a threat

NothingChina is a country with many large nuclear power plants. But when it comes to the dangers of nuclear conflict, the United States is the biggest threat to the world, said Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang.

China has accused the United States of taking an irresponsible stance in using nuclear weapons not only to intimidate the countries of the world but also to maintain its hegemony over them. . China’s response comes after the Pentagon’s decision to provide US forces to Japan as a joint force base. The announcement was made by the US Department of Defense in late July after a meeting of US and Japanese defense and foreign policy chiefs.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called the announcement one of the country’s worst changes in its military relationship with Japan in 70 years. “The US pledged at the meeting that it will defend Japan with the full range of capabilities, including our nuclear capabilities,” the defense secretary said.

Zhang Xiaolong also said that the US and Japan used the trump card of “China’s military threat” to justify their move. He said that such actions would lead to conflict and undermine peace and stability in the region. The July Pentagon statement also mentioned the expansion of China’s nuclear arsenal. A spokesman for China’s Ministry of Defense said that the US, which has the world’s largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, is the world’s biggest nuclear threat and the US is pursuing a policy of allowing to use nuclear weapons for the first time.

Russia, China, North Korea and Iran are the four adversaries that could face the design of nuclear weapons in the latest National Defense Strategy published by the Pentagon in 2022, along with the Review Nuclear Posture and Missile Defense Review. By allowing such weapons to be used to prevent a conventional attack, the United States has opened up the possibility of a first strike.

In 2018, the US announced it was withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Moscow, banning both sides from developing and using nuclear-capable missiles. with more powerful warheads than currently available. Since China is not bound by the bilateral INF Treaty, the United States has said it needs such weapons.

The New START Treaty is a bilateral agreement that limits the nuclear stockpiles of the United States and Russia. It is set to expire in 2026. Russia formally suspended participation in New START last year, citing hostile US policies, but pledged to abide by its key provisions and impose limits on nuclear weapons and sales systems to rapidly expand its nuclear arsenal. With this, the Strategic Posture Commission of Congress asked the United States to prepare for war with Beijing and Moscow. Later that month, the United States also announced plans to ‘upgrade’ its best nuclear bomb.

Zhang said that the US’s reckless decisions and actions have led to the multiplication of threats, and its efforts to maintain hegemony and terrorize the world with nuclear power have been exposed overall,’ saying that Japan’s ‘latest regional activity will only get worse. He also noted that tensions also increase the risk of nuclear proliferation and conflict.