Khaberni - The United States reiterated on Monday its accusation of China for increasing its nuclear arsenal and conducting secret tests, demanding again that it be part of any future treaty to limit the proliferation of such weapons.
Washington said that the expiration of "New START" between it and Moscow, which was the last treaty in place between the two main nuclear powers, opens the way for a "better agreement" that includes Beijing, which the latter has rejected.
Christopher Yao, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, said at the Disarmament Conference in Geneva that the treaty "did not take into account the unprecedented, deliberate, rapid, and opaque nuclear arsenal buildup by China."
He added, "Contrary to its claims, China has deliberately and without restraint massively expanded its nuclear arsenal, in the absence of any transparency or any indication of its intentions or ultimate goal."
Chinese Ambassador Shen Jian stated at the conference that his country "strongly opposes the continual distortion and misuse of its nuclear policy by some countries," affirming that Beijing will "not engage in a nuclear arms race with any country."
However, Yao expressed his belief that Beijing would be able to "possess the fissile material necessary for more than 1000 nuclear warheads by 2030."
Both Russia and the United States possess more than five thousand nuclear warheads, according to the "International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons" (ICAN). However, "New START" restricted Moscow and Washington's arsenals to 1550 deployed warheads each.
Yet Shen emphasized that the Chinese nuclear arsenal is not at the same level compared with the countries that possess the largest nuclear arsenals.
He continued, "It is not fair, reasonable, or realistic to expect China to participate in what are called trilateral talks."
But a senior U.S. State Department official, who requested anonymity, said that discussions are ongoing.
The official told reporters that a "preparatory" meeting was held with a Chinese delegation in Washington the day after the expiration of the "New START" treaty, and that a more "detailed" meeting will be held on Tuesday in Geneva.
The expiration of the "New START" has raised fears of a new nuclear arms race, in the absence of any alternative agreement.
Yao welcomed the expiration of the treaty, noting that its restrictions in terms of the number of warheads and launch platforms "are no longer relevant," citing what he considered Russia's violation of the treaty.
Yao accused Moscow of helping "enhance Beijing's capacity to increase the size of its arsenal," considering that the expiration of "New START" came "at an opportune time" because it would allow President Donald Trump to pursue his "ultimate goal of a better agreement."
He emphasized that the expiration of the treaty "does not mean that the United States is withdrawing from or ignoring arms control issues," asserting "our goal is a better agreement that brings us closer to a world with fewer nuclear weapons."
Yao hinted last week that the United States is ready to conduct low-yield nuclear tests, effectively ending a decades-long moratorium on such tests.
He reiterated on Monday that Beijing conducted such tests in 2020 and is preparing for stronger tests. China has previously denied these "lies," seeing them as a U.S. pretext to resume testing.
Yao reiterated on Monday that data collected in Kazakhstan, neighboring China, on June 22, 2020 at 09:18 UTC, revealed an explosion with a magnitude of 2.75.
He said, "It was likely an explosion. Based on comparisons between historical explosions and earthquakes, the seismic signals were indicative of a single explosion... which does not conform to the typical patterns of explosions in mining areas."
In a recent report, the Center for Strategic and International Studies found no conclusive evidence of an explosion, noting that satellite images showed no unusual activity at the Lop Nur site in the Xinjiang region, where China had previously conducted tests.
