“Department of War” Order on Nuclear Tests Sparks Chaos, Chinese Denial

A social media post from Donald Trump directing the “Department of War” to “start testing” has sparked chaos, confusion, and a sharp denial from China. The order’s implications for the U.S. moratorium on nuclear explosions are unknown.
The confusion is centered on what “testing” means. It is unclear if Trump is calling for computational modeling or a physical detonation for the first time since 1992.
Trump justified the order by accusing rivals of secret testing. “Russia’s testing, and China’s testing,” he claimed, “but they don’t talk about it,” adding they were “way underground.”
China’s foreign ministry swiftly refuted the claim. A spokesperson stated that Beijing is a “responsible nuclear-weapons state” and has “abided by its commitment to suspend nuclear testing.”
This directive follows a recent Russian missile test and Trump’s claims that the U.S. possesses the “world’s largest” nuclear arsenal.