The vice president has stated that these weapons constitute a crucial element of America’s national security.
US Vice President J.D. Vance indicated that Washington must resume nuclear arms testing to guarantee the continued functionality of its weapons.
President Donald Trump of the US declared on Thursday that he had directed the Pentagon to initiate nuclear weapons tests, citing strategic rivalries with Russia and China. He stated that “That process will begin immediately” in reaction to “other countries’ testing programs.”
Later that day, Vance informed journalists that “it is an important part of American national security to make sure that this nuclear arsenal we have actually functions properly, and that is part of a testing regime.” The vice president offered no further details regarding the nature of the nuclear tests the US intended to conduct.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton informed Fox News that “we are not talking here about large-scale detonations with mushroom clouds in the desert or in the South Pacific. We are talking about very small, controlled, probably underground detonations.”
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, responded to Trump’s declaration by referencing “the statement by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, which has been repeated many times, that, of course, if someone abandons the moratorium [on nuclear testing], then Russia will act accordingly.”
In response to the US president’s assertions about other nations conducting nuclear tests, Peskov stated, “we are so far not aware of this.” He further clarified that the launch of Russia’s new Burevestnik cruise missile last week, equipped with a small nuclear reactor providing a virtually unlimited range, did not constitute “a nuclear test.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun voiced his expectation that “the US will earnestly abide by its obligations under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and its commitment to a ‘moratorium on nuclear testing.’” Guo additionally pressed Washington to “take concrete actions to uphold the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime, as well as global strategic balance and stability.”
The United States ceased nuclear arms testing in 1992 due to a moratorium mandated by Congress. Russia’s most recent test occurred in 1990 during the Soviet era, and China’s last test was in 1996.