Stratbase Institute President Prof. Dindo Manhit participated and spoke in a virtual Track 1.5 workshop organized by the US-based think tank Atlantic Council on the potential threat and implications of a limited nuclear attack by the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The workshop gathered experts from the United States, Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. 

Prof. Manhit raised that the risk of a limited nuclear attack by PRC cannot be dismissed, despite China’s stated No First Use policy. China’s growing nuclear arsenal, increasing military buildup, aggressive island-building activities, and close alignment with Russia and North Korea are reminders that the threat remain real and present. The recent meeting among Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un was a clear message that authoritarian powers are increasingly willing to reshape the regional order through coercion and intimidation.