President Donald Trump has expressed his opinion that America must continue to remain on top of the list of countries that possess a nuclear arsenal. He also added that he was not in favor of any deal with Russia on restricting the deployment of nuclear warheads. It would be an ideal scenario if not a single country has nukes but, if that does not happen, then America must lead the pack and show to the world that it is determined to stay on top.
Trump is critical of the New START
While interacting with Reuters from his Oval office, the President expressed concern that the US is lagging behind in this important aspect of holding a nuclear arsenal.
He pointed out that the deployment of a cruise missile by Russia was nothing short of a violation of an arms control treaty and he wants to discuss it with his Russian counterpart. He did not elaborate when that would happen.
Donald Trump was also critical of the new strategic arms limitation treaty, or New START, between the two super powers. He has labeled it as a one-sided deal and compared it with the Iran deal.
The New START treaty indicates a specific date of 5 February 2018 by which time US and Russia must put a limit on the number of strategic nuclear weapons they hold. It must be to equal levels and has to be maintained like that for 10 years.
China and North Korea are also in his sights
Donald Trump appreciated the efforts that China has taken to put a leash on North Korea by stopping import of coal from that country and added that Beijing must increase pressure on Pyongyang from other fronts. He felt that China had the know how to rein in North Korea and solve the national security challenge that is posed by it because of its nuclear arsenal.
The ballistic missile tests conducted by North Korea was a matter of worry for President Trump and he let it be known that US could counteract any threat from that quarter because he had the option of accelerating a missile defense system for Japan and South Korea since both of them are allies of the US.
