A general view of HMS Vigilant, which carries the U.K.’s Trident nuclear deterrent, in Faslane, Scotland, April 29, 2019.
The Guardian and The Sun, taken from a copy of the Comprehensive Review of Defense and Foreign Policy, reveal that Prime Minister Johnson is expected to announce a more than 40 percent increase in the maximum number of nuclear warheads. The move is the end of the nuclear arms reduction campaign that has been gradually promoted since the collapse of the Soviet Union 30 years ago.
The Central News Agency reported that the 100-page review of Britain’s post-Brexit strategic approach to national security is scheduled to be released on the 16th, according to the websites of The Guardian and The Sun.
The content is from a copy of the Integrated Review of Defense and Foreign Policy. The report was developed after the 2019 election and is intended to help the prime minister define a vision for a “Global Britain” and shape the future strategic direction of the post-Brexit period through 2030.
According to a copy seen by the Guardian, the UK’s nuclear warhead limit will increase from 180 to 260 over the next five years, paving the way for a controversial £10 billion rearmament program to deal with the perceived threat from Russia and the Chinese Communist Party. The UK and Moscow have been at odds with Beijing over a number of issues in recent years, ranging from foreign espionage, cyber attacks and even human rights issues.
The report also warns that a successful nuclear, chemical or biological attack by terrorist groups is “a real possibility” by 2030.
The report allegedly clearly positions Russia under Vladimir Putin as an “active threat” and the Chinese Communist Party as a more subtle “fundamental challenge,” but the positioning of the Chinese Communist Party is not likely to be accepted by Conservative backbenchers and hawkish officials. But the positioning of the CCP is not likely to be accepted by Conservative backbenchers and hawkish officials.
The Trident nuclear programme is a thorny political issue in the UK, and there are continuing calls for its abandonment in light of the global trend toward disarmament since the end of the Cold War.
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) has warned that Britain is risking a new nuclear arms race, and CND Secretary General Kate Hudson said, “At a Time when the government is strapped for cash, we don’t need a flashy, costly addition to our weapons of mass destruction. weapons of mass destruction.”
The Guardian notes that Britain’s nuclear warhead count is far lower than Russia’s 4,300, the U.S.’s 3,800 and even China’s 320. Each warhead in Britain’s possession is estimated to be around 100,000 tons of explosive yield. The atomic bombs dropped by the U.S. military on Hiroshima before the end of World War II were about 15,000 tons of explosive yield.
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