BEIJING, November 12. /TASS/. America's mixed messages about restarting nuclear testing are creating strategic uncertainty globally, while highlighting internal divisions inside the United States, Sun Qi, executive director of the Center for Russia and Central Asia Studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told TASS.

"In my view, Washington sees the resumption of nuclear testing as a signal for peer-to-peer competition with Russia and China. The US president has made a public statement about the need to resume nuclear weapons tests in order to maintain parity, but the US secretary of energy stressed later that they wouldn’t involve detonating nuclear charges but rather simple non-explosive tests. This juxtaposition of big talk and attempts by bureaucrats to put out the fire, in fact, creates a strategic uncertainty in the eyes of the rest of the world, reflecting major domestic differences in the US," the expert pointed out.

As for China’s response to the situation, Sun noted that Beijing had clearly said it would continue to adhere to the basic concept of no-first use of nuclear weapons and limited and effective nuclear deterrence, while strongly opposing any resumption of nuclear tests. "To my mind, US statements about resuming [nuclear tests] undermine its ethical authority in terms of global arms control, both morally and politically, while China will secure support from an increasing number of countries by strengthening its policy of opposing a nuclear arms race and maintaining an international ban on testing," the expert believes.

The analyst also gave his take about what Russia might do in response to the US statements on the issue, suggesting that Moscow would link its potential resumption of nuclear tests to Washington’s actions, tacitly joining the game guided by the logic of parity, and would respond in a tough manner.

"There is a need to comprehensively promote strategic communication and crisis management, and maintain contact with the main nuclear states and international organizations, urging the US to provide a clear and verifiable clarification regarding its policy in order to ensure nuclear stability and the procedure of arms control between big powers," he added.

US President Donad Trump announced in late October that he had instructed the Pentagon to immediately resume nuclear weapons testing, alleging that other countries were already doing that. However, Trump did not specify if he was talking about the detonation of nuclear warheads, in particular.