BY: Bill Gertz
A former commander of Russia’s nuclear forces warned the Obama administration this week that China’s short-range nuclear missiles are undermining the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between the United States and Russia.
Retired Col. Gen. Viktor Yesin, a former commander of Russia’s Strategic Rocket Forces, also said in an interview with the Washington Free Beacon that U.S. and Western arms specialists have dramatically underestimated China’s nuclear arsenal. Beijing’s warhead arsenal, he said, likely is between 1,600 to 1,800 nuclear warheads and bombs.
Yesin met with Pentagon, military, State Department officials, and members of Congress and congressional staff Wednesday and Thursday.
The visit culminated with consultations Thursday with Rose Gottemoeller, acting undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, to discuss the national security risks posed by China’s growing nuclear arsenal.
“It’s not a secret that we talked about China’s nuclear potential and the increase of the Chinese nuclear arsenal,” Yesin said, speaking through an interpreter.
