Trump Orders US to Resume Nuclear Weapons Testing

AFP/APP

Washington: US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he has ordered the Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons testing to match China and Russia—just minutes before opening a high-stakes summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The announcement follows Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement on Wednesday that Moscow had successfully tested a nuclear-capable, nuclear-powered underwater drone, in defiance of Washington’s warnings.

“Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis,” Trump wrote in a social media post.

The United States has been a signatory since 1996 to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which prohibits all atomic test blasts, whether for military or civilian purposes. It was not immediately clear if Trump was referring to tests of nuclear warheads — last conducted by the US in 1992 — or of weapons systems capable of carrying atomic warheads.

Trump claimed that the United States possesses more nuclear weapons than any other country, crediting his administration for a “complete update and renovation of existing weapons.”

“Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within five years,” he added.

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia holds 5,489 nuclear warheads, compared to 5,177 for the United States and about 600 for China. In total, SIPRI estimates that the nine nuclear-armed countries — Russia, the United States, China, France, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea — collectively possess more than 12,200 warheads.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump noted that it had been “many years” since the United States last conducted nuclear tests.

“We don’t do testing… we’ve halted it years, many years ago,” he said, adding that it was now “appropriate” to restart testing since “others are doing it.”

“I’d like to see denuclearization… denuclearization would be a tremendous thing,” he added, noting that discussions on the issue were ongoing with Russia and could eventually include China.

Trump did not disclose the location or timeline for the tests but hinted earlier that they would “begin immediately.”