World wary of Bush’s son of Star Wars

World governments responded nervously to President George W Bush’s decision to build a shield against ballistic missile attack, dubbed Son of Star Wars, with some saying they feared the plan could jeopardise global security.

Allies including Britain and Canada issued statements that pointedly stopped short of endorsing the plan but diplomatically welcomed Bush’s promise to consult with Nato allies and Russia in creating the defence system.

Germany was even warier and Sweden offered sharp criticism.

Much of the apprehension focused on Bush’s declaration that a 1972 arms-control treaty was outdated.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the missile plan would ‘‘inevitably impact upon global security and strategic stability.’’

He emphasised the need to ‘‘consolidate and build upon existing disarmament and non-proliferation agreements, specifically to prevent a new arms race and to maintain the non-weaponised status of outer space,’’ UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said.

Annan appealed to all countries to avoid a new arms race and start negotiating irreversible disarmament agreements.

Many of the United States’ European allies have been sceptical of Bush’s missile defence ideas since his election, fearing that such a system could start a new arms race by prompting both Russia and China to increase their nuclear arsenals.

Neither Russia nor China commented immediately on Bush’s announcement, his first major defence address.

He said that the 1972 Antiballistic Missile Treaty with Russia, which sets strict limits on testing and deployment of anti-missile systems, was a Cold War relic. Today’s threats, he argued, come from hostile nations like Iraq, not from Russia.

Supporters view the ABM treaty as a cornerstone of international arms control agreements.

Britain, one of the United States’ most loyal allies, said it shared Bush’s concerns about rogue states and agreed he ‘‘had a case’’ in arguing that the ABM treaty had outlived its usefulness.

A statement from Prime Minister Tony Blair’s office avoided endorsing the defence plan, but praised Bush’s promise to work closely with Russia and US. allies.

‘‘We would welcome the very open approach the Bush administration has adopted in setting out its assessment of the missile threat, particularly from rogue states, and to setting out its ideas on a new approach to the offensive and defensive response to that threat,’’ said a Blair spokeswoman.

‘‘We share the US’s concerns and we welcome President Bush’s determination to consult allies on the future of missile defence,’’ she added.

Nato secretary General Lord Robertson responded similarly.

‘‘The president is right to focus on these new security challenges, and I welcome his commitment to close consultation with the allies,’’ he said.

German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said his country had concerns about the defence plan.

‘‘An effective, treaty-based arms control and disarmament regime must be preserved and expanded, including effective and verifiable prevention of proliferation’’ of nuclear weapons, Fischer said.

Canada was also wary.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Manley said before Bush’s speech that a unilateral American abandonment of the ABM treaty ‘‘would be very problematic for us.’’

Afterwards, Michael O’Shaughnessy, spokesman for Canada’s department of foreign affairs, was noncommittal, but welcomed Bush’s plans to work closely with Russia.

Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, condemned the American plans.

‘‘We urge President Bush to abstain from the National Missile defence, just as we urge China, India and Pakistan to discontinue their nuclear arsenals,’’ she said.

New Zealand was also critical. Foreign Minister Phil Goff and Disarmament Minister Matt Robson said in a joint statement that ‘‘the establishment of the missile defence system runs the risk of halting and reversing multilateral progress towards the elimination of nuclear weapons.’’