Russia is not afraid of the US "sledgehammer", China pursues a self-defense strategy, Washington-Beijing still have a "long way" to go

On August 29, Russia, China and the United States all made their latest comments on the nuclear issue.

The nuclear issue remains a contentious issue among countries that possess this type of weapon. (Source: The Economist)

In Russia, TASS news agency reported that Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin said that Moscow would not be threatened by US efforts to swing a "nuclear sledgehammer".

Recalling the US subcritical nuclear test on May 14 at an underground laboratory in Nevada state as "quite worrying", Mr. Naryshkin said that this event was not a full-scale nuclear test and "did not formally violate the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty or the US nuclear test moratorium".

However, the Russian intelligence official noted that this test clearly demonstrated the US's intention to show off its "nuclear sledgehammer" to threaten Russia, and affirmed that this would not be effective.

On the Chinese side, Defense Ministry Spokesperson Wu Qian urged the US to significantly reduce its nuclear arsenal, stop the proliferation of nuclear materials and technology, and not expand its nuclear deterrence or nuclear alliance.

Xinhua news agency quoted Mr. Wu Qian as saying that China firmly opposes the US expanding its nuclear arsenal and shirking its responsibility for disarmament on the grounds of "nuclear threat from China".

According to him, this reason does not exist and China only pursues a self-defense nuclear strategy and maintains nuclear forces at the minimum level necessary for national security.

Referring to the US-UK-Australia Trilateral Security Treaty (AUKUS), Chinese defense officials said that this has seriously weakened the international nuclear non-proliferation system.

Spokesperson Ngo Khiem stated: "We call on relevant parties to seriously listen to the profound and far-sighted voices of the international community, abandon the Cold War obsession and zero-sum mentality, and refrain from going further down the wrong and dangerous path."

Meanwhile, on the US side, Reuters news agency reported that Washington is pressuring Beijing to change its long-standing opposition to the nuclear weapons negotiation process.

China has signaled it is willing to start discussions on arms control, "but then they haven't necessarily followed through on that signal," according to a senior Biden administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official said that in 2024, the negotiation prospects were slightly better than in 2022, but there was still a "long way to go" to move towards serious dialogue.

The US and China resumed official-level talks on nuclear weapons last November, but talks have since stalled.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/van-de-hat-nhan-nga-chang-ngan-bua-ta-my-trung-quoc-theo-duoi-chien-luoc-tu-ve-washington-bac-kinh-con-doan-duong-dai-phai-di-284418.html