In the perverted logic of nuclear war, everything is interconnected
Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks at a meeting commemorating the 110th anniversary of Xinhai Revolution at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on October 9 2021. Picture: REUTERS/CARLOS GARCIA RAWLINS
If you don’t immediately find that innovation scary, take it from Mark Milley, who as chair of the joint chiefs of staff is the US’s top brass. Speaking to Bloomberg this week, he called the demonstration of Chinese missile prowess “very close” to a Sputnik moment.
The US is also adding interceptor systems based on ships in the Pacific, as a successful test proved in 2020. These could stop missiles lobbed from Asia to North America over Hawaii, for instance. In reality, China probably appears so aggressive only because it feels incredibly insecure. The greatest fear in Beijing is that in an escalating conflict — over Taiwan or whatever else — the US might be tempted one day to launch pre-emptive nuclear strikes to take out all or most of China’s arsenal. The Americans would only contemplate such a drastic step, of course, if they thought that their own defences could parry any remaining missiles coming from China in retaliation.
This is also the infernal subtext when the US and Russia, still the two largest nuclear powers by far, talk about “modernising” their arsenals. This means not only more delivery methods, hypersonic and what not, but also new types of nukes, including “tactical” ones.
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