US faces crisis over need to deter Russia, China simultaneously — Pentagon

WASHINGTON, April 21. /TASS/. The United States is facing a crisis, having to simultaneously deter two nuclear powers - Russia and China, US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs Robert Kadlec said. "For the first time in its history, the United States will face the challenge of deterring two nuclear peers, China and Russia, simultaneously; as well as regional powers with growing capabilities. This is not a hypothetical future problem. This is a now-crisis," Kadlec stated at a hearing of the US Senate Armed Services Committee. "We’re in a new and more dangerous era," he emphasized. Kadlec added that the US will continue to work with its NATO allies "to examine ways to strengthen the credibility and effectiveness of NATO’s nuclear deterrence mission."