Mr. Chairman,
1. First of all, on behalf of the Chinese delegation, I would like to congratulate you on your re-election as Chairman and welcome you to chair this session and would like to assure you of our continued and active support and cooperation to your work. The Chinese delegation would also like to express its thanks to PTS executive-secretary Mr. Toth for the statement he just made and to the distinguished Ambassador of Peru for his statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.
Mr. Chairman,
2. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty has been opened for signature for 15 years and has received broad recognition and support from the international community for its purposes and goals. We are pleased to note that the technical preparation leading up to the entry into force of the treaty has achieved positive progress and the treaty verification mechanism is being developed steadily. The Chinese delegation would like to express its appreciation to PTS for its efforts in this regard.
3. At the same time, however, we have noted that the verification mechanism is not being developed in a balanced manner. At present, the construction of one fourth of the infrasound stations is yet to be completed, which accounts for the highest ratio among all types of stations. In 2008, the construction of the premises for the infrasound station IS16 located in Kunming, China was completed, but the equipments have so far not yet installed. We would like to call on PTS to complete the station construction as soon as possible in keeping with the relevant contract it signed with China.
Mr. Chairman,
4. The integrated field exercises of OSI are an important tool in testing the technical level and capability of OSI. IFE14 is a major priority for PTS’ work and the related preparational work will be launched this year. It is our hope that all parties concerned will contribute actively to ensuring the smooth success in preparing and conducting this exercise.
5. In our previous sessions, China put forward some proposals concerning the goals, planning and scenario development of IFE14. We would like to reiterate that PTS should, in line with the development level, real needs and the development plan of OSI as well as the experience and lessons learned from previous exercises, design pragmatic exercise scenarios that are capable of testing the technical capability of OSI so as to make sure that the integrated field exercises achieve their expected objectives. In designing exercise plans, priority should be given to the integrated use of the inspection logic and the inspection methods and the coordination of various techniques. More focus should also be given to testing the effectiveness and applicability of all the different technologies and methods in order to fully review the capability and level of OSI.
6. China has consistently supported the work related to IFE14 and has actively participated in the discussions and the various preparational work in connection with the exercises. It has offered some equipments and experts to take part in the related activities. China is ready to continue working with all the parties concerned to cooperated actively with the PTS and to contribute constructively to the success of IFE14.
Mr. Chairman,
7. China attaches great importance to treaty implementation and has tried actively to create favorable conditions for the early entry into force of the treaty. We have actively conducted and steadily promoted the implementation and preparation work for the treaty such as the construction of monitoring stations in China and have actively and constructively participated in the various work of the Preparatory Commission of the treaty organization. China also endorses the provisional operation of the International Monitoring System and the International Data Center. After the nuclear power plant accident in Fukushima, Japan, China, in response to the request by PTS, transmitted relevant data to PTS on a daily basis, thus providing assistance to the relevant studies and research.
8. In future, China will continue as always to support the work by CTBTO and PTS and will continue to keep communication and cooperation with PTS in terms of station construction and data transmission. At the same time, we also expect the active efforts and cooperation on the part of PTS.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.