Report: Biden approved China-focused nuclear strategic plan
According to the New York Times, the roadmap highlights the United States' wariness of the growing threat of Russia, North Korea and in particular China.
US President Joe Biden gave the green light for a top-secret strategic nuclear plan in March of this year that, for the first time, reshapes Washington's strategy to focus on China's expansion of its nuclear arsenal, The New York Times (NYT) reported on Tuesday.
The plan also reportedly seeks to prepare the US for possible coordinated nuclear challenges from China, Russia and North Korea.
The NYT said Washington had never announced that Biden had approved the new proposal, entitled the "Nuclear Employment Guidance," but an unclassified notification to Congress of the revision is expected to be sent before Biden departs the White House in January 2025.
How did officials respond?
The US-based Arms Control Association, however, said it understood Washington's nuclear weapons strategy and posture remained the same as described in the Biden administration's 2022 Nuclear Posture Review, and there had been no reorientation away from Russia and toward China.
Asked about what the US daily had reported, White House spokesperson Sean Savett said: "This administration, like the four administrations before it, issued a Nuclear Posture Review and Nuclear Weapons Employment Planning Guidance."
"While the specific text of the Guidance is classified, its existence is in no way secret. The Guidance issued earlier this year is not a response to any single entity, country, nor threat."
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