The United States is drawing up a new nuclear weapons strategy designed to prepare for the nightmare scenario of simultaneous confrontation with Russia and China, according to reports.
Senior Pentagon official Elbridge Colby is said to be overseeing a major review that would reshape how America could respond if a conventional conflict threatened to spiral into a nuclear war.
The proposed strategy, first reported by NBC News, is understood to place greater emphasis on the possible use of shorter-range tactical nuclear weapons during regional conflicts – a significant shift from decades of US nuclear planning.
Five people familiar with the discussions told the broadcaster that the updated doctrine would give the US President a revised set of nuclear response options during a crisis, with the aim of deterring adversaries while preventing a wider nuclear exchange.
Mr Colby, the Pentagon’s policy chief, is expected to discuss his strategic thinking during a visit to US Strategic Command in Nebraska on Wednesday. The command oversees America’s nuclear triad of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, strategic bombers and ballistic missile submarines – the backbone of the nation’s nuclear deterrent.
The reported overhaul comes as Washington increasingly warns that it faces an unprecedented security challenge from two nuclear-armed rivals at once.
Russia continues its war against Ukraine while maintaining the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, and China is rapidly expanding its own stockpile alongside a sweeping military modernisation programme.
Last month, the US Department of Defense expanded its list of foreign institutions considered to be linked to activities that could threaten American national security. Three of China’s leading research universities were added, taking the total number of listed organisations across China, Russia and Iran to around 130.
The move reflects growing concern in Washington over the increasingly close strategic relationship between Moscow and Beijing.
According to The Economist, European intelligence officials believe China has supplied Russia with civilian components – including engines and electronic systems – that have ultimately been incorporated into drones and other military equipment used in Ukraine.
In return, Western officials reportedly believe Russia has shared valuable battlefield experience, intelligence and advanced military technology with Beijing.
That cooperation is said to include assistance with improving China’s air and missile defence capabilities, as well as technology that could help make future Chinese nuclear-powered submarines quieter and harder to detect.
While neither Washington nor Beijing has publicly confirmed the reported intelligence assessments, the deepening military relationship between the two powers is likely to reinforce concerns inside the Pentagon that any future conflict could involve multiple fronts – and raise the stakes for global security to levels not seen since the Cold War.
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