ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the attitudes and policies of the major non-superpower nuclear weapons nations-France, Great Britain, and the People's Republic of China-towards nuclear testing and various types of test bans. It considers the views of several nonnuclear NATO powers toward a US-Soviet comprehensive test ban. The chapter discusses some of the implications of more restrictive test bans for nonnuclear weapons states-including those nations considered to be at or near the threshold of producing nuclear weapons-and for US efforts to extend the Non-Proliferation Treaty into the twenty-first century on terms favorable to US security interests. It describes the nuclear testing policies of France, the United Kingdom, and China, and explores these governments' positions toward comprehensive and limited bans on nuclear testing. The chapter concludes with an assessment of attitudes of America's non-nuclear allies toward a test ban. The Non-Proliferation Treaty has been described as the first operating nuclear arms control treaty.
