New nuclear manufacture of the US a cause of concern, criticise analysts

Beijing: The new production of low yield nuclear weapons by the United States has added to the concerns of the Chinese. The Chinese analysts have warned that this new production of nuclear weapons by the United States is a threat to the international community and can spark a nuclear war whereas, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov criticised the report of the new production of nuclear weapons by the United States.

The announcement about the United States undertaking production of the low yield nuclear weapons was made by the National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA). The yield of these is claimed to be less than the Little Boy, used in Hiroshima bombing during the Second World War. Also, these nuclear weapons will be handed over by the NNSA to the US navy by the end of this year, informed the sources connected to the US security agencies.

The United States is believed to be producing nuclear weapons against the backdrop of tension with Russia. However, the United States has undertaken this production to retaliate against China, claimed Rajeshwari Pillai, an analyst with the ‘Nuclear and Space Policy Initiative Observer Research foundation’. Pillai also cited the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty

The United States and Russia are parties to the INF treaty that limits the number of nuclear weapons. Both these countries have limited the number of nuclear weapons in their possession. However, China, who is not a party to this treaty, is candidly producing and testing nuclear weapons. Therefore, to counter the defence preparedness of China, the United States has begun the production of the new nuclear weapons, said Pillai.

The Chinese analysts have severely criticised the nuclear preparedness of the United States. Song Zhongping, a military analyst, has accused the United States of increasing the threat of a nuclear war by producing low yield nuclear weapons. He warned that if the United States deployed these weapons, it would lead to some major misunderstanding and could spark a conflict.