After the AUKUS deal joined by the US, Australia, and the UK, China says they don't trust these countries from initiating a possible nuclear strike. China has not fired off nuclear weapons as a policy, which has changed after the Biden administration's offer of nuclear submarines to the UK and Australia.
Beijing has been forced to ready itself from a nuclear attack launch from submarines built from the tripartite nation deal.
Russia has slammed the submarine deal as a move that counters non-nuclear proliferation against China. He added the US does not want to do it alone and will get cohorts from willing allies.
Submarine deal escalates the Indo-Pacific standoff
Beijing said that the Indo-Pacific would be contested more, as the US will enlist allies to stop the PLA with a wall of nuclear-armed submarines, reported the Express UK.
Among the unidentified, Chinese leaders remarked it is about time to drop the 'no-first-use' of nuclear weapons, and one could argue until the submarine deal, the mainland would not consider the use of nukes.
In a statement, Sha Zukang, ex-ambassador to the United Nations, spoke to the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association that it is about time to reassess how the appropriate use of nukes must be redefined due to the threat.
Mr. Sha added that the policy is detrimental to the country's safety and will tie the arm forces' hands. The US has the three-nation alliance in the AUKUS deal. Even if China is belligerent, it has never stated nukes might be used. Also, the Biden administration has passed its duties in the Indo-Pacific defense that might end in a possible nuclear strike.
US advocates a critical option
One aspect of the US pivot to the Indo-Pacific is its tragic withdrawal from Afghanistan. The White House allegedly shows the allies it can win in the South China Sea, East China Sea by heading a multination force.
Mr. Sha added China might be right in firing its nuclear arms in defense, not in the offense. Furthermore, it was not sufficient as a deterrent against the US, and there must be a deal not to fire nukes at each other before anything else.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is set to come into force in January, representing an encouraging and meaningful commitment towards the UN's highest disarmament priority. https://t.co/lmCysuk8NA
— United Nations (@UN) October 26, 2020
The US will inevitably see China as a competitor in everything and an enemy, and a power struggle will not be far from happening in the future.
CCP shows its belligerence in its claims, but the government has kept a strict nuclear attack in defensive instances since 1968.
Western sources mention China has the fifth most extensive nuclear arsenal of 250 to 350 warheads, joining as a bonafide superpower. But, it pales to the US arsenal. There is no way it can be matched.
The Global Times reports that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) must have no less than 1000 warheads in store, more than twice the present number. He stressed the US would think twice if there were more nukes in the PLA's possession, to stop its interference in the region. Another is that it is pushing in the Indo-Pacific. To have no aggression and peace among countries, having nukes is the next best thing to have the best deterrent, noted the Swift Headline.
The AUKUS deal in an alliance with nuclear subs is a detriment to Asia, opens up an arms race for nuclear supremacy, pushing fears of a possible nuclear strike as a preemptive outcome.
