“China is increasing its infrastructure to build a credible nuclear force, especially intercontinental missiles”

The Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, Thomas DiNannohe said during a global conference of disarmament made in Vienna China conducted a secret nuclear test on June 22, 2020.

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He added that China used the technique called “seismic decoupling” so that the test is not detected.

According to experts consulted by CNN, the decoupling occurs when a large cavern is excavated to reduce the seismic activity of a nuclear explosionwhich makes its detection more difficult, since this empty cavity acts as a “buffer” that prevents the initial shock wave from being efficiently transmitted to the surrounding rock.

According to the United States, This type of testing allows us to test miniaturized nuclear weapon designs.validate detonators or components and improve simulations without openly violating treaties.

What signs does the United States have? Washington claims to have detected underground signals that do not coincide with earthquakes or natural earthquakes, claiming that they have characteristics compatible with a controlled explosion.

Christopher YeawUndersecretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation, revealed Tuesday at an event at the Hudson Institute in Washington that on June 22, 2020, a remote seismic station in Kazakhstan measured one “explosion” of magnitude 2.75 located720 kilometers away, in the Lop Nor testing grounds in western China.

“I have reviewed additional data since then. There is very little chance that it was anything other than an explosion, an isolated explosion.”Yeaw said. He added that the data were not consistent with mining explosions.

“It is also not entirely consistent with an earthquake… It is what would be expected from an explosive nuclear test”he insisted.

However, The official could not specify the amount of energy released in the detonation due to the Chinese Government’s alleged efforts to conceal the evidence.

Yeaw assured that in addition to the surveillance satellite, analysis comes from remote sensors and technical and signals intelligence. He did not give further details so as not to reveal espionage capabilities.

For its part, the Organization of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treatywhich uses seismic sensors to detect nuclear explosions, on Tuesday cast doubt on Yeaw’s accusation.

In a statement, he stated that that day he detected “two very small seismic events, 12 seconds apart” in that area of ​​China, but said they were too small to “assess the cause of these events with certainty.”

When asked by CNN about the accusation of secret nuclear teststhe spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, said that his country “follows a policy of ‘no first use’ of nuclear weapons and a nuclear strategy focused on self-defense, and adheres to its nuclear testing moratorium”.

“We are prepared to work with all parties to jointly uphold the authority of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and safeguard the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime.”Liu added.

Will the United States resume its trials?

Christopher Yeaw recalled that President Donald Trump has expressed interest in resuming nuclear weapons testing in the United Stateswhich were stopped in 1992, because he claims that Russia and China are doing it too.

“We are not going to be left at an intolerable disadvantage,” Yeaw said.

At this point, it is worth remembering that the United States, China and Russia signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in 1996, which prohibits any nuclear explosion, although the first two countries never ratified the text and Moscow rescinded its ratification in 2023, in the middle of the war with Ukraine.

Furthermore, this month the New START, the nuclear arms reduction treaty signed by the United States and Russia.

In replacement of New START, Trump has proposed signing a new treaty that also includes China, but this country has refused to participate in agreements of this type.

China seeks to balance the US militarily in the long term

The specialist in defense and intelligence issues Andrés Gómez de la Torre warned that the United States’ accusation against China for an alleged secret nuclear test is part of a global context marked by the sustained increase in military spending and the growing strategic importance of nuclear weapons as a factor of power and deterrence.

As explained to The Commercethe world is going through a process of expanding spending on weapons—both conventional and strategic—in which China is positioning itself “to militarily balance the United States as a long-term strategic objective.”

In that area, he maintained that Nuclear weapons function today as “insurance of last resort”since its mere existence conditions the military decisions of the powers and acts as a brake against possible attacks against States with atomic capacity.

Gómez de la Torre pointed out that, although Beijing has denied having carried out tests, together with Washington and Moscow it heads the group of countries with the greatest nuclear power, which reinforces the perception of strategic competition between great powers.

In his opinion, The current expansion of military spending in the United States, Russia, China and Europe reflects an environment that makes it difficult to talk about nuclear disarmament in the short term. and fuels the risk of a new arms race.

For Gómez de la Torre, the case also represents a warning signal for Washington about the advance of Chinese military power and its global geopolitical consolidationincluding its growing presence in regions such as Latin America. He recalled that the Chinese nuclear doctrine is formally based on the principle of “no first use”but stressed that the country is strengthening its strategic infrastructure—such as intercontinental missile silos and nuclear submarine capabilities—to build a credible deterrent force.

The analyst highlighted that China would have more than 600 nuclear warheads and a solid technological and energy base linked to the nuclear field. However, he specified that Beijing’s strategy does not focus only on increasing the number of weapons, but on improving their precision, response capacity and operational reliability, factors that – he stated – strengthen both its deterrent power and its margin for diplomatic negotiation in the international system.