--- title: The New Cold War Has Three Sides description: "The New START treaty is dead. China is racing toward nuclear parity. The U.S., Russia, and Beijing now face a dangerous three-way arms race—with secret tests, rising stockpiles, and global stakes higher than ever. Stay ahead of global conflicts with WarFronts Weekly. Get sharp, no-nonsense military analysis straight to your inbox. Subscribe: https://fronts.co/warfronts-weekly Get full conflict briefings, and members-only analysis at fronts.co https://fronts.co Join the community and discuss current flashpoints in real time: https://www.reddit.com/r/frontsco Love the content? Explore Simon's other YouTube channels: Megaprojects: https://www.youtube.com/@megaprojects9649 SideProjects: https://www.youtube.com/@Sideprojects Into The Shadows: https://www.youtube.com/@IntotheShadows Today I Found Out: https://www.youtube.com/@TodayIFoundOut Brain Blaze: https://www.youtube.com/@brainblaze6526 Casual Criminalist: https://www.youtube.com/@TheCasualCriminalist Decoding the Unknown: https://www.youtube.com/@decodingtheunknown2373 Places: https://www.youtube.com/@Places302 Celestium: https://www.youtube.com/@Celestium1234 PoliticalFronts: http://www.youtube.com/@politicalfronts Simon on social: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SimonWhistler Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonwhistler/ 00:00 Introduction 01:24 Frozen Proliferators; Gaining Rivals 11:00 A New Arms Race References https://www.cfr.org/articles/nukes-without-limits-a-new-era-after-the-end-of-new-start https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russias-medvedev-says-expiry-new-start-should-alarm-world-2026-02-02/ https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70l27gy47do https://www.axios.com/2026/02/05/new-start-arms-control-us-russia-extend https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5725638-new-start-treaty-expires/ https://www.nbcnews.com/world/china/us-accuses-china-secret-nuclear-testing-new-arms-treaty-rcna257769 https://www.twz.com/nuclear/china-secretly-testing-nuclear-weapons-and-covering-its-tracks-u-s-alleges https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/12/28/china-nuclear-warhead-expansion/ https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2025-01/news/pentagon-says-chinese-nuclear-arsenal-still-growing https://www.csis.org/analysis/parading-chinas-nuclear-arsenal-out-shadows https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/09/new-start-nuclear-arms-control-us-russia-treaty-negotiations/ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/world/nuclear-arms-control-japan-election.html https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/new-start-glance https://www.reuters.com/world/china/special-report-chinas-growing-nuclear-arsenal-2025-08-20/ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/17/china-nuclear-warheads-weapons-stockpile" url: https://fronts.co/videos/warfronts-epmqosmmbrm.md canonical: https://fronts.co/videos/warfronts-epmqosmmbrm/ datePublished: 2026-02-11T18:00:15.000Z dateModified: 2026-02-11T18:00:15.000Z author: - name: Fronts Staff url: https://fronts.co/authors/fronts-team/ publisher: Fronts type: NewsArticle language: en access: members isAccessibleForFree: false tokens: 696 --- The New START treaty is dead. China is racing toward nuclear parity. The U.S., Russia, and Beijing now face a dangerous three-way arms race—with secret tests, rising stockpiles, and global stakes higher than ever. Stay ahead of global conflicts with WarFronts Weekly. Get sharp, no-nonsense military analysis straight to your inbox. Subscribe: https://fronts.co/warfronts-weekly Get full conflict briefings, and members-only analysis at fronts.co https://fronts.co Join the community and discuss current flashpoints in real time: https://www.reddit.com/r/frontsco Love the content? Explore Simon's other YouTube channels: Megaprojects: https://www.youtube.com/@megaprojects9649 SideProjects: https://www.youtube.com/@Sideprojects Into The Shadows: https://www.youtube.com/@IntotheShadows Today I Found Out: https://www.youtube.com/@TodayIFoundOut Brain Blaze: https://www.youtube.com/@brainblaze6526 Casual Criminalist: https://www.youtube.com/@TheCasualCriminalist Decoding the Unknown: https://www.youtube.com/@decodingtheunknown2373 Places: https://www.youtube.com/@Places302 Celestium: https://www.youtube.com/@Celestium1234 PoliticalFronts: http://www.youtube.com/@politicalfronts Simon on social: Twitter: https://twitter.com/SimonWhistler Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonwhistler/ 00:00 Introduction 01:24 Frozen Proliferators; Gaining Rivals 11:00 A New Arms Race References https://www.cfr.org/articles/nukes-without-limits-a-new-era-after-the-end-of-new-start https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russias-medvedev-says-expiry-new-start-should-alarm-world-2026-02-02/ https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70l27gy47do https://www.axios.com/2026/02/05/new-start-arms-control-us-russia-extend https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5725638-new-start-treaty-expires/ https://www.nbcnews.com/world/china/us-accuses-china-secret-nuclear-testing-new-arms-treaty-rcna257769 https://www.twz.com/nuclear/china-secretly-testing-nuclear-weapons-and-covering-its-tracks-u-s-alleges https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/12/28/china-nuclear-warhead-expansion/ https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2025-01/news/pentagon-says-chinese-nuclear-arsenal-still-growing https://www.csis.org/analysis/parading-chinas-nuclear-arsenal-out-shadows https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/02/09/new-start-nuclear-arms-control-us-russia-treaty-negotiations/ https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/world/nuclear-arms-control-japan-election.html https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/new-start-glance https://www.reuters.com/world/china/special-report-chinas-growing-nuclear-arsenal-2025-08-20/ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/17/china-nuclear-warheads-weapons-stockpile --- Full analysis is behind the paywall. Read the gated piece at https://fronts.co/videos/warfronts-epmqosmmbrm/.