First of all, the headline is missing India, Israel, and some European countries! They author mentions, that Japan could start developing nuclear weapons in the near future.
Second, we have known for decades that quantity is not quality with respect to nuclear deterrence and capabilities.
The author of the article below is a retired professor of strategic studies. Perhaps, he is not up to date anymore!
The author also admits that latest since 2009 it is known that the U.S. has a huge store of reserve nuclear warheads. I am not sure the author explains whether these reserve warheads are counted in the usual stockpile statistics.
When will the lethargic, apathetic, and Slav(e)s Russian people finally get rid of their last tsar, the megalomaniac and war criminal Putin the Terrible! Where is the next Gorbachev?
China is indeed a headache as it refused in the past to participate in any nuclear arms reduction negotiations.
"Unlike in the Cold War, the United States faces the prospect in the next decade of two peer nuclear adversaries, which will together have twice as many strategic nuclear weapons as it does. According to a senior American official visiting Australia last month, by 2034 China will have as many strategic nuclear weapons as the US does today. So, a decade from now America may be outnumbered by Russia and China combined having over 3,000 strategic nuclear warheads to America’s 1500. ...
China has absolutely refused to be involved with the Americans about nuclear arms control and verification. It claims that its strategic nuclear forces are so modest compared with those of the US that there is no point in any talk about negotiations. It is true that until recently China’s strategic nuclear stockpile has not been much more than that of either Britain or France (200 to 300 nuclear weapons each). However, according to the Pentagon, China now has about 500 nuclear weapons and will reach 1000 by 2030. ...
Another route to expansion that the US may be contemplating is to use some of its huge holdings of reserve nuclear warheads, which total 4200. According to the 2009 report of the Commission on America’s Strategic Posture, the US retains a large stockpile of reserve weapons ‘as a hedge against surprise, whether of a geopolitical or a technical kind.’ ..."
China has absolutely refused to be involved with the Americans about nuclear arms control and verification. It claims that its strategic nuclear forces are so modest compared with those of the US that there is no point in any talk about negotiations. It is true that until recently China’s strategic nuclear stockpile has not been much more than that of either Britain or France (200 to 300 nuclear weapons each). However, according to the Pentagon, China now has about 500 nuclear weapons and will reach 1000 by 2030. ...
Another route to expansion that the US may be contemplating is to use some of its huge holdings of reserve nuclear warheads, which total 4200. According to the 2009 report of the Commission on America’s Strategic Posture, the US retains a large stockpile of reserve weapons ‘as a hedge against surprise, whether of a geopolitical or a technical kind.’ ..."
(Source)
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