CND's Press Round-Up - 16th April 2021

Posted: 16th April 2021

Dear all,

Please find today’s press round up below. Thank you to all for their continued help and support.

Nuclear Weapons

UK Warhead Increase
 
In The New European, former New Labour Minister Denis MacShane is savagely critical of the Integrated Review. In particular, he singles out the decision to increase the UK’s number of nuclear warheads as undermining the Non-Proliferation Treaty and distracting for the cuts in the size of conventional forces.  

Anti-war

Indo-Pacific Alliances

Foreign Affairs has an opinion piece from Dhruva Jaishankar and Tanvi Madan which rather bombastically claims that if the ‘Quad’ grouping of India, Australia, Japan and the U.S. does not meet its objectives, those countries risk ‘a world characterized by territorial insecurity, economic coercion, impotent international organizations, and authoritarian technology’. It does, however, provide a useful brief history of the development of the Quad and an extensive list of its joint military exercises. The full piece can be found here.

Russia-U.S. Relations
 
Al Jazeera reports that the U.S. has imposed fresh sanctions on Russian officials. In addition to this, ten Russian diplomats have been expelled from the U.S. The sanctions are said to be retaliation for the SolarWinds hacking operation and claims of attempted interference in the 2020 presidential election. Joe Biden did say, however, that he wanted a ‘stable, predictable relationship’ between the two countries, in language which was repeated by White House spokespeople.

U.S. Satellite Defence
 
The U.S.’s Space Development Agency has said that Russia and China may be developing missiles capable of destroying low-earth orbit satellites, according to SpaceNews. The Space Development Agency intends to have hundreds of this type of satellite in operation by 2024, for the purposes of communications and missile detection. The SDA director also warned that this network might be vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
 
Ukraine-Russia Relations
 
The BBC’s Moscow correspondent has an analysis piece which suggests that the crisis of the Russian military build up on the eastern border of Ukraine is now de-escalating. Sarah Rainsford additionally points out that, in contrast to previous secretive operations, the publicised nature of the build up makes it more likely that it was ‘grandstanding’. Whilst the motivations of the Russian state remain opaque, the high costs attached to an invasion of the Ukraine and the diplomatic approach by Joe Biden now mean it is unlikely.


With best wishes,

Michael Muir

Press and Communications Officer
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament