Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: It is an unhappy New Year in geopolitics: the year 2022 has begun with rank hypocrisy!
“We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,” they have just announced.
All five permanent member nations of the UN Security Council, or P-5–China, Russia, Britain, the United States, and France—have suddenly turned peaceniks! But they also know how deep their faith is in this kind of proforma peace.
The chief nuclear proliferators have agreed that they should avoid a further spread of nuclear arms and nuclear war, according to a joint statement by the five nuclear powers published by the Kremlin on Monday, the media reported.
It said the five countries consider it their “primary responsibility” to avoid war between the nuclear states and to reduce strategic risks while aiming to work with all countries to create an atmosphere of security.
“As nuclear use would have far-reaching consequences, we also affirm that nuclear weapons – for as long as they continue to exist – should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war.”
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu said the joint statement could help increase mutual trust and “replace competition among major powers with coordination and co-operation.” China has a “no first use” policy on nuclear weapons, state-controlled news agency Xinhua reported.
In a similar statement, Paris reiterated the P-5’s determination for nuclear arms control and disarmament. They would continue bilateral and multilateral approaches to nuclear arms control, it said.
The P-5’s statement came when bilateral relations between America and Russia have ebbed to their lowest point since the end of the Cold War. Similarly, the bilateral relations between Washington and Beijing have also plummeted over a range of disagreements.
In November 2021, the US increased its estimate of China’s projected nuclear weapons arsenal from 700 warheads in 2027 to around 1,000 by 2030. China has persistently ignored the US appeals to join it and Russia in a new arms control treaty.
Geopolitical tensions between Moscow and Western countries have increased over concerns about Russia’s military build-up near neighboring Ukraine. Moscow boasts it can move its arms around its own territory as it deems necessary.
Only last week, U.S. President Joe Biden told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that a potential move on Ukraine would draw sanctions and an increased American presence in Europe.
The US and Russian officials will hold security talks on January 10 to discuss concerns about their respective military activity and confront rising tensions over Ukraine, the two countries said.
“We have postponed a conference on a major nuclear treaty that would have begun on Tuesday at the United Nations until August because of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the media reported, quoting UN officials.