Geneva: The United States has publicly accused China of conducting a clandestine nuclear test in 2020, a period marked by the deadly Galwan Valley skirmish with India and the global COVID-19 crisis.
The US Under Secretary of State, Thomas DiNanno, made the claim during the United Nations Conference on Disarmament here on Friday, spotlighting intelligence that points to a test on June 22, 2020, just seven days after the violent border clash.
DiNanno, in a social media post, alleged China employed ‘decoupling’ technology at its Lop Nur site in Xinjiang, near the Indian border, to mask seismic waves from the explosion. This method involves detonating explosives in vast underground cavities to evade detection by global monitoring agencies. “We have evidence of China’s secret tests, including preparations for yields in hundreds of tonnes,” he stated, without directly linking it to the India-China standoff.
The timing raises eyebrows: the Galwan incident, where 20 Indian jawans were martyred in hand-to-hand combat amid a no-firearms pact, saw heavy troop build-ups along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). China never disclosed its casualties, though reports suggest higher losses. The standoff ended in 2024 via agreement. Experts speculate the global distraction from Galwan and the pandemic provided cover for China’s actions, despite its signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which it hasn’t ratified —neither has the US.
This episode comes as the last US-Russia nuclear arms treaty expired on February 5, with former President Donald Trump pushing to include China in future pacts. China, with an estimated 600 warheads, denies the charges, calling them “fabricated stories” by US Ambassador Shen Jian. The CTBTO reported no detected activity.
The accusation fuels fears of a renewed arms race, threatening regional stability between nuclear powers India and China.