A top US general warned Wednesday that there was a "real possibility" the United States could end up in a nuclear conflict with China or Russia.
Adm. Charles Richard, the head of US Strategic Command (STRATCOM) issued this stark assessment in an article published in the February edition of the US Naval Institute. According to a report on Fox News, Richard further called on military and federal leaders to reimagine the United States' methods of deterring aggressive action from its rivals.
Richard, whose command is responsible, among other things, for the US's strategic and nuclear deterrence, wrote that while the prospect of nuclear war was currently "low," it is not "impossible, particularly in a crisis," he maintained.
The admiral warned that China and Russia have "begun to aggressively challenge international norms" in "ways not seen since the height of the Cold War." Richard cited a rise in cyberattacks and "threats in space," as well as their investment in advanced arms such as nuclear weapons.
He added that the acceleration of Russia and China's strategic capabilities and witnessing the progress they have been able to make were "sobering."
"China continues to make technological leaps in capabilities in every domain," Richard wrote. "Across its conventional weapons systems, it continues to invest significant resources in hypersonic and advanced missile systems, as well as to expand its space and counter-space capabilities."
The admiral further explained that although China has maintained a No First Use policy with regard to nuclear weapons since the 1960s, it has, however, pursued a buildup of advanced capabilities.
"There is a real possibility that a regional crisis with Russia or China could escalate quickly to a conflict involving nuclear weapons, if they perceived a conventional loss would threaten the regime or state," he continued.
"Consequently, the US military must shift its principal assumption from 'nuclear employment is not possible' to 'nuclear employment is a very real possibility,' and act to meet and deter that reality. We cannot approach nuclear deterrence the same way. It must be tailored and evolved for the dynamic environment we face."
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that the White House and the Kremlin have extended the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) for five years.
US President Joe Biden "pledged to keep the American people safe from nuclear threats by restoring US leadership on arms control and nonproliferation," he said in a statement.
"Today, the United States took the first step toward making good on that pledge when it extended the New START Treaty with the Russian Federation for five years," he added.
The New START was signed in April 2010, shortly after the expiration of START I treaty between the US and the USSR.
The accord places a cap of 1,550 on the maximum number of strategic nuclear warheads either of the sides can have deployed.
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After the administration of former President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the New START is the last remaining arms reduction pact between the former Cold War rivals.
"We will also pursue arms control to reduce the dangers from China's modern and growing nuclear arsenal," Blinked said in Wednesday's statement.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
