Why in the News?
U.S. President Donald Trump has indicated a willingness to extend the New START Treaty with Russia by one year, until February 2027, as the treaty is due to expire next February.
About the New START Treaty:
- About: New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START); Bilateral nuclear arms control pact between the United States and Russia.
- Signed: April 8, 2010, in Prague by U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev; Came into Force: February 5, 2011.
- Initial Duration: 10 years, set to be expired in February 2021; extended by 5 years to February 2026.
- Proposed Further Extension: To February 2027, as hinted by U.S. President Donald Trump.
- Objective: Limit and verify the number of deployed strategic nuclear weapons to ensure predictability and strategic stability between the two nuclear superpowers.
- Ceilings:
- 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads.
- 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and heavy bombers.
- 800 deployed and non-deployed launchers and bombers combined.
- Verification Regime:
- Regular on-site inspections.
- Biannual data exchanges.
- Notifications of movement or deployment of nuclear assets.
- Telemetry sharing for missile tests.
- Administering Authority: U.S. Department of State and Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs under a joint commission.
- Scope: Applies only to strategic (long-range) nuclear forces, not tactical nuclear weapons.
- Historical Context:
- Successor to START I (1991) and START II (1993).
- Last remaining arms control treaty after the collapse of the INF Treaty (2019) and U.S. withdrawal from the ABM Treaty (2001).
- Significance: Serves as the final legal constraint on the two largest nuclear arsenals, reducing risk of an unconstrained arms race.
Implications of Extending the New START
- Maintains Strategic Stability: Retains verifiable limits on the world’s two largest nuclear stockpiles, reducing risk of escalation or miscalculation.
- Prevents Arms Race: Avoids a strategic vacuum that could lead to rapid weapon modernization and expansion by both nations.
- Diplomatic Leverage: Provides a diplomatic window for future multilateral disarmament talks, possibly involving China and other nuclear powers.
- Global Signalling: Reinforces commitment to nuclear restraint and non-proliferation under the spirit of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
- Risks of Non-Extension:
- Collapse of all bilateral arms control between the U.S. and Russia.
- Accelerated nuclear modernization programs.
- Weakened global disarmament norms and potential CTBT irrelevance.
| [UPSC 2011] Recently, the USA decided to support India’s membership in multilateral export control regimes called the “Australia Group” and the “Wassenaar Arrangement”. What is the difference between them?
1. The Australia Group is an informal arrangement which aims to allow exporting countries to minimize the risk of assisting chemical and biological weapons proliferation, whereas the Wassenaar Arrangement is a formal group under the OECD holding identical objectives. 2. The Australia Group comprises predominantly of Asian, African, and North American countries, whereas the member countries of Wassenaar Arrangement are predominantly from the European Union and American continents. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (a) 1 only (b) 2 only (c) Both 1 and 2 (d) Neither 1 nor 2 * |
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