The head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has reflected on his recent trip to China and reiterated that the disposal of the chemical weapons abandoned by Japan in China remains one of the main priorities in the realization of achieving a world free of chemical weapons.
Fernando Arias, director-general of the OPCW, paid a six-day visit to China last month along with diplomatic envoys and representatives from 13 member states of the OPCW Executive Council visited China.
During their stay in China, the delegation made a field visit to the sites where the chemical weapons abandoned by Japan have been excavated, recovered and destructed.
Prior to the visit, the Chinese government urged Japan to expedite the destruction of chemical weapons it abandoned in China during World War II, citing the ongoing environmental and public health threats they pose, with a spokesman for China's Ministry of National Defense saying in August it has left a major historical legacy of Japan's military aggression against China.
In a recent interview with China Central Television(CCTV) at the OPCW headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands, Arias stated that the visit to China was timely, significant, and highly relevant, and said that through on-site inspections and briefings, the delegation found both sides have made progress in jointly promoting the destruction of abandoned chemical weapons by Japan, with tangible results achieved.
"We have the mission to verify that the abandoned chemical weapons found are really chemical weapons. We verify the origin to be sure that they are chemical weapons abandoned by Japan and we verify the process of destruction to give credibility to the process so that everybody knows that the rules, the convention, signed by 193 states parties are respected," he said.
According to Arias, since the work to destruct the abandoned chemical weapons left in China by Japan began ten years ago, progress has been slow due to the significant technical difficulties and high costs.
The director-general noted that last year did see a milestone as the destruction of all 'declared' chemical weapon stockpiles in the world was completed, but said the international community still has more work to do to completely rid itself of chemical weapons.
During his trip to China, Arias also visited the Shanghai Jiao Tong University and visited the Shanghai Institute of Artificial Intelligence, and said that cutting-edge technologies centered around artificial intelligence will benefit global peace and security.
"The visit to the Artificial Intelligence Institute in Shanghai was extremely interesting and I found what I was expecting because I know China, I have been posted in China, and the briefings were fantastic - very clear, with top expertise and with the will to show us what you are doing. At this moment when we are facing a new revolution with the top technologies mainly around artificial intelligence, it was a very rewarding visit, the one in Shanghai," he said.
OPCW chief reflects on China visit to assess disposal of Japanese chemical weapons
