Exploring post-INF arms control in the Asia-Pacific: China’s role in the challenges ahead

With the demise of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019, much attention has focused on the Asia-Pacific as the locus for a new missile-fuelled arms competition, especially between the United States and China. With a new administration in Washington, it is worth revisiting this troubling dynamic and considering the prospects for regional arms control and risk reduction between the US and China. The prospects are bleak in the near-term, though they may improve with time and under certain conditions.