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Experts warn US Golden Dome missile plans could spur arms race

Experts at Brookings say China’s nuclear buildup, including an estimated 350 new missile silos, has been driven at least partly by US missile defenses.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Trade & Tariffs

Experts speaking at the Brookings Institution warned that US President Donald Trump’s proposed national missile defense system, dubbed the “Golden Dome,” may not fully protect the United States and could instead intensify global strategic competition. South China Morning Post Economy reports that Steve Fetter, a professor at the University of Maryland, said expanded missile defenses could trigger additional responses from other nuclear powers.

Fetter argued that the net effect of defense buildup and retaliation may not reduce vulnerability. He pointed to China’s expanding nuclear arsenal, including the estimated construction of 350 new missile silos, saying it has been motivated at least in part by US missile defenses.

Michael O’Hanlon, director of research in the Foreign Policy programme at Brookings, added that deploying missile defenses can carry a risk of creating an arms race. He said the side facing defenses may overestimate the threat, while the side building defenses may compensate in response.

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