US Vice President Vance Calls Nuclear Armed Forces Trial Important For National Security

US Vice President JD Vance. (Wikimedia Commons/Gage Skidmore)

JAKARTA - United States Vice President JD Vance said the trial of nuclear weapons was important to the country's national security, while Democratic senators tried to prevent this from happening.

Speaking after President Donald Trump said he had ordered the US military to continue testing nuclear weapons after a 33-year hiatus, Vice President Vance said such trials were important to ensure national security.

"Ensuring that our nuclear arsenal is actually functioning properly is an important part of America's national security," Vice President Vance told reporters outside the White House.

"What is clear is that we know the weaponry is functioning properly, but we must continue to monitor it from time to time, and the president just wants to make sure we do it," he said.

As previously reported, President Trump made an announcement regarding the continued nuclear weapons tests in a post on Truth Social, ahead of meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea.

"Since other countries are testing the program, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons equally. That process will begin soon," wrote President Trump.

Then, on his way back to Washington, the Republican president said a trial was needed to ensure the US could offset rival nuclear powers.

"With other countries conducting trials, I think it is appropriate for us to do so as well," said President Trump in Air Force One, adding that the location of the nuclear test would be determined later.

Meanwhile, a Democratic Senator from Massachusetts Edward Markey, one of the chairmen of the US Congressional Nuclear Weapons and Weapons Control Working Group, said he was filing a law to prevent President Trump from restarting nuclear tests by banning funding for him.

"Trumpatomics plans to provoke Russia and China to continue nuclear testing, and China in particular has more advantages than the United States," he said in a statement.

"This is a reckless directive from Trump that will only make the country and the world less secure and lead to a terrible new nuclear arms race," he added.

Russia post-Soviet has never tested nuclear weapons. The Soviet Union last tested in 1990, while the United States last tested in 1992 and China in 1996.

Russia is known to have 5,580 nuclear warheads, followed by the US with 5,225 nuclear warheads, according to Washington-based Arms Control Association, a nonpartisan group that advocates for a nuclear non-proliferation agreement. On the other hand, the Pentagon estimates China will have more than 1,000 nuclear weapons by 2030.

Director of the Arms Control Association said Uncle Sam's country would take at least 36 months to resume a controlled nuclear test underground at a former test site in Nevada.

"Trump lacks information and is insensitive. The US has no technical, military, or political reasons to continue nuclear weapons testing," he said, warning the announcement could "trigger the nuclear trial chain reaction by US enemies, and destroy the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)."