...
By Micah McCartney
Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
China has responded to President Donald Trump ordering the Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons testing "on an equal basis" with Russia and China.
Why It Matters
The president made the announcement on Truth Social ahead of his highly anticipated talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea.
Read More on World
Russia and the United States possess the largest and second-largest nuclear stockpiles, respectively, each with over 5,000 warheads. China, which has been rapidly expanding its own arsenal, ranks third with roughly 600 warheads, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
If the U.S. were to detonate an atomic bomb during a test, it would become the first country other than North Korea to do so since 1996—the year Washington and four other officially recognized nuclear weapons states signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
Newsweek reached out to the White House by email with a request for comment outside of regular office hours.
...
What To Know
In his Truth Social post, Trump said the United States “has more nuclear weapons than any other country,” adding that the stockpile had been modernized during his first term in office.
However, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Russia has 1770 deployed nuclear warheads and 2591 stored warheads, while the respective figures for the U.S. are 1780 and 1930. If the figures for retired warheads are included Russia has a total stockpile of 5511 nuclear warheads while the U.S. has 5125.
Trump wrote that he had ordered the Pentagon to “immediately start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis,” arguing this was necessary “because of other countries’ testing programs.”
During the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s regular press briefing Friday, spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Beijing hopes the U.S. will abide by the CTBT and its moratorium on nuclear tests.
Guo urged Washington to “take practical actions to safeguard the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime, and maintain global strategic balance and stability.”
While signatory states have pledged to follow the CTBT, it has yet to be ratified and is therefore not legally binding. It remains unclear which countries Trump was referring to, as China’s last known nuclear test took place in 1996, and no other nation besides North Korea has conducted one since.
Trump’s post came just days after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the successful test of a nuclear-powered cruise missile and a nuclear-capable underwater drone.
What People Are Saying
Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, warned of the risks of what he called ambiguous messaging by Trump in a post on X: “Trump’s post is not clear about whether he is talking about nuclear-explosive testing (which the National Nuclear Security Administration would do) or flight testing of nuclear-capable missiles (which the Department of Defense does).
“Trump’s policy is incoherent: calling for denuclearization talks one day, threatening nuclear tests the next,” Kimball said, adding, that a resumption could “trigger a chain reaction of nuclear testing by U.S. adversaries.”
What Happens Next
An August report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service said the U.S. could resume the testing of nuclear weapons in its current stockpile 24 to 36 months after a presidential order.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines