WSJ: New nuclear arms race pits US against Russia, China

The United States faces a new era of strategic uncertainty as a global nuclear arms race intensifies, according to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

While Russia and the U.S. continue to abide by some arms control measures, including the New START Treaty — set to expire in February — China, unbound by such obligations, is quietly accelerating its nuclear capabilities. U.S. assessments suggest that by the mid-2030s, China could reach parity with the United States in deployed nuclear warheads.

The growing strategic alignment between Moscow and Beijing is creating unprecedented challenges for Washington and its allies in Europe and Asia. Concerns are further heightened by questions about President Donald Trump’s commitment to mutual defence agreements, the WSJ reports.

Matthew Kroenig, director of the Scowcroft Center at the Atlantic Council and a former Pentagon official, warned: “The movement now is toward building up nuclear arsenals, not reducing them.” According to him, the US is entering a third nuclear era, which will resemble the Cold War more than the 1990s or 2000s.

Other experts say the U.S. has been slow to adapt to these evolving threats. Washington’s nuclear modernisation strategy was largely premised on continued arms reductions with Russia and the assumption that China and North Korea would not challenge U.S. strategic dominance — assumptions that now appear flawed.

By Vugar Khalilov