China “has to be involved” in nuclear arms control talks, while the US must step up its nuclear modernisation, including deploying more bombers, a senator responsible for overseeing American strategic forces said on Monday.
“We need to be able to have a verifiable [treaty] and ensure accountability under treaties, and have them enforced with Russia and with China,” said Deb Fischer, a Nebraska Republican and chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee’s strategic forces subcommittee.
The US has been trying to bring China into the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New Start), the world’s last remaining binding nuclear arms control agreement, which expired in February, a stance both US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have echoed on multiple occasions.
However, China has repeatedly stated that it will not participate in a new nuclear arms control agreement between the US and Russia, whilst insisting that it has no intention of engaging in an arms race with any country.
Analysts believe it is seeking parity with the other two before it agrees to talk.
On Monday, Fischer, whose subcommittee oversees the US nuclear arsenal, insisted at an event organised by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) that China must be at the table in any future arms control architecture.
“We were the only ones that the New Start treaty constrained. We were the only ones that were adhering to it,” Fischer said.
“When we look at possible treaties in the future, we want to make sure that we aren’t just in a bilateral [one] with Russia. China has to be involved too,” according to Fischer.
Fischer, a China hawk, also called for an increase in the number of the US’ next-generation nuclear-capable stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider.
Successive US Strategic Command chiefs had told her, she said, that the Air Force’s planned purchase of 100 B-21 Raider stealth bombers was insufficient to meet the threats posed by China and Russia, suggesting a number beyond 145.
The B-21 is regarded as part of the Pentagon’s efforts to modernise all three pillars of the nuclear triad, the other two being the silo-based nuclear ballistic missiles and submarine-launched nuclear warheads.
Trump’s record-breaking defence budget request of US$1.5 trillion, announced earlier this month, included “significant investments to develop new warheads that would bolster deterrence”.
The US president, who is determined to boost America’s nuclear capabilities, claimed in October that the US would resume nuclear testing. But it remains unclear how far this plan has progressed.
On Monday, Fischer did not endorse a resumption of US nuclear testing, but said the country should be prepared.
“We should listen to the scientists,” she said, adding: “It’s always good to be ready for anything, because you don’t know what the future brings.”
In February, Washington accused China of conducting a secret nuclear test in 2020. But Beijing dismissed the claim, saying it was merely an excuse for Washington to resume its own nuclear testing.
Turning to the unpopular war that Trump launched against Iran, Fischer flagged two unresolved problems she said would shape the strategic picture for years to come.
“[On] enriched uranium ... we have to figure out what to do with it,” Fischer said, referring to the stockpile of roughly 440 kilograms [970 pounds] of 60-per-cent enriched uranium that Washington says Tehran holds.
“And munitions is the second one,” she continued. “As we’re moving into the future, how do we replenish our munitions for the defence of this case at a faster rate?” -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
