Topic: 2024-Indiscriminate Weapons
Country: China
Delegate Name: Ari Shtein
The harm—potential and actual—arising from the use of indiscriminate weapons is both apparent and deeply concerning. However, as is always the case in questions concerning the conduct of warfare, the realities and necessities of national defense must be kept near the forefront.
Indiscriminate weapons were identified and banned in the Geneva Convention Additional Protocol (I), Article 51, to which China is a party: any “means of combat which cannot be directed at a specific military objective” should not be employed. It’s noted immediately afterward in International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) commentary that “most armies endeavour [sic] to use accurate weapons as attacks which do not strike the intended objective result in a loss of time and equipment without giving a corresponding advantage” (ICRC). That is: the use of indiscriminate weapons is inherently at odds with maximally effective warfare.
The only plausible scenario for deploying such a weapon would involve deliberate intent to cause indiscriminate harm, at the cost of military advantage. And, of course, if any belligerent state wished to conduct an indiscriminate attack, they could do so with conventional weaponry just as easily: a bullet doesn’t discriminate any more than a cluster bomb does—only the warfighter can choose not to strike a civilian. So we come to the root of the matter: international laws governing proportionality and intent are sufficient to capture and punish the inhumane use of any weapons. The only humanitarian risk posed by indiscriminate weapons per se is in their accidental misuse. This is most clearly illustrated by the persistent presence of anti-personnel mines in former war zones.
China, while not a signatory to the Ottawa Treaty (aimed at preventing the proliferation of anti-personnel mines) due to its national defense priorities, has consistently voted in the United Nations General Assembly to promote the Treaty’s mission and other nations’ accession to it, ceased all manufacturing of these weapons after 1997, and massively reduced its national stockpile (“Mine Ban Policy—China”). Ongoing efforts to clean up and demine former war zones are worthwhile, encouraged, and participated in by the Chinese government.
Often, cluster munitions are cited as another glaring example of often-used indiscriminate weapons. Though China has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, it’s supported the initiative in the UNGA, and has never once deployed cluster munitions (“Cluster Munition Ban Policy—China”). However, the relevance of cluster munitions in certain defensive combat environments should not be disregarded, and for the sake of national security, China continues to produce and store these weapons, with a major emphasis on safety and precision. Western powers, by contrast, committed countless indiscriminate attacks with these weapons in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia (Zhuo).
Finally, some have argued that lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWS) should be considered unacceptable under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) (Kahn). This line of attack fails to understand the most fundamental truth about LAWS: they are more precisely targeted and discriminating than any other existing weapon systems. Whereas a traditional firearm, or even guided missile, can only strike where a human warfighter points it, AI-enabled weapons systems will instead point themselves to legitimate military targets alone. Banning LAWS would hinder progress and result in more indiscriminate attacks perpetrated on account of human malice and error.
Works Cited
“Cluster Munition Ban Policy—China.” Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, 2024, the-monitor.org/country-profile/china/cluster-munition-ban-policy?year=2023. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.
ICRC. “Commentary of 1987.” International Committee of the Red Cross IHL Databases, 2023, ihl-databases.icrc.org/en/ihl-treaties/api-1977/article-51/commentary/1987.
Kahn, Jeremy. “The World Just Blew a ‘Historic Opportunity’ to Stop Killer Robots.” Fortune, 22 Dec. 2021, fortune.com/2021/12/22/killer-robots-ban-fails-un-artificial-intelligence-laws/.
“Mine Ban Policy—China.” Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor, 2024, the-monitor.org/country-profile/china/mine-ban-policy?year=2023. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.
Zhuo, Chen. “U.S. Should Face up to Its Track Record of Cluster Bomb Use.” China Military, 12 July 2023, eng.chinamil.com.cn/OPINIONS_209196/Opinions_209197/16236563.html.
