WASHINGTON (AN) — In a dramatic and destabilizing policy shift, U.S. President Donald Trump, moments before meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping, bypassed the Pentagon to order the "Department of War" to resume nuclear weapons testing.
The directive, which used the stronger language of an "instruction" rather than a mere threat, ends a 33-year-old voluntary U.S. moratorium and undermines decades of international arms control architecture.
Trump announced the order on Thursday on his social media site, Truth Social. "Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis," he wrote. The provocative announcement was released just minutes before his scheduled meeting with Xi in Busan, South Korea.
While Trump's use of "on an equal basis" could refer to showing off the power of American missiles or undersea nuclear assets, the order for testing marks a profound policy break. The order also comes roughly 100 days before the expiration of New START, the last major nuclear arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia.
The White House framed the decision as a necessary response to the testing programs of strategic rivals. His order follows Moscow's recent, successful tests of new nuclear-capable delivery systems, including the nuclear-powered Burevestnik cruise missile and the Poseidon torpedo.
Russia formally rescinded its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, or CTBT, in Nov. 2023, underscoring its shift toward nuclear flexibility. The CTBT, which has not yet entered into force, would ban all nuclear test explosions for military or civilian purposes. The Kremlin said the U.S. failure to ratify the treaty created an unacceptable "imbalance" between the two countries.
Despite the CTBT's uncertain status, the CTBTO, or Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, has been working to build a global monitoring system to ensure that no nuclear explosions can be carried out undetected.
It operates an extensive International Monitoring System of seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound, and radionuclide stations to detect nuclear tests worldwide. CTBTO's work also has helped to establish a strong international norm against nuclear testing.
Trump pointed to a combined threat posed by China and Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that "if someone abandons the moratorium, Russia will act accordingly."
Previously, Peskov has said that China's expanding nuclear arsenal "does not cause us concern," while Russia's President Vladimir Putin dismissed the idea of the U.S. fighting both nations as "nonsense."
Trump also highlighted the growth in China's nuclear arsenal, which analysts confirm is undergoing a large and rapid modernization campaign. Beijing has more than doubled its stockpile in the past five years, though it has not conducted a nuclear weapon test since 1996.
China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the U.K., and the U.S. possess nuclear weapons. At least eight have detonated a combined 2,000 nuclear tests at dozens of test sites since the first nuclear test explosion on July 16, 1945, according to the Arms Control Association.
Resumption in U.S. testing could trigger other nations
The new U.S. directive from Trump is the culmination of increased strategic focus on nuclear readiness. In Oct. 2023, the U.S. Defense Department unexpectedly announced plans to develop the B61-13, a new nuclear gravity bomb variant with a maximum yield of 360 kilotons, significantly higher than previous models.
That same month, a U.S. congressional commission recommended the U.S. plan to increase the size of its nuclear arsenal to counter a combined threat from Russia and China. New construction was also reported at the U.S. Nevada nuclear test site in Sept. 2023, suggesting pre-existing preparations for a potential resumption of testing.
The U.S. previously relied solely on computer simulations and subcritical tests to maintain its arsenal since its last full detonation in 1992.
Trump's announcement drew immediate and critical international reaction. Arms control experts universally condemned the move, warning it could blow apart the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, a landmark agreement to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, promote peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and further nuclear disarmament.
Experts warned the action risks triggering a chain reaction of nuclear testing by U.S. adversaries, re-igniting an unrestricted arms race and the "sanctions paradox," inadvertently driving countries toward nuclear weapons development at increasing speeds.
The timing follows a high-level diplomatic push in late September at the 14th CTBT Article XIV Conference at U.N. headquarters in New York, where officials from around the world stressed that voluntary measures "cannot replace the certainty of a permanent and legally binding ban."
The European Union, whose member nations uphold a global norm against nuclear explosions, was expected to issue a formal condemnation. U.S. Democratic Rep. Dina Titus of Nevada's 1st congressional district, which includes the Nevada Test Site, immediately announced plans to introduce legislation to block the resumption of testing.
While Trump instructed the process to begin "immediately," analysts cautioned that the preparation of a testing facility could take at least 36 months, making the timeline for an actual explosion uncertain.
Despite Trump's nuclear testing instructions, the summit between Trump and Xi focused on easing the months-long trade war. Emerging from the talks, which Trump described as "amazing," the leaders announced a limited, one-year truce centered on key economic issues.
The U.S. agreed to reduce specific tariffs on Chinese imports, lowering the rate on fentanyl-related precursor chemicals from 20% to 10%. In exchange, Trump claimed China would work "very hard" to curb the flow of fentanyl into the U.S., resume purchases of American farm products such as soybeans, and suspend its recent export controls on rare earth minerals essential for high-tech U.S. manufacturing.
Neither leader publicly addressed nuclear testing in their joint remarks or after the summit, despite the U.S. signaling the most profound reversal of its nuclear policy in three decades to counter Beijing and Moscow.
Trump avoided a reporter's question on the issue. China's foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun issued a standard call for the U.S. to "earnestly abide by its obligations under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty."
Guo also reiterated China's position that it has "faithfully honored its moratorium on nuclear testing" and hoped the U.S. would take "concrete actions to safeguard the global nuclear disarmament."
