Paper: GS – II, Subject: International Relations, Topic: Global Issues, Issue: US to Resume Nuclear Weapons Testing.
Context:
Trump’s decision to resume nuclear testing breaks a 30-year global moratorium and signals a major shift in nuclear politics amid already heightened U.S.–Russia–China tensions.
Key Highlights:
Impact on Power Equations and Dynamics:
- U.S.-China and U.S.-Russia Relations: The announcement directly impacts the power dynamics between the U.S., China, and Russia. China has already urged the U.S. to adhere to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
- Potential for Renewed Testing by China and Russia: If the U.S. resumes testing, China and Russia might follow suit, potentially leading to the development and testing of advanced weapons, including low-yield tactical nuclear weapons.
- Challenges to the New START Treaty: The resumption of testing could complicate negotiations for a successor agreement to the New START Treaty, which expires in February 2026 and limits the number of strategic warheads and delivery vehicles deployed by the U.S. and Russia.
Undermining Nuclear Arms Control:
- Threat to 50 Years of Arms Control Efforts: Resuming nuclear testing challenges decades of nuclear arms control norms upheld since the 1990s, even without the CTBT in force.
- Risk of Global Testing Resurgence: If the U.S. resumes testing, other nations may follow, citing precedent and weakening restraint.
- Weakening the NPT Framework: Such a move contradicts commitments under the NPT toward nuclear disarmament and threatens the treaty’s credibility.
- Erosion of the NPT’s ‘Grand Bargain’: Non-nuclear states may feel betrayed and reconsider staying non-nuclear, arguing that nuclear states are not fulfilling their disarmament promises.
Impact of U.S. Nuclear Weapon Testing on Global Environment:
The hope is that the U.S. will not implement this policy. However, if the U.S. does resume testing, the rest of the world should not fall prey to questionable policy choices at the cost of its own stability and security.
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