A senior U.S. official has said that seismic data indicate China carried out an underground nuclear test.
Christopher Yaw, U.S. assistant secretary of state, told reporters on Tuesday, February 17, that a seismic station in Kazakhstan recorded a 2.75-magnitude explosion in the Lop Nur region of western China.
He emphasized that the data does not match mining blasts or natural earthquakes, and the evidence is “consistent with a nuclear explosive test.”
However, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) stated that the available data is insufficient to definitively confirm the claim, and the exact cause of the event remains unclear.
China has rejected the U.S. allegation, asserting that it remains committed to its obligations under the nuclear test ban treaty. The country conducted its last official underground nuclear test in 1996.
These statements come amid the expiration of the New START treaty, the last remaining U.S.-Russia nuclear arms limitation agreement, on February 5, raising concerns about a potential new nuclear arms race.