.
The US decision was conveyed to the other 129 HCOC member states on May 7, judging from the date on a cover letter accompanying the American note and signed by Austria’s Foreign Ministry, which administers the Vienna-based Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation.
The US initiative comes as Washington presses the US Senate to ratify the arms reduction treaty signed April 9 in Prague with Russia, arguing the passage is vital to US efforts to persuade other countries not to build atomic weapons.
If ratified, the New Start pact would limit each country’s stockpile of nuclear warheads to 1,550, down from the current level of 2,200 – bringing the arsenals to a level last seen in the 1950s. The treaty would remain in effect for 10 years.
