WASHINGTON.- This Thursday, the American president, Donald Trumpassured that his announcement of immediate resumption of nuclear tests is focused on achieve “denuclearization” e include China in the negotiations of the nonproliferation treaties with Russia.
“I would like to see denuclearization, because we have many (nuclear weapons) and Russia has suffered. Russia is second and China is third and China is going to get ahead in four or five years. I think de-escalation, what I would call denuclearization would be a great thing. Something we are talking about with Russia and we want to add China if we do it,” Trump said on Air Force One returning from South Koreawhere he met with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
Trump paraphrased in this way a comment previously published on the Truth social network in which he assured that the US was going to resume nuclear tests “on an equal basis” with Moscow and Beijing, after Russia carried out maneuvers of its nuclear forces.
“Due to other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the War Department to begin testing our nuclear weapons on equal terms. That process will begin immediately,” Trump wrote on the platform.
The president downgraded the importance after being asked by journalists about the possibility that these tests would increase the nuclear risk in the world. “I see them doing tests and I tell myself: if they do tests we will have to do them.”
US nuclear test
The last United States nuclear test was in 1992year in which the president George Bush (1989-93) announced a moratorium on underground nuclear testing.
Since then the US has limited its testing to ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads and defense systems. In fact, a week ago Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) began the annual exercises of Global Thunder to similar the defense of the United States against a nuclear attack.
The United States could relatively easily restart nuclear testing on its federal lands in the state of Nevada, where the last underground test was carried out.
China’s last nuclear bomb test was in 1996, and in the more recent past Russia has limited itself to testing systems that can deliver nuclear weapons, not the atomic bombs themselves.
The New START nonproliferation treaty between the United States expires on February 4 and there is no clear path to replace it. Moscow backed out of verification and monitoring commitments in 2023 and has since said it will abide by the agreement’s requirements voluntarily, as long as the U.S. does as well.
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