Ashley J. Tellis sits down with Doug to talk about the changing nuclear weapons landscape in South Asia, China’s nuclear modernization, India’s slow response, and the future of U.S.-China competition.
China, India, and Pakistan have all possessed nuclear weapons for decades and kept each other in check through mutual deterrence. New technology, different leaders, and a shifting geopolitical landscape have also led to the constant development and transformation of each country’s nuclear capabilities. China in particular has ramped up its own nuclear arsenal as it seeks to take on the United States, while still keeping a wary eye on neighboring India.
Ashley J. Tellis, the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs at Carnegie, has mapped the evolution of the nuclear strategies and arsenals for all three of these powers in his groundbreaking report, Striking Asymmetries: Nuclear Transitions in Southern Asia.
Ashley joins Doug on the show to unpack the transformation of the three major nuclear powers in Asia and how the United States can respond to a Chinese state acquiring more powerful nuclear weapons.
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Read Ashley’s report.