Biden's new nuclear strategy targets 'China threat', Beijing responds

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
21 Aug 2024 08:13

The updated strategy reportedly reflects US concerns about what it perceives as China’s rapid expansion of its nuclear arsenal, which is projected to rival US and Russian stockpiles within the next decade.

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China’s President Xi Jinping and Joe Biden meet at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, on 14 November 2022. (AFP/Getty Images)

US President Joe Biden has endorsed a revised US nuclear strategy aimed at addressing what the US perceives as potential coordinated nuclear threats from Russia, China, and DPRK, according to The New York Times report on Tuesday.

Simultaneously, the White House claimed that the strategy, approved earlier this year, is not directed at any single nation or threat.

White House spokesperson Sean Savett stated that while the specific details of the guidance are classified, its existence is public knowledge.

The updated strategy reflects US concerns about what it perceives as China’s rapid expansion of its nuclear arsenal, which is projected to rival US and Russian stockpiles within the next decade.

Despite these developments, the Arms Control Association maintains that the US nuclear strategy remains aligned with the 2022 Nuclear Posture Review, with no shift in focus from Russia to China.

US promoting a "Chinese nuclear threat" to evade nuclear disarmament commitments: Beijing

Responding to the US strategy, Beijing expressed serious concerns over reports that the US has approved a secret nuclear strategy with plans to contain China, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Wednesday.

"China is seriously concerned about the reports," Mao told reporters, adding that the US is promoting a "Chinese nuclear threat" to evade its nuclear disarmament commitments.

The diplomat added that the US is "the world's largest creator of strategic nuclear risks."

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Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said as quoted by The Guardian that while US intelligence estimates predict China’s nuclear arsenal might grow from 500 to 1,000 warheads by 2030, Russia currently has around 4,000 warheads and remains the primary factor influencing US nuclear strategy.

Biden approved the updated Nuclear Employment Guidance in March, according to The Times. However, an unclassified notification of this policy change has yet to be presented to Congress.

Following years of nuclear arms reduction efforts, the administration has recently signaled a readiness to expand the US nuclear arsenal in what Washington perceives as a response to China and Russia's nuclear strategies.

The Times reported on Tuesday that two senior administration officials had previously hinted at the revision of US nuclear strategy without disclosing its full details.

In June, Pranay Vaddi, a senior director at the National Security Council, indicated that if China and Russia did not alter their nuclear strategies, the US was prepared to shift from merely modernizing existing weapons to expanding its nuclear arsenal.

Vaddi also hinted at the highly classified document, noting that it emphasized “the need to deter Russia, the PRC [People’s Republic of China], and North Korea simultaneously”.

This development coincides with the impending expiration of New START, the last significant nuclear arms control agreement with Russia, which sets limits on intercontinental-range nuclear weapons. The agreement is set to expire in early 2026, with no successor agreement currently in place.

China calls US 'biggest nuclear threat to the world'

Meanwhile, China's Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang, speaking to reporters last Friday, called the US the country that poses a threat to the globe in the event of a nuclear war.

Beijing has accused Washington of making “irresponsible decisions” in attempts to maintain its hegemony, including by intimidating the international community with its nuclear arsenal.

Washington and Tokyo played the “China military threat” card to justify their move, according to Zhang Xiaogang, who stressed that such actions only “provoke bloc confrontation and undermine regional peace and stability."

With the "largest nuclear arsenal in the world" and a strategy that permits the first use of nuclear weapons, the US "poses the biggest nuclear threat to the world," the spokesperson for the Chinese Defense Ministry relayed.