If US navy vice admiral Richard Correll thought he was going to have an easy confirmation hearing on Thursday to become the commander of America’s nuclear forces, hope surely vanished at 9.04pm the night before he was due to testify.
That was when President Donald Trump shocked the world by announcing on social media that he had asked the US military to “start testing our nuclear weapons”, saying the US could not fall behind Russia and China.
“Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within five years,” Trump said.
During a 90-minute hearing on Thursday morning at the Senate armed services committee, Correll faced repeated questions about Trump’s comments from puzzled US lawmakers, embodying the confusion the Republican president unleashed in Washington and beyond.
The top Democrat on the committee, senator Jack Reed, asked Correll whether a resumption of US nuclear explosive testing would be destabilising, triggering a global nuclear arms race.
“If confirmed as the commander of Stratcom, my role would be to provide military advice on discussions on the way ahead with respect to testing,” Correll said.
The vice admiral, who Trump nominated in early September to lead the US military’s strategic command, or Stratcom, which focuses on nuclear deterrence and strike capabilities, kept answering questions carefully throughout the hearing.
Senator Angus King, an independent, asked whether Trump’s post could be about testing delivery systems such as missiles rather than explosive testing of nuclear devices.
“I don’t have insight into the president’s intent. I agree that could be an interpretation,” Correll said.
US MORATORIUM
US officials on Thursday did not clarify whether Trump was calling for testing of nuclear weapon delivery systems or ending a 33-year moratorium on explosion tests, which experts said would be disruptive and carry the risk of provoking escalation from rivals, evoking anxious memories of the Cold War.
Vice president JD Vance said testing was part of ensuring the US nuclear arsenal functions properly.
The US and other nuclear powers have long stopped detonating nuclear warheads and instead use advanced computer simulations to maintain the readiness of their arsenals.
“There is no good reason for the US to resume explosive nuclear testing. It would make everyone in the US less safe,” said Tara Drozdenko, director of the global security programme at Union of Concerned Scientists.
“The US has so much to lose and so little to gain from resuming testing,” she said.
SENDING A MESSAGE TO MOSCOW AND BEIJING
Many analysts said Trump, who often tries to project strength as a negotiation tactic, was likely seeking to send a message to Moscow and Beijing.
In his social media post issued ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, Trump said he had instructed the Pentagon to start testing “on an equal basis” and added: “That process will start immediately.”
Only North Korea has conducted a nuclear test explosion in this century, the last in 2017.
Russia, which has tested two new nuclear-powered weapons in recent days, has been accused by Washington of conducting low-yield tests and of lacking transparency in its nuclear programme, but has not conducted a full-scale nuclear explosion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had cautioned that if any country tested a nuclear weapon, Moscow would too, a Kremlin spokesperson said on Thursday.
China has repeatedly rebuffed efforts across US administrations to hold talks on nuclear arms. While Beijing is undertaking efforts to dramatically increase its nuclear weapons stockpiles it has expressed little interest in negotiating with Russia and the US, arguing their nuclear forces are considerably larger.
“If the goal is to generate leverage to force China to negotiate, I think that’s unlikely to work,” said James Acton, co-director of the nuclear policy programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
China hopes the US will abide by its commitment to a moratorium on nuclear testing and obligations under a test ban treaty, Beijing’s foreign ministry said on Thursday.
BENEFITING US ADVERSARIES
Breaking the moratorium on US nuclear tests could benefit Washington’s nuclear rivals by allowing them to conduct more tests, said Ploughshares, a foundation focused on reducing nuclear threats.
The US has conducted most nuclear test explosions and retains data gathered from its 1,030 tests since 1945.
Stratcom, where Correll is the No 2, certified the US military’s nuclear arsenal in January.
“A return to testing will benefit US adversaries by allowing them to catch up in nuclear research and weapons development,” Ploughshares said.
A source at the department of energy, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said any test would take place deep underground at a Nevada site, which is mandated to be ready to conduct tests within 36 months.
At the hearing, senator Jacky Rosen said her home state of Nevada had suffered from being the site of US nuclear explosive tests from 1951 to 1992, and vowed to prevent Trump from resuming them: “I’m going to be crystal clear: I will not let this happen. Not on my watch.”
Reuters
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