Viewpoint : China ’ S Concerns about Theater Missile Defense : a Critique

Dr. Arthur Ding is a Research Fellow at the Institute of International Relations of National Chengchi University in Taipei. Dr. Ding received a doctoral degree in Government and International Studies from the University of Notre Dame in 1987. His research covers Chinese military and security policy, US-China relations, and international relations in East Asia. His book, China’s Changing Military Theory, 1979-1991, was published in Taipei in 1996. Since 1993, when the US government re-organized its Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) into the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) and gave BMDO the mission of developing the Theater Missile Defense (TMD) program, China has consistently opposed the program. This opposition has been even stronger than China’s previous opposition to the SDI program, a result of the changing Asia-Pacific security environment of the post-Cold War era. China’s focus of opposition has also evolved with time as a response to different policy priorities.