Daines offers resolution to include China in new missile treaties

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) recently proposed a resolution expressing the sense of the U.S. Senate that any international arms control agreement entered into by the United States that limits the number of allowable nuclear-capable missiles must include  the People’s Republic of China along with the Russian Federation.

Additionally, Senate Resolution 251, which Sen. Daines sponsored on May 27, would express the sense of the Senate that such agreements also be subject to the advice and consent of the Senate, according to language in the text of the resolution.

The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which reduced the number of short, medium and intermediate range ballistic missiles between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union, took effect on June 1, 1988. However, because Russia continually violated the treaty, former President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. in 2019, according to the bill’s text.

President Joe Biden, within two weeks of taking office, renewed the New START treaty, which caps the total number of U.S. warheads but does not do the same for China, according to information provided by Sen. Daines’ office. 

“Since the United States first entered the INF Treaty with Russia, China has been developing and building an arsenal of ballistic missiles,” Daines said. “Any treaty moving forward must hold both Russia and China to the same standards, and it must be approved by the Senate according to the Constitution.”