Worldwide Theaters of The Absurd

We often hear of a rules-based world order. The problem seems to be that no one knows what the rules are, no one can enforce them, and certainly, the word “order” seems misplaced

By Anil Madan

Ever since the world saw the devastation that nuclear bombs could wreak in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the realization that nuclear weapons should never ever again be used sank in. The possession of nuclear weapons came to be viewed as a right reserved for the few “responsible” powers. That the five major nuclear powers made the decision that THEY were the privileged ones had a certain irony to it. With China having nuclear weapons, India was not going to stand idly by. And with India having nuclear weapons, Pakistan was not going to stand idly by. Facing existential threats of annihilation, Israel has not been standing by, albeit not officially confirming that is has nuclear weapons.

In recent years, we have seen North Korea join the nuclear club and Iran get ever so near to be a dues-paying member. And China which had hundreds of nuclear warheads in contrast to the thousands held by Russia and the US, has embarked on a program to increase its nuclear warheads arsenal.

In February 2024, the Lowry Institute reported that the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists’ 2024 Nuclear Notebook estimated that China had increased its nuclear warheads to 500 and was producing more apace to equip future delivery systems. China’s nuclear arsenal is the fastest growing on the planet. About a year ago, the US Department of Defense projected that by 2030, China would have more than 1000 operable nuclear weapons. If China continues this pace of development, by 2035, there will be 1500 or more nuclear warheads. It is not clear whether it will claim that its use of nukes is an “internal matter” as it so often does, remains to be seen.

In December 2023 and January 2024, The New York Times reported on activity at China’s Lop Nur test facility. The level of activity suggests that at a minimum, there is intense preparation for resumption of nuclear testing. Whether this means that testing is in the offing, is not clear. The Chinese Foreign Ministry dismisses concerns about its intentions, emphasized Beijing’s commitment to observing the nuclear test ban, and added that China will spare “no effort to realize the noble aspiration of comprehensively banning and totally eradicating nuclear weapons.”

The absurdity is that China sees building thousands of nuclear warheads as meeting the noble aspiration of eradicating nuclear weapons. True absurdity.

The question is whether anyone, including the Chinese believe their own words.

It has been well telegraphed that China’s position on adding to its nuclear arsenal and its refusal to discuss strategic arms limitation with Russia and the US is grounded in the fear that, starting from a smaller arsenal of nuclear warheads, it will be at a disadvantage if it too must cut its warheads. The absurd notion is that China will be left relatively weaker if it agrees to cuts. Lost in all this is any sense of the absurd and the realization that China, even with 500 warheads, has enough to kill the world several times over.Read More… Become a Subscriber

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 20 September 2024