China Daily: US withdrawal from nuclear treaty will open Pandora’s box
China Daily |
Updated: 2018-10-23 11:28
It is to be hoped that the threat by the United States President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is merely to woo votes in mid-term elections, or to exact concessions from Russia, a China Daily editorial said.
The 1987 treaty banned ground-launched nuclear missiles with a range of between 500 kilometers and 5,500 kilometers, put an end to a dangerous US-Russia nuclear standoff in Europe and led to nearly 2,700 short- and medium-range missiles being eliminated. It has not only saved both signatories a costly and hazardous nuclear arms race, but offered reliable protection for the US and its allies in Europe and the Far East, China Daily said.
If Trump dismantled the treaty he would be removing a crucial cornerstone of the post-Cold War nuclear security regime and open a Pandora’s box of troubles, doing nothing except worsening strategic mistrust and breathing further life into a new Cold War.
It is to be hoped that the threat by the United States President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is merely to woo votes in mid-term elections, or to exact concessions from Russia, a China Daily editorial said.
The 1987 treaty banned ground-launched nuclear missiles with a range of between 500 kilometers and 5,500 kilometers, put an end to a dangerous US-Russia nuclear standoff in Europe and led to nearly 2,700 short- and medium-range missiles being eliminated. It has not only saved both signatories a costly and hazardous nuclear arms race, but offered reliable protection for the US and its allies in Europe and the Far East, China Daily said.
If Trump dismantled the treaty he would be removing a crucial cornerstone of the post-Cold War nuclear security regime and open a Pandora’s box of troubles, doing nothing except worsening strategic mistrust and breathing further life into a new Cold War.
