https://www.scmp.com/rss/519934/feed Manuel Galileo is a military analyst, Track II arms control diplomat and civil engineer. His research interests include coercive diplomacy, arms competitions, shifts in regional and global distributions of capabilities, and innovations in military technologies. He has an MSc in international relations from the London School of Economics (LSE) and an MA in diplomacy from SOAS. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Dan Plesch,Manuel Galileo Dan Plesch,Manuel Galileo In nuclear war, the long-held assumption of mutual assured destruction no longer exists. Welcome to the age of permanent strategic instability, where superpowers mix fast and accurate nuclear and non-nuclear missiles in the same arsenal. The risk of war is greater than many realise. The scale of catastrophe is also significant. A potential nuclear winter is estimated to amount to billions of deaths from starvation after years of global crop failures. Such risks and consequences are disastrously... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3334240/why-advances-conventional-weapons-tech-should-worry-china-russia-and-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3334240/why-advances-conventional-weapons-tech-should-worry-china-russia-and-us?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Nov 2025 12:30:15 +0000 In theory, China’s launchers of strategic nuclear missiles – jet or rocket-propelled weapons meant to strike targets far away and which are nuclear-armed – can be preventively taken out by the United States and its allies using conventional, non-nuclear firepower. Even as the gap between US and Chinese strategic capabilities appears to be narrowing, the US is extending its superiority in one important category: strategic counterforce with conventional missiles. Counterforce is a doctrine often... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3282487/us-china-russia-strategic-stability-hangs-balance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3282487/us-china-russia-strategic-stability-hangs-balance?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Oct 2024 12:30:09 +0000