Minuteman III ICBM test launch, Feb. 5, 2020 (USAF)
WASHINGTON: Dialogue between Chinese and American military leaders on nuclear weapons would be in the US interest and would serve to shore up “strategic stability,” according to Maj. Gen. Michael Lutton, commander of the 20th Air Force responsible for the US ICBM force.
“A dialogue allows us to communicate our national security or diplomatic objectives, and then to understand Chinese national security diplomatic objectives,” he told the Mitchell Institute today.
Noting the longstanding exchange of information between Russia and the United States under a rolling series of nuclear arms agreements, including the current New START Treaty, Lutton explained that this pathway to improving understanding between Beijing and Washington on nuclear thinking doesn’t currently exist.
“I think militarily, it’s beneficial from a strategic stability perspective to begin that dialogue,” he said.
Lutton, who previously served as deputy director for Nuclear and Homeland Defense Operations of the Joint Staff, noted that he traveled to China as a one-star and had an opportunity to talk to experts at the Chinese equivalent of the US National War College. Due to the “very complex decision making process for their national security apparatus” and an allergy to transparency, he said, figuring out how to get the People’s Liberation Army to the table will not be an easy task for US diplomats.
“I think the challenge is going to be on the Chinese side,” Lutton said.
For example, he said, during discussions at the time it became clear that the Chinese were “confounded” by the US willingness to sign treaties.
“They wanted to know why the US had so many treaties in the Indo-Pacific area of responsibility,” he said, “because, at least in these officer’s minds, treaties were an indication of weakness — you know, great nations don’t have treaties.”
Nor do the Chinese have the same understanding of the value of norms of behavior that the US military has, he added.
“Notwithstanding, I think we should still try and work with the Chinese,” he went on. “We’ll see if the Chinese want to work with us. That’s clearly up to our diplomats and our most senior military leaders to approach them, but it makes sense to do that to me. I think it is beneficial to work with the Chinese.”
Lutton said that in his mind the US plans to modernize its nuclear triad actually helps to push that dialogue.
“And interestingly enough, I believe, modernization is a critical part of that,” he said. “Modernization is a critical part of counterproliferation, and modernization is a critical part of nuclear nonproliferation.”
With regard to the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD), the Air Force-led program to replace the current fleet of aging Minuteman III ICBMs, first introduced in 1963, Lutton stressed that the modernization effort was much wider than just building a new ICBM. It also includes upgrading test facilities, modernizing launch ranges and revamping training for operators.
It also involves “activities that I need to do for Minuteman III sustainment,” he added.
