US reports say China may have conducted low-level nuclear test

NEW YORK: The US State Department has said China may have conducted a low-level underground nuclear test.

The statement is likely to further intensify the sour relations between Washington and Beijing.

The State Department report said China’s preparation to operate its Lop Nur test site year-round raises concerns about its adherence to the zero yield standard.

The report says China’s use of explosive containment chambers and excavation activities and a lack of transparency on its nuclear testing activities will further escalate the problem.

It should be added that China and the US have signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) concluded in 1996. However, neither country has ratified it.

The agreement has not, however, come into force.

Meanwhile, China has promised to adhere to CTBT terms while the US has been observing a moratorium on the nuclear testing.

The US Defense intelligence agency has also leveled accusations against Russia in May 2019, which, however, were not confirmed.

Meanwhile, the US hawks have urged the Trump administration to formally suspend from the CTBT.

Republican Senator Tom Cotton took to Twitter, saying that China is modernizing its nuclear arsenal while alleging the United States of handcuffing itself with one-sided arms-control.

According to him, Beijing has proven that it can’t work with the US honestly.

The report is likely to worsen ties strained by US charges that the Covid-19 pandemic resulted from China’s mishandling of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.

A spokeswoman for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), however, said there had been no interruptions in the data transmissions from Beijing’s five sensor stations since the month of September 2019.

Beijing, which has been estimated to have some 300 nuclear weapons, repeatedly rejected Donald Trump’s proposal claiming its nuclear force is defensive and does not pose any threat.

France, Russia, and Britain, the three of the five internationally recognized nuclear powers, have signed and ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. It, however, requires ratification by 44 countries to make it an international law. (With inputs from Agencies)