【By Observer Net, Zhang Jingjuan】A nuclear controversy sparked by U.S. President Trump is escalating.

According to Reuters on the 25th, Edward Markey, a Democratic Senator and co-chair of the U.S. House and Senate Working Group on Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control, urged Trump to abandon his plan to resume nuclear testing, stating that such an action could stimulate nuclear powers China and Russia to take equivalent actions, triggering a global nuclear test competition.

In his letter to Trump, Markey stated: "Even if the United States conducts small-scale nuclear tests, it will 'open the door' for China and Russia, allowing them to conduct more large-scale nuclear tests that are more valuable for the development of new nuclear weapons, ultimately posing a threat to U.S. national security."

This long-time advocate for nuclear non-proliferation has previously publicly opposed Trump's attempts to restart nuclear tests during his first term in 2020.

At that time, Trump raised the possibility of conducting new nuclear tests in the United States. In addition to discussing the resumption of underground explosion tests, U.S. officials also called for significantly shortening the preparation time for the country to resume nuclear tests. The federal agency responsible for the National Nuclear Testing Site ordered the preparation time to be shortened from several years to just six months.

In his letter, Markey wrote that Trump insisted on restarting nuclear tests, claiming that China and Russia were conducting undetectable "hydrodynamic nuclear tests," which violated U.S. policy and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, but these rumors had already been around since 2019 and have never been verified. Even if these rumors were true, they could not serve as a legitimate reason for the United States to resume nuclear tests.

He explicitly demanded that Trump present substantial evidence by December 15th regarding China and Russia conducting so-called "secret nuclear tests," while also questioning whether Trump fundamentally cannot distinguish between "missile tests" and "nuclear explosion tests."

The New York Times previously pointed out that Trump may have confused nuclear weapon tests with two new types of nuclear delivery systems tested by Russia in recent years: one being a nuclear-powered cruise missile, and the other being a submersible nuclear torpedo called "Poseidon," capable of striking the U.S. West Coast across the Pacific. The design of these weapons aims to evade interception by the U.S. missile defense system.

The report stated that the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Markey Reuters

Last month (October 30), Trump announced on social media that he had ordered the Department of Defense to immediately resume nuclear tests, which had been halted for 33 years.

He claimed that the United States has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, and Russia ranks second in nuclear arsenal size, while China ranks third and can catch up within five years. He also said he had no choice but to do so, "because other countries are conducting nuclear tests, I have instructed the Pentagon to test our nuclear weapons on an equal basis, and this process will start immediately."

It is puzzling that the entity responsible for the tests is the National Nuclear Security Administration under the U.S. Department of Energy, not the Pentagon as Trump directed.

On November 2, Trump again claimed during an interview with CBS that the United States would resume nuclear testing. On the 14th, on Air Force One, Trump claimed that the United States would conduct nuclear weapon tests like other countries, but refused to disclose whether the related plans included detonating nuclear warheads.

Currently, the United States has signed but not ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Since 1992, the United States has not conducted any explosive nuclear tests, but has conducted multiple "subcritical tests," at least three of which occurred during the Biden administration.

In response to Trump's provocative statements about nuclear tests, Russian President Putin ordered senior government officials to draft a nuclear weapons test plan on the 5th. Reuters noted that since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Moscow has never taken such measures. Putin himself had previously clearly stated that if a country withdraws from the moratorium on nuclear tests, Russia will take corresponding actions based on the situation.

Facing this artificially created nuclear crisis, China has always maintained a responsible attitude. At a regular press conference on the 3rd, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning stated that as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a responsible nuclear-armed country, China has always adhered to the path of peaceful development, implemented a policy of not using nuclear weapons first, upheld a defensive nuclear strategy, and abided by the commitment to suspend nuclear tests. We are willing to work with all parties to jointly maintain the authority of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation system.

Mao Ning pointed out that we hope the U.S. side can also truly abide by the obligations of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the commitment to suspend nuclear tests, and take concrete actions to maintain the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation system, as well as global strategic balance and stability.

Li Song, China's permanent representative to the United Nations Office at Vienna and other international organizations, also urged the U.S. side to genuinely abide by the treaty obligations and the commitment to "suspend nuclear tests" when attending the 65th session of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in Vienna on the 10th. He emphasized that China is willing to work with the international community to practice genuine multilateralism and safeguard the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation system, including the treaty.

This article is an exclusive publication of Observer Net. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7576876779068064302/

Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author. Please express your opinion by clicking on the 【top/down】 buttons below.