{"id":29407,"date":"2022-03-08T20:41:17","date_gmt":"2022-03-08T20:41:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/03\/08\/us-nuclear-forces-chief-very-concerned-by-russia-china-cooperation\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:17:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:17:14","slug":"us-nuclear-forces-chief-very-concerned-by-russia-china-cooperation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2022\/03\/08\/us-nuclear-forces-chief-very-concerned-by-russia-china-cooperation\/","title":{"rendered":"US nuclear forces chief \u2018very concerned\u2019 by Russia-China cooperation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 In the wake of Russia and China\u2019s strengthened ties, the U.S. admiral who oversees America\u2019s nuclear forces said Tuesday he is \u201cvery concerned\u201d about potential \u201ccooperative aggression\u201d from the two nations<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As China refuses to condemn Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine<\/a>, and a day after China\u2019s foreign minister called Russia his country\u2019s \u201cmost important strategic partner,\u201d U.S. Strategic Command\u2019s chief, Adm. Chas Richard<\/a>, said his organization must have plans ready for scenarios in which the two collaborate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m very concerned about what opportunistic aggression looks like. I\u2019m worried about what cooperative aggression looks like,\u201d Richard told the Senate Armed Services Committee, adding that his command\u2019s job includes deterring them both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alluding to Russia and China\u2019s growing arsenals and to Russia\u2019s recent nuclear saber rattling, Richard said the U.S. must further reexamine the \u201ccapability, capacity and posture\u201d of America\u2019s strategic forces. He suggested all of these would have to be reassessed continuously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe do not know the endpoints of where either of those other two are going either in capability or capacity. We\u2019re just now starting to work out what three-party stability looks like, what three-party deterrence dynamic works out,\u201d Richard said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn top of that, we are learning a number of lessons in real time on how actual crisis deterrence works. It is different from the steady-state deterrence that most of us have experienced.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard in September formally declared that China has achieved strategic breakout, which means a major expansion of its military capabilities that requires the U.S. military to react. In testimony, he said Beijing intends to have at least 1,000 warheads by 2030, exceeding previous Pentagon estimates \u2015 and that its goals are unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know that we have any idea of what the endpoint and\/or speed,\u201d he said \u201cWhen I first testified here, we were questioning whether or not China would be able to double that stockpile by the end of the decade. They\u2019re actually very close to doing it on my watch, and I think we need to factor that into our calculations as we think through what we need to defend ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t