How to Promote Arms Control in the Asia-Pacific Region
Tong Zhao | APLN
The Asia-Pacific faces growing strategic security challenges. All the nuclear-armed states that are visibly expanding their nuclear arsenals—China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea—are in this region. U.S.-China competition, in particular, reshapes the regional security order and pressures other countries in the region to hedge against future uncertainties by developing new military capabilities and forging new security alignments. The growing military spending across the region threatens the public’s social and economic welfare and reduces governments’ investment to combat shared threats like climate change.
US officials divided over new intelligence suggesting Russian military discussed scenarios for using nuclear weapons
Natasha Bertrand, Katie Bo Lillis and Zachary Cohen | CNN
Russian military officials have discussed how and under what conditions Russia would use a tactical nuclear weapon on the battlefield in Ukraine, according to a US intelligence assessment described to CNN by multiple sources who have read it. The assessment, drafted by the National Intelligence Council, is not a high confidence product and is not raw intelligence but rather analysis, multiple people who have read it told CNN. For that reason, some officials believe the conversations reflected in the document may have been taken out of context, and do not necessarily indicate that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon.
Sweden, Finland Does Not Rule out Housing NATO Nuclear Weapons
Charles Szumski
Both Finland and Sweden do not rule out housing nuclear weapons on their soil when they join NATO, although the question is somewhat premature, according to the Swedish Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Micael Bydén and Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.Bydén said he had “no reservations” about housing nuclear weapons in Sweden during a press conference on Tuesday. “The Council has no reservations, and then the politician level has to step in and make the decisions it needs to make, whether it is a question of a permanent presence of NATO allies or a preliminary strike. These are political decisions,” he said, according to Expressen, adding that he could rule out an “even more serious development in Ukraine.”
Australia plays down US B-52 bomber plan that angers China
ROD McGUIRK | Associated Press
Australia's defense minister on Wednesday played down the significance of a major upgrade of B-52 facilities planned for northern Australia that has raised China’s ire, saying the nuclear-capable U.S. bombers have been visiting since the 1980s. China this week condemned U.S. plans to deploy up to six of the long-range bombers at Royal Australian Air Force Base Tindal in the Northern Territory, arguing the move undermined regional peace and stability. China also warned of a potential arms race in the region.
U.S. Willing to Use Military to Stop Iran From Getting Nuclear Weapon
Thomas Kika | Newsweek
The U.S. will not rule out military intervention to keep Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon, according to one official. Speaking at an event put on by the Carnegie Endowment think tank on Monday morning, Robert Malley, the State Department's special envoy to Iran, discussed the U.S. approach to Iran and its nuclear capabilities. Malley said that the U.S. remains committed to preventing Iranian nuclear armament through diplomatic means, according to CNN's Jennifer Hansler.
Nuclear injustice: How Russia’s invasion of Ukraine shows the staggering human cost of deterrence
Franziska Stärk and Ulrich Kühn | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
The global nuclear order—built on policies of nuclear deterrence, nonproliferation, and disarmament—is unjust. Russia’s war against Ukraine proves that the distribution of the costs and benefits of nuclear deterrence is particularly discriminatory. The current situation is a painful reminder that nuclear weapons are to global security what fossil fuels are to a green economy: a costly legacy of past generations thwarting justice and sustainability efforts in the long-term.