'Kremlin ‘will sneak arms lead’

Press, 7 March 1978, Page 9

'Kremlin ‘will sneak arms lead’

I NZPA-Reuter Washingtonic i ; A group of American! defence experts predicts that' j the Soviet Union will have aij military edge over thei] United States by the early j> 1980 s. and that some of the|< edge will come from cheating on arms-control agree-ij ments. At a news conference toj ( announce the publication of - the National Strategy Infor-j mation Centre’s 1978 issue I : of “Arms, Men and Military-< Budgets," a strategic expert.!' 'Francis Hoeber, concluded 11 I that there was cheating on! ; the agreements emerging | from the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. i "The Soviets have cer ; tainly violated the spirit of The S.A.L.T. 1 agreement,” he (said. "They have probabh violated the letter, particu lafly on the development oi ; anti-ballistic-missile rada: I systems. We can’t have higi ,

confidence in our ability to detect the cheating.” Earlier, the State Department published a document that said that although both the Soviet and United’ States sides had accused the 1 other of breaking the; ! S.A.L.T. I agreement, there; had been no actual violation. I "We have had five years | experience in monitoring So- j viet compliance, and _ we I ! have done it.” one official! I said. “The record has been; [good.” There are two major! I United States charges: The Russians are building; missile-firing submarines sol ast that they have not des-! troyed older submarines or j Intermediate-range missiles, | is the treaty requires. The; Russians respond that they; lave not violated the treaty.! ilthough they may have had! rouble complying with tech-1 '■ical language added to the! pacts. I

The Soviet ; I forces are testing a radar j system that could be used” for anti-ballistic missiles, i strictly limited by the pact.L ’The Russians point out that!l the United States insisted!: that tests be permitted fori i “range safety and in-]] | strumentation," and that isSail they are doing. ; The alleged cheating on an A.B.'-l. system, Mr Hoeber 'charges, means that the Rus-1; Isians already have com-|] ■'pleted the necessary re-| ■ search and could rapidly de-; I ploy a workable anti-missile i -system, which would upset!, ithe strategic balance. I The report says rhe Rusisians are outspending the . I United States by between 25 'and 40 per cent a year on ! military programmes “with I new weapons systems being ! deployed or developed on an I unparalleled scale, directly; threatening United States; land N.A.T.O. forces.” |1

It concludes that Administration cut-backs in the fiveyear defence plan make Soviet superiority by the early ■ 1980 s inevitable unless the ! United States acts surely and rapidly by substantially ! increasing its defence expenditures.” All this effort, the centre says, means that the Rus- ■ sians can use military superiority to divide or inItimidate the N.A.T.O. alliance. Mr Hoeber said the first example of such intimidation already had come to light, with the report of a United ' States agreement to limit the Cruise missile as part of the S.A.L.T. II agreement. He said the limitation of weapons which would have great usefulness in the European theatre already had de- ! moralised America's allies in 1n.a.t.0.