The Trump Administration is considering the possibility of doing an underground nuclear test, the first in 28 years, apparently in an attempt to prod Russia and China to negotiate a new arms treaty, the Washington Post reports.
A senior administration official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said demonstrating to Moscow and Beijing that the United States could do a “rapid test” might prove useful from a negotiating standpoint as Washington seeks a trilateral deal to minimize the arsenals of the biggest nuclear powers, the story said.
In the past, underground tests in the U.S. have been conducted in Nevada.
Critics and anti-nuclear advocates warned that doing a test now could have destabilizing consequences.
“It could have far-reaching consequences for relations with other nuclear powers and reverse a decades-long moratorium on such actions,” the senior administration official said, according to the Post.
The United States has not conducted a nuclear test explosion since September of 1992.
The possibility of a new test in the U.S. came up at a May 15 meeting of senior officials representing the top national security agencies. Administration officials have accused Russia and China of conducting low-yield nuclear tests. That claim has not been substantiated by evidence, the Post report said.
Both China and Russia have denied secretive testing.
Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, counseled against U.S. underground testing.
“It would be an invitation for other nuclear-armed countries to follow suit,” Kimball told the Post. “It would be the starting gun to an unprecedented nuclear arms race. You would also disrupt the negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who may no longer feel compelled to honor his moratorium on nuclear testing. If this administration believes that a nuclear test explosion and nuclear brinkmanship is going to coerce negotiating partners to make unilateral concessions, that’s a dangerous ploy.”
Meetings in Washington have not concluded with any agreement to conduct nuclear testing, but a senior administration official described the proposal as an “ongoing conversation.”
“Another person familiar with the meeting, however, said a decision was ultimately made to take other measures in response to threats posed by Russia and China and avoid a resumption of testing,” the Post reported.
Alerts Sign-up