Joint Statement of US-Japan Summit Likely to Include Call for China's Nuclear Disarmament

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] According to a report by Yomiuri Shimbun on the 20th, the US and Japanese governments are coordinating to include a call for China to enhance transparency of its nuclear arsenal and promote nuclear disarmament in the joint statement to be announced after the US-Japan summit held in Tokyo on the 23rd, coinciding with US President Joe Biden's visit to Japan.

China has not disclosed the number of nuclear warheads it possesses. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) estimates that China holds approximately 350 nuclear warheads, making it the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world after the United States and Russia. There are also projections that China will have at least 1,000 warheads by 2030. While there are frameworks such as the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between the US and Russia to restrain nuclear force expansion, the US and China have never entered into a similar agreement.

A senior official from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out that "China's nuclear development is being left unchecked," according to Yomiuri. The US and Japanese governments share the recognition that involving China is essential for global progress in nuclear disarmament. If the joint statement of the upcoming US-Japan summit ultimately specifies China's nuclear disarmament, it would be an extremely unprecedented move.

Furthermore, Yomiuri added that the US-Japan joint statement will also include content about the two countries cooperating to realize a "world without nuclear weapons."