On July 18, 2012, the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation hosted an expert panel discussion "Maintaining Strategic Stability on the Path to Nuclear Zero." Keynote speakers included Joe Cirincione, President of Ploughshares Fund, and Ma Zhenggang, President of China Arms Control and Disarmament Association. The panel included three discussants: Zhu Chenghu (Professor, National Defense University, China), Rebecca Johnson (Executive Director, Acronym Institute, UK), and Nikolai Sokov (Senior Fellow, VCDNP). William Potter, Director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, moderated the discussion.
Panelists discussed ways to maintain and enhance strategic stability in the course of deep reductions of nuclear weapons on the path towards nuclear disarmament. Mr. Cirincione discussed United States nuclear policy as well as the future of the United States nuclear triad. Mr. Ma spoke about China's no-first use policy, highlighting the differences in opinion between outlooks held by nuclear weapons states on the road to nuclear zero. Participants also discussed in detail the implications of the ongoing U.S. missile defense program, in particular the risks that it could trigger modernization of China's nuclear capability.
