Biden's top-secret nuclear strategy counters China's growing arsenal
President Biden approved a top-secret nuclear strategy plan in March, which, for the first time in history, reorients American deterrence strategy to counter the rapid expansion of China’s nuclear arsenal, according to The New York Times.
The change comes at a time when the Pentagon believes China’s nuclear arsenal will reach the level of the United States and Russia’s reserves within the next decade. The White House has not publicly announced that President Biden approved the new strategy, titled “The Guide for the Use of Nuclear Weapons,” which is designed to prepare the U.S. for a series of coordinated nuclear challenges from China, Russia, and North Korea.
The document is updated every four years and is so secret that no electronic copies exist—only a small number of physical copies are distributed to a few officials within the Department of National Security and Pentagon commanders.
However, two presidential administration officials have alluded to this strategic shift in recent speeches, prior to a more detailed and unclassified notification that the Biden administration will issue to Congress before the end of the term.
The new strategy emphasises “the need to deter Russia, China, and North Korea simultaneously,” explained Pranay Vaddi, the senior director for arms control and nonproliferation at the National Security Council.
In the past, the possibility of America’s adversaries coordinating their nuclear threats to thwart U.S. plans seemed improbable. However, the ever-closer partnership between Russia and China, along with the conventional weapons that North Korea and Iran have made available to Russia for the war in Ukraine, has fundamentally changed Washington’s strategy.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
