U.S. president Donald Trump continues to bluster about withdrawing his country from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty for no reason other than to galvanize his Republican base ahead of the crucial midterm elections his Republican Party is expected to lose.
Trump has upped the ante this time by demanding a new INF treaty be negotiated to include China. Trump earlier tagged China as the main reason for his decision to junk the INF treaty originally signed with the defunct Soviet Union.
When he announced his intention to ditch the INF treaty over the weekend, Trump covered-up his real intention by claiming the treaty puts the U.S. at a disadvantage because China isn't covered by a similar accord.
China faces no legal restraints that prevent it from developing intermediate-range nuclear missiles such as the DF-21 ballistic missile with a range of 1,500 km. On the other hand, the treaty does not allow the U.S. to develop new weapons of this class it can deploy in Asia against China.
Trump specifically pointed to China when explaining his reasoning for pulling out of the treaty. He said if Russia's doing it and if China's doing it and the U.S. is adhering to the agreement, that's unacceptable. He also blamed Russia.
The former commander of the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM), Admiral Harry Harris, last year told the Senate Armed Services Committee that some 95 percent of China's missile force violates the INF Treaty if China was a party to the treaty.
Trump yesterday said his renewed threat to junk the INF is a threat to whoever you want, including China and Russia. Trump again demanded China be included in a new treaty.
Trump said the United States will develop nuclear intermediate-range missiles unless China and Russia halt their development of these weapons.
In signaling his intent to abandon the INF treaty, Trump is discounting the grave peril his decision will have on Europe. The INF treaty required the U.s. and the defunct Soviet Union to cease the development and deployment of all nuclear ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with a range of 500 km to 5,500 km. The Soviet Union dutifully scrapped hundreds of SS-20 Saber intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) armed with nuclear warheads. Most of these SS-20s targeted Europe.
In response to Trump's threat to do away with the treaty, the European Union called the INF treaty is a pillar of European security architecture that resulted in the destruction of almost 3,000 nuclear and conventional warheads in the 1980s and continued to play an important non-proliferation role.
The European Union urged the U.S. and Russia to remain engaged in constructive dialogue to preserve the INF Treaty. It declared the world doesn't need a new arms race.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Trump to emphasize the importance of the treaty. Germany regretted Trump's decision, saying NATO will now have to discuss this problem.
