WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is pulling the plug on a decades-old nuclear arms treaty with Russia, lifting what it sees as unreasonable constraints on competing with a resurgent Russia and a more assertive China. ADVERTISEMENTDemocrats in Congress and some arms control advocates criticized Trump’s decision as opening the door to an arms race. “We cannot be the only country in the world unilaterally bound by this treaty, or any other,” Trump said. The Trump decision reflects his administration’s view that the arms treaty was an unacceptable obstacle to more forcefully confronting not only Russia but also China. Leaving the treaty would allow the Trump administration to counter the Chinese, but it’s unclear how it would do that.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer February 02, 2019 03:11 UTC