Global Arms Race Looms: Trump's Nuclear Test Threat Sparks Concerns of a New Era of Nuclear Testing

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The world is bracing for a potential new era of nuclear testing as US President Donald Trump's recent statements have sparked a response from Russia and concerns about a new arms race. Trump's assertion that the US will resume nuclear testing on an equal basis with other countries has heightened fears of a nuclear arms competition. The US and Russia, both nuclear powers, have been threatening to resume nuclear testing. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1996, bans all nuclear tests. However, the treaty has yet to enter into force as it requires 44 specific states, including the US, to ratify it. The US last conducted a nuclear test in 1992, while India, Pakistan, and North Korea have conducted a total of 10 nuclear tests since 1996. The majority of nuclear tests have occurred before 1996, mostly by the US and the Soviet Union. Analysts believe that a resumption of US nuclear testing could lead to a new arms race and potentially benefit countries like India and China, which have not signed the CTBT. Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said that a resumption of US nuclear testing would open the door for other states to conduct full-scale tests. While the US Energy Secretary has clarified that the new tests would not include nuclear explosions, experts believe that subcritical nuclear experiments and hydronuclear tests with extremely small yields could still be conducted without violating the treaty. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation, headquartered in Vienna, detects nuclear tests worldwide and operates 307 monitoring stations. The global nuclear arsenal has decreased from a high of 65,000 bombs in the late 1970s to less than 12,500 today. However, concerns remain about the potential for nuclear proliferation, with nine states possessing nuclear weapons, including the US, Russia, UK, France, China, Israel, Pakistan, India, and North Korea. As the world waits to see if the US will indeed resume nuclear testing, experts are warning about the potential consequences of a new arms race and the need for countries to work towards disarmament and non-proliferation.