US-Russia nuclear treaty expires, sparking fears of a renewed global arms race

A landmark nuclear arms control treaty between the United States and Russia is set to expire this week, sparking fears of a renewed global arms race for the first time since the Cold War.

The lapse of the agreement threatens to dismantle decades of strategic stability between the two nations, according to a report by Politico.

Russia submitted initial proposals for a successor treaty last September. However, the Trump administration has yet to issue a formal response, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations.

The silence from Washington has fueled uncertainty regarding the future of international arms control agreements. Without a replacement deal in place, both nations would be permitted to expand and modernize their nuclear arsenals without the limitations of binding legal terms.

The collapse of the U.S.-Russia arms control framework represents far more than a bilateral rift; it signals a fundamental unraveling of the post-Cold War global security architecture. The erosion of these legal safeguards has fostered a volatile strategic environment where major powers increasingly operate on "worst-case scenario" logic, threatening to trigger a destabilizing and reactive arms race.

The Trump administration’s tactical silence likely serves as a hardball negotiating maneuver. By maintaining ambiguity, Washington aims to leverage a new trilateral regime that would bring China to the table. However, with Beijing repeatedly rejecting such overtures, the strategy risks a total breakdown of oversight, leaving a dangerous security vacuum in its wake.

For Asia, and specifically for Vietnam, the implications are profound. A three-way arms race between Washington, Moscow, and Beijing would inevitably exacerbate regional friction, particularly within the contested waters of the South China Sea. Hanoi, which has long prioritized a balanced foreign policy and a rules-based international order, now faces an increasingly unpredictable geopolitical landscape. The expansion of great-power arsenals places unprecedented pressure on non-nuclear states and complicates multilateral efforts to preserve regional stability.

While this issue poses global security concerns for all Americans, including the Vietnamese-American community, it carries no direct or distinct economic or social impact on our local businesses or specific community interests. There are no immediate consequences for the nail salon industry, phở restaurants in Little Saigon, or the flow of remittances back home. Furthermore, this development does not specifically target or affect community-specific matters such as F2B, H-1B, TPS, or EB-5 visa categories.