In a bold and startling statement, Donald Trump has alleged that Pakistan is actively conducting underground nuclear tests. This came as Donald Trump is trying to justify his push for resuming U.S. nuclear testing amid rising global military tensions.
Speaking in an interview with CBS News, Trump asserted that Russia, China, North Korea and Pakistan were all conducting tests, and added that U.S. simply cannot remain the only major power abstaining from nuclear-testing.
Trump’s recent push to restart U.S. nuclear weapons testing after more than thirty years is being criticized as dangerous. Defending his decision to resume nuclear testing, Trump said the move is needed to verify the reliability of U.S. weapons, citing Russia’s recent tests of advanced nuclear systems.
No independent verification of recent Pakistani nuclear-explosion tests has surfaced, and Pakistan has not publicly acknowledged such activity.
Trump claims that U.S. has more nuclear weapons than any other country. “Enough nuclear weapons to blow up the world 150 times” he said.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has clarified the testing as ‘non-critical testing and not full nuclear explosions. It was the first clarification from the Trump administration since the president declared on social media last week that he had ordered the Department of War to resume nuclear testing “on an equal basis.”
Commenting on China, he said: “they’re makin’ ’em (nuclear arsenals) rapidly, and I think we should do something about de-nuclearisation”. Acknowledging China’s dominance over rare earth minerals, he said: “we have to fight back.” He acknowledged that he has discussed de-nuclearization with both China and Russia.
Donald Trump and Xi Jinping met on 30 October during the 32nd APEC Economic Ministers’ Meeting in South Korea, marking their first in-person meeting in over six years.
Trump’s comment puts Pakistan in an uncertain strategic position and raises apprehensions in India about Islamabad’s undisclosed nuclear activities.
