US President Donald Trump has doubled down on his nuclear testing order to the US military. He said, "You'll find out very soon," on timelines of the US' nuclear test, while insisting on new underground blasts. Trump's order comes close on the heels of Russia testing a nuclear-tipped, nuclear-powered underwater drone named Poseidon. It was Russia's tests that ignited the reaction from the US, with Trump's orders to end a 33-year-old moratorium, even as the Kremlin, in a bid to cool off tensions, said Russia's recent weapons tests were not nuclear.
advertisement
Trump's directive has ignited alarms over the erosion of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which mandates a global ban on all nuclear explosions for both civilian and military purposes. Amid these developments, experts have raised questions on India's voluntary moratorium on testing nuclear weapons. Since the 1998 Pokhran-II tests, India has been committed to "credible minimum deterrence" under its no-first-use policy. But in a two-front nuclear shadow of neighbours, Pakistan and China, the US' move has seemingly opened a window for India to possibly resume nuclear tests.
The potential resumption by India could give it a chance to validate its hydrogen bomb yield, on which doubts have been raised in the past, say experts.
Continue Reading on India Today
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.