BEIJING, August 7. /TASS/. The new strategy that the United States is drafting with an emphasis on the potential use of shorter-range tactical nuclear weapons in a conflict with China or Russia increases the risk of a devastating global conflict, Chinese military expert Zhang Junshe said.
"Such a nuclear strategy may sound appealing, but implementing it would be a path toward self-destruction," the Global Times newspaper quoted the Chinese expert as saying.
"This reckless approach, driven by strategic ambitions and military-industrial interests, will not strengthen US deterrence credibility but will only increase the risk of global nuclear conflict and threaten world peace and security," Zhang stressed.
Technically, the United States has the capability to develop tactical nuclear weapons for air, land and sea platforms and could even outfit land-based hypersonic cruise missiles with nuclear warheads, the expert said, adding that different US military branches would likely compete for funding, thus driving the parallel development of several tactical nuclear weapons programs.
The US shift towards making nuclear weapons battlefield ready is extremely dangerous, he emphasized.
