Any nuclear test would be capable of destabilizing global security, says head of nuclear arms control agency

Trump orders the Department of Defense to begin testing nuclear weapons The head of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), which regulates the use of nuclear weapons around the world, warned this Thursday (30) that any such test would be capable of destabilizing global security. The speech by the executive secretary of the CTBTO, Robert Floyd, is a reaction to the order that the President of the United States, Donald Trump, said he had given to his War Department to resume testing nuclear weapons amid an escalation of tensions with Russia. Trump justified his decision by accusing other countries of testing weapons of this type. ✅ Follow g1’s international news channel on WhatsApp “The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) prohibits all nuclear explosions. (…) Any explosive test of a nuclear weapon, by any State, would be harmful and destabilizing to global non-proliferation efforts and international peace and security. The CTBTO’s monitoring system is ready to detect any such test and provide the data to CTBT signatory States,” Floyd said in a statement. Floyd also said that the world is facing a “complex and challenging” moment, but that joint work is needed against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. According to the head of the agency, a total of six nuclear tests were recorded in the 21st century. The CTBTO is an international organization created in 1996 to promote the implementation of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which prohibits the testing of nuclear weapons and was signed that year by 186 countries, including all nuclear powers at the time: USA, Russia, United Kingdom, France and China — North Korea is not a signatory. The treaty, however, never came into force. Also this Thursday, China and Russia reacted to Trump’s announcement. The Chinese have called on the US not to conduct nuclear weapons tests, while the Russians have said they will do the same if the Americans test their weapons. “China expects the United States to responsibly fulfill the obligations of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and its commitment to test bans, take concrete actions to protect the global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation system, and maintain global strategic balance and stability,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun. Trump did not name other countries in his statement, but Russia and North Korea have routinely tested weapons capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The American president’s decision was historic, because the last nuclear test carried out by the USA was more than 30 years ago, in 1992. A nuclear test could cause an unprecedented escalation and a sequence of tests carried out by several nations around the world. Asked at a press conference this Thursday about Trump’s decision, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he was not aware of any nuclear weapons tests. “Putin stated that if any power abandons the moratorium, Russia will do so too,” Peskov said. At the same time, the Russian president said Wednesday that his military had successfully tested a nuclear-capable underwater super torpedo that had the potential to make coastal cities uninhabitable. Days earlier, on Sunday, Russia had already tested its new Burevestnik nuclear missile, a weapon considered “invincible” by the Russian president. The United States and Russia are the two largest nuclear powers in the world and have more than five thousand nuclear warheads each, according to data released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) in January this year. China is rapidly expanding its arsenal and has doubled its nuclear arsenal from 300 warheads to 600 in the past five years, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), an American think tank specializing in warfare. The expectation is that the country will have more than a thousand nuclear weapons by 2030. Trump said he believes that the Chinese nuclear program will be on par with the American one within 5 years. Trump resumes nuclear tests Trump gives an interview aboard Air Force One before arriving in Malaysia, this Saturday (25). Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters “The United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country. This was achieved, including a complete upgrade and renewal of existing weapons, during my first term. Due to the immense destructive power, I HATED doing this, but I had no choice! Russia is in second place, and China is close behind, but will be on par within five years,” he said on social media. “In light of the testing programs of other countries, I have instructed the War Department to begin testing our nuclear weapons on a level playing field. This process will begin immediately,” he concluded. Trump had previously criticized the Burevestnik missile exercise, which threatened Russia by saying that the US has a nuclear submarine positioned off the coast of Russia. According to the US, China has more than doubled the size of its arsenal in recent years. A V-Day parade in September showcased five nuclear capabilities capable of reaching the continental United States. According to the Reuters news agency, tests like these provide evidence about what any new nuclear weapon is capable of doing — and whether older weapons still work. In addition to offering technical data, the experiment would be seen in Russia and China as a deliberate assertion of US strategic power. See the videos that are trending on g1

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