Allegations of a Chinese nuclear blast may reignite weapons testing: As new global arms race looms, accusation highlights limits to monitoring low-yield tests.

The article focuses on U.S. accusations that China conducted a clandestine low-yield nuclear test near its Lop Nur site in June 2020, highlighting challenges in monitoring such tests under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) framework. While U.S. officials cite seismic data from Kazakhstan as evidence, experts note that the International Monitoring System (IMS) cannot definitively distinguish low-yield nuclear explosions from natural earthquakes or chemical blasts at such low yields. The piece also discusses the broader context of a potential new global arms race, with China expanding its nuclear arsenal, the lapse of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), and calls for China’s inclusion in future arms control agreements. [Extracted from the article]