英国核威慑之争论

Debates on Nuclear Deterrence in Britain

在核态势趋向缓和背景下,英国工党政府于1998年颁布《战略防务评估》,宣告英国政府奉行"最低限度的核威慑"战略,同时着手削减核武库。但是面对核扩散加剧情况下,英国政府在多份白皮书中均提出,确保"最低限度的核威慑",并且让公众参与和讨论如何确保"最低限度的核威慑"战略。英国国内的专家学者、不同的组织针对英国是否保留核威慑及其手段、采取何种发射系统以及更新核武器是否有悖于《不扩散核武器条约》的义务等问题展开争论,其中涉及经费开支、核威慑的效能和英国的大国地位等诸多方面。在保持与更新核武器系统是否违背不扩散核武器条约的问题上,英国国内有人提出"虚拟核武库"的构想,既保证核威慑,又可以朝着核军控与裁军方面迈进,在很大程度上是迈向核裁军的一个实际步骤。

In the background of the alleviation of nuclear posture, the Strategic Defence Review was published by the British Labour Party government in 1998, which stated that Britain would pursue the 'minimum nuclear deterrence' strategy and at the same time decrease its nuclear arsenal. However, in the face of the deteriorating nuclear proliferation, the British government announced in several white papers that Britain would guarantee the minimum nuclear deterrence and called the public to join the discussions about it. Specialists, scholars and various organisations have been engaged in the debates on issues such as whether Britain should maintain its nuclear deterrence, what kind of launching system should be adopted and whether updating nuclear arsenal violates its obligations under the Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), which involves a multitude of problems like the cost and effect of nuclear deterrence and Britain's status as a world power. Regarding the issue of whether maintaining and updating nuclear arsenal runs counter to the obligations under the NPT, a proposal named 'Virtual Arsenal' has gained prominence, which not only ensures nuclear deterrence but is a critical step towards nuclear arms control and disarmament.