US President Donald Trump has said Washington is holding nuclear disarmament talks with both Russia and China. Speaking on Thursday in an interview with the US broadcaster Newsmax, Trump said China, which has far fewer warheads than the US and Russia, is racing to close the gap.
Trump said the US is discussing with its nuclear peers a route to “denuclearise”. He said China’s stockpile of about 620 warheads is dwarfed by the more than 4,000 each held by Washington and Moscow, and predicted that China would “catch up” within five years.
Trump’s remarks on China and the talks
Trump described the situation as a shame and said he would like to see denuclearisation, if it is possible. He said the US was speaking with Moscow on the issue and was also talking with Beijing about it.
Trump acknowledged that China does not appear willing to disarm, but said discussions had continued. Newsmax reported that he had spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the subject. No further details about the talks with either Russia or China were disclosed.
Global stockpiles and the expired arms treaty
Citing the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the report said Russia has the world’s largest stockpile of nuclear warheads, with the US close behind. Together, the two countries are estimated to possess 86 percent of all nuclear weapons globally. China holds the third-largest arsenal, having expanded it to 620 warheads in the past year.
Trump’s comments came shortly after the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, an arms control agreement between the US and Russia that limited their nuclear arsenals, expired. A month later, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the Forward Deterrence Initiative, as Russia’s nuclear sabre-rattling during its war on Ukraine has unsettled Europe.
Former Australian foreign minister Gareth Evans said the world has become “alarmingly complacent” about the risks of nuclear war. He said nearly every major arms control agreement was dead, dying or on life support, and the long-standing taboo against nuclear threats or use was eroding.
