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How seriously can we take this pledge? It seems like nuking someone first is already an all-out move and pledges will be ignored.
by travisjungroth 6y ago
How seriously can we take this pledge? It seems like nuking someone first is already an all-out move and pledges will be ignored.
- TeMPOraL 6y agoAbout as seriously as anything in geopolitics - i.e. not at all, unless enforced by a credible threat from other countries. But it's a nice, zero-cost gesture.
- sanxiyn 6y agoIt's a nice, zero-cost gesture US is unwilling to make.
- dirtyid 6y agoThey have (estimated) 1/10 the nuclear stockpile and limited delivery vehicles, it's mostly credible as second strike. That said, the launch hardware and command structure is mixed with the conventional rocket force so any conventional attack on Chinese rocketry is indistinguishable from first strike since no one can be certain whether attack is on conventional or nuclear assets. This ambiguity is by design. Doubt is when China moves towards nuclear parity.