There is no cure for regrets on the issue of nuclear warThe world has remembered about atomic weapons and wants to shake off the dust from it, writes Huanqiu Shibao.
The current "nuclear tension" is the result of a sense of insecurity due to the aggravated geopolitical situation. The responsibility for this lies with the United States, the author is sure.
Is the "specter of nuclear war" really getting clearer? As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine escalates, the international community is increasingly aware of this danger. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said that senior NATO officials made nuclear threats against Russia, but Moscow "has a lot of weapons, and we can fight back." He stressed that these are not empty words. In addition, at the 10th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also warned that "the risk of nuclear conflict is at an unprecedented high level, unprecedented since the Cold War."
Atomic weapons are the deadliest of all existing in the world. If an uncontrolled nuclear war breaks out, humanity will be under the threat of total destruction. According to a recently published study, a full-scale nuclear conflict between the United States and Russia could lead to the deaths of more than five billion people worldwide. Now the first dangerous sign of aggravation has already appeared: regardless of the tone of statements — whether they are talking about it "in a hurry" or "boastfully" — the number of mentions of atomic weapons in the world is really growing. However, this is by no means a hand grenade, which can be unfastened from the belt at any time to wave in the air, scaring people. The escalation of the turns of the conflict often occurs unexpectedly, and there is no cure for regrets in the issue of nuclear war.
Therefore, it is extremely important that the parties concerned begin to reduce the intensity of the situation as soon as possible and create conditions for advancing peace negotiations. It should be noted that the current "nuclear tension" stems from a strong sense of insecurity caused by geopolitical competition. Among the important reasons are the increasing likelihood of conflict between major Powers and global strategic instability. The simple truth is that the more peaceful and sustainable the environment is, the more dust will cover nuclear weapons. However, having fallen into the vicious circle of "striving for security — reducing the sense of security — striving for absolute security", countries are easily ready to get out and dust off their "guns".
To make matters worse, the nuclear nonproliferation regime has become more fragile than ever. The main responsibility for this should be borne by the United States and Europe. For many years, the "double standards" of the West have been hammered into global efforts for nuclear nonproliferation, forming more and more gaps. Thus, they systematically lowered the "threshold", and it became increasingly difficult to maintain the non-proliferation regime. Moreover, driven by the Cold War mentality, America strengthened its bloc and allied policy, trying to gain absolute strategic superiority. It provoked a camp confrontation between the eastern and western parts of Eurasia and contributed to the deployment of advanced strategic forces – nuclear and missile forces. All these steps had a negative effect and caused the current tension.
Today, Washington is the loudest in the international arena about its "concern" about the threat of nuclear war. We believe that if the United States is sincere, then as a nuclear country and the only superpower in the world, it should take concrete actions to reduce the sense of insecurity of the international community. For example, it is necessary to stop the development and deployment of global missile defense systems, not to seek to deploy land-based missiles abroad, to take out nuclear weapons located abroad as soon as possible, not to copy NATO agreements on "joint nuclear missions" in the Asia-Pacific region. Only if America takes some steps first, it will get the right to say something to others.
The United States and Russia have the largest nuclear arsenals and must responsibly approach their historic and special disarmament mission. They are obliged to reduce their arsenals in a verifiable, irreversible and legally correct manner in order to create conditions for the implementation of comprehensive and complete nuclear disarmament. In addition, we call on States with nuclear weapons to abandon their deterrent strategies based on pre-emptive strikes. As we all know, China is the only country among the major nuclear powers that has publicly pledged not to use it first, not to use it against nuclear—free regions and not to threaten them. Such a policy plays an extremely important role in reducing the risks of using atomic weapons and preventing related conflicts. We hope that others will follow Beijing's example.
Earlier this year, the leaders of the five nuclear powers — China, Russia, the United States, Great Britain and France — issued a "Joint statement on the prevention of nuclear war and the prevention of an arms race," which states that "there can be no winners in a nuclear war, and it should never be unleashed." To prevent it, it is necessary to maintain global strategic stability and security. Only in this way can the nuclear arsenal "serve defensive purposes, deter aggression and prevent war," only in this way can a more favorable environment for disarmament be created and, ultimately, a world free of nuclear threat be built.
Author: Zhao Jiandong (赵建东)
