This chapter focuses on the warfighting aspects of the nuclear balance in Asia. For purposes of assessing the Soviet nuclear buildup in Asia, it is most useful to think in terms of force categories relevant to two distinct military campaigns: Soviet intermediate-range air, naval, and missile operations throughout East Asia and the Pacific, including China; and a Soviet ground force invasion of China. The chapter describes trends in Soviet nuclear forces in the Asia-Pacific region and the direct military improvements the Soviets are achieving with their nuclear force modernization. In a general war with the United States and its allies, Soviet Far East nuclear forces could destroy major bases, command and control sites, and other fixed installations in either a first strike or a response to American nuclear strikes. The chapter examines a more comprehensive assessment of trends in the nuclear balance in Asia by considering US-Soviet-Chinese asymmetries, and describes conflicts in which nuclear weapons might be used.