“China has conducted nuclear explosive tests, including preparing for tests with designated yields in the hundreds of tons… China has used decoupling – a method to decrease the effectiveness of seismic monitoring – to hide its activities from the world. China conducted one such yield producing nuclear test on June 22, 2020, DiNanno wrote.
“This confluence of factors – serial Russian violations, growth of worldwide stockpiles, and flaws in New START’s design and implementation – gives the United States a clear imperative to call for a new architecture that addresses the threats of today, not those of a bygone era.
“As throughout our history, the United States has maintained a willingness to seek strategic stability and arms control arrangements that are verifiable, enforceable, and contribute to the security of the United States and her allies. What we are proposing is not talks for the sake of talks—with this effort, the United States is looking for meaningful progress based in concrete actions.”
Shen Jian, China’s ambassador on disarmament, didn’t directly address DiNanno’s claims, but said “the US continues in its statement to hype up the so-called China nuclear threat. China firmly opposes such false narratives … [The US] is the culprit for the aggravation of the arms race,” according to the New York Post. DiNanno’s allegations came one day after the 2010 New START treaty between the United States and Russia expired, resulting in both countries not having any binding constraints on deployment of strategic missiles for the first time since the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) Agreement was reached in 1972.
“Today, the United States faces threats from multiple nuclear powers. In short, a bilateral treaty with only one nuclear power is simply inappropriate in 2026 and going forward,” said DiNanno, while also warning that China was projected to have more than 1,000 nuclear warheads in its possession by 2030.
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