PEKING: China today [June 17] successfully exploded her first hydrogen bomb, less than three years after becoming a nuclear Power, making China the world’s fourth hydrogen Power.

Announcing the explosion, Radio Peking declared that at no time and under no circumstances would China be the first to use nuclear weapons.

Radio Peking said the explosion took place in Western China but did not specify if it was at the test site at Lop Nor — the scene of China’s previous five nuclear explosions.

The Radio said, “China develops the nuclear weapon only for defence. Its final aim is to eliminate the nuclear weapon.”

It added that China was prepared to work with the world’s people for the all-round prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons.

The Radio said the successful explosion of the first hydrogen bomb in China has smashed the nuclear monopoly of the US imperialists and Soviet revisionists and dealt a heavy blow to their “policy of nuclear blackmail”.

The test constituted a great encouragement for the Viet-Namese people and for the Arab peoples in their “fight against Anglo-American and Israeli aggression”, the communiqué said.

China exploded her last nuclear bomb on Dec 29, 1966, but gave no details of the size or type of the explosion.

Her first nuclear bomb was exploded on Oct 16, 1964, her second in May 1964 and the third last year.

[Meanwhile, agencies report from Islamabad,] Pakistan has strongly protested to New Delhi against the Indian Prime Minister’s “malicious” and “ill-intentioned” analogy between the creation of Pakistan and Israel.

Mrs Indira Gandhi, at a meeting at Ambikapur (Madhya Pradesh) on June 10, said that “the seeds of disputes were sown after Pakistan and Israel came into being and the Western countries also militarily equipped Israel as they equipped Pakistan.”

Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2017