China is developing their intermediate range ballistic missile capabilities at an impressive rate. While their total inventory of nuclear warheads is still relatively modest, they will likely substantially increase that during the next decade.
China could well be a factor in the United States decision.
Trump said he will remove the US from the INF agreement which is one of the key agreement that helped end the cold war between Russia and America.
Donald Trump has confirmed the US will leave an arms control treaty with Russia dating from the cold war that has kept nuclear missiles out of Europe for three decades.
“We’ll have to develop those weapons,” the president told reporters in Nevada after a rally. “We’re going to terminate the agreement and we’re going to pull out.”
Trump was referring to the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty (INF), which banned ground-launch nuclear missiles with ranges from 500km to 5,500km. Signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, it led to nearly 2,700 short- and medium-range missiles being eliminated, and an end to a dangerous standoff between US Pershing and cruise missiles and Soviet SS-20 missiles in Europe.
It seems prudent to talk with the weapons experts before making decisions that could involve weapons. One could review recent history to see what earlier presidents would do. But Trump knows that Obama would have asked Putin if we could just apologize … again.