Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
In a rare piece of welcome news in the ongoing saga between the Russo-Chinese partnership and the West, the United States, France, and United Kingdom joined the People’s Republic of China and Russia in a joint statement assuring one another, and ostensibly the world, that they’d never engage in nuclear war.
“We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,” a joint statement from the nations reads. “As nuclear use would have far-reaching consequences, we also affirm that nuclear weapons—for as long as they continue to exist—should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war. We believe strongly that the further spread of such weapons must be prevented.”
The countries also reaffirmed their commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which was created in 1968 as a means of slowing the development of nuclear weaponry, and pledged to “maintain and further strengthen our national measures to prevent unauthorized or unintended use of nuclear weapons.”
A further encouraging sign was that the nations also affirmed a goal to “pursue constructive dialogue with mutual respect and acknowledgment of each other’s security interests and concerns.”
While the Western nations printed the joint statement without immediate comment, China seized upon the opportunity to trumpet its own influence.
“China has been advocating the principle that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a press conference. “It effectively steered the five States toward joint actions. During the consultations of the Joint Statement, China made the case for including in the Joint Statement such key content as reaffirming that none of the nuclear weapons are targeted at each other or at any other State, thus playing an important role in reaching a positive and substantial statement among the five States.”
The release comes at a critical moment in international relations. Tensions have mounted as the U.S. and its allies have clashed with Russian and China over the former’s actions near its border with Ukraine and the latter’s dealings with Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as China’s human rights record and expanding influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
While the joint statement does not prevent or preclude the outbreak of conventional war, it is a sign the nations are able to engage in diplomacy.