Missile Defense

Authored by Shannon Bugos on February 9, 2023 Russia has failed to fully comply with the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) because of its refusal to allow on-site inspections and to reschedule a meeting to discuss treaty concerns, according to a U.S. assessment released in January. Senior Russian officials have accused the United States of “politicizing nuclear arms control,” saying that Washington “would have to adjust its policy towards Russia to move to a constructive arms control agenda.” In August, Moscow prohibited U.S. on-site inspections of its nuclear weapons-related facilities subject to the treaty over complaints about reciprocal access. Russia called off a planned meeting of the treaty’s Bilateral Consultative Commission (BCC) in Egypt in November....

Japan’s strike capability debate must be accompanied by the political will of decision-makers. By Kenji Nagayoshi * As Japan prepares to release three critical security documents – its National Security Strategy, National Defense Program Guidelines, and Medium-Term Defense Program – by the end of 2022, its policymakers have been discussing Japan’s acquisition of strike capabilities in the context of missile defense. The debate about adopting “counterstrike capabilities” – formerly known as “enemy base strike capabilities” – accelerated exponentially when the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) Research Commission on Security proposed that Japan must consider acquiring such capabilities to deter missile attacks. Although this active discussion reflects the severe regional security en...

U.S. Cites Russian Noncompliance with New START Inspections

Why Japan’s Missile Defense Requires ‘Counterstrike Capabilities’