US alleges China conducted secret nuclear test post-Galwan clash | India News
The US accused China of conducting a secret nuclear test on June 22, 2020, days after the deadly Galwan Valley clashes between Chinese and Indian troops along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
This claim was made by US Undersecretary for Arms Control Thomas DiNanno at the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, which coincides with the expiration of the New START treaty between the US and Russia on February 5, 2026.
The US government cited China’s alleged nuclear testing as a reason for refusing to extend the New START treaty. Russian President Vladimir Putin offered a one-year extension, but US President Donald Trump rejected the offer, insisting on a new comprehensive arms control agreement.
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DiNanno explained that the US government knew that China was conducting “nuclear explosive tests, including preparations for detonations reaching hundreds of tons.” He stated in an
China has conducted nuclear explosive tests, including preparing for tests with specified yields of hundreds of tons… China has used decoupling, a method that reduces the effectiveness of seismic monitoring, to hide its activities from the world. China has achieved such an example… — Undersecretary of State Thomas G. DiNanno (@UnderSecT) February 6, 2026
DiNanno specifically highlighted a “yield-producing test” on June 22, 2020, and accused Beijing of using “decoupling” by detonating explosives in large underground cavities to reduce seismic signals and evade global monitoring.
DiNanno argued that this “disaggregation” technique allowed China to conceal testing violations during the global Covid-19 fight.
For India, the timing of the test on June 22, 2020, a week after the June 15 Galwan Valley clash in which 20 Indian soldiers and unknown Chinese troops died in brutal hand-to-hand clashes, is alarming with aggressive patrols and infrastructure along the LAC amid border clashes in 2020-21.
Although US officials have refrained from making direct ties to Galwan, the situation looms large for New Delhi. Speaking in defense of rejecting Russia’s one-year New START extension, DiNanno said the 2010 treaty was ‘outdated’, China’s arsenal had increased at an unprecedented rate, Russia’s vast systems were avoiding full capacity and zero Chinese nuclear weapons were under scrutiny.
