The Pentagon’s updated nuclear policy calls for the United States to be able to deter Russia, China, and North Korea simultaneously during times of peace, crisis, and conflict.
According to PBS foreign affairs and defense journalist Nick Schifrin, the U.S. Department of Defense submitted a
non-classified document
to Congress on Thursday regarding the U.S. nuclear deployment guidelines.
Earlier this year, U.S. government officials indicated that President Biden had signed a top-secret nuclear strategy adjustment, shifting the focus of deterrence towards China for the first time.
In the latest released non-classified version of the nuclear deployment guidelines, the Pentagon stated, “The updates in the guidance are based on adjustments made from previous versions… guiding the United States to be able to deter Russia, China, and North Korea simultaneously during periods of peace, crisis, and conflict.”
The guidelines also mentioned, “The United States faces multiple nuclear competitors… the People’s Republic of China (PRC, Communist China) has begun ambitious expansions, modernizations, and diversifications in its nuclear capabilities, setting up a new nuclear triad.”
“The lack of transparency from China (Communist China), coupled with its increasingly assertive military posture, raises questions from the international community about its intentions, nuclear strategies, and theories,” the Department of Defense wrote.
The updated guidelines take into consideration the challenges posed by the growth, modernization, and diversification of potential adversaries’ nuclear arsenals, and notably address the notion of countering a scenario where enemies such as China, Russia, and North Korea join forces.
“They are individually daunting, but the increasing cooperation and collusion between Russia, China (Communist China), North Korea, and Iran make the situation even more challenging,” the Department of Defense highlighted.
“In a crisis or conflict, the possibility of multiple adversaries collaborating or taking opportunistic aggressive actions exists, requiring the United States to strategically consider complex escalating dynamics and deter multiple adversaries simultaneously, including scenarios of long-term crises or conflicts,” the guidelines stated.
Updating U.S. nuclear deployment guidelines is a routine task for the Department of Defense to ensure the continuous development of U.S. nuclear capabilities, plans, and postures in order to uphold the ability to deter adversaries, assure allies and partners, and achieve national objectives in case deterrence fails.
The latest guidelines are based on the 2022 “Defense Strategy and Nuclear Posture Review” and provide information directly for the president to consider nuclear weapon options in extreme circumstances, aiming to defend U.S. and allied interests.
The guidelines also instruct the U.S. to plan for deterring multiple nuclear-armed adversaries simultaneously; mandate the integration of non-nuclear capabilities to support nuclear deterrence missions when feasible; emphasize the importance of managing escalation in U.S. planning for limited nuclear attacks or high-consequence non-nuclear strategic attacks; and promote deeper consultations, coordination, and joint planning with allies and partners to strengthen America’s extended deterrence commitments.
The new guidelines present six updated directives, including:
– Requiring new planning to consider the challenges presented by the growth, modernization, and diversification of potential adversaries’ nuclear arsenals;
– Instructing the U.S. to be able to deter Russia, the People’s Republic of China (Communist China), and North Korea simultaneously during periods of peace, crisis, and conflict;
– Implementing the 2022 nuclear policy review decision to rely on non-nuclear capabilities to deter regional aggression by Iran as long as Iran does not possess nuclear weapons;
– Calling for the integration of non-nuclear capabilities into U.S. nuclear planning so that non-nuclear capabilities can support nuclear deterrence missions;
– Emphasizing the importance of managing escalation in U.S. planning for limited strategic attacks; and
– Conducting deeper consultations, coordination, and joint planning with NATO and Indo-Pacific allies and partners to enhance America’s extended deterrence commitments.