President Trump announced on January 17 that the United States will seek to develop new technologies to enhance its missile defenses in order to detect and intercept an adversary’s missiles, including enemy missiles still on the ground in their boost phase prior to launch, or moments after liftoff. The announcement warrants a review of the law of nuclear weapons.
The United States is presently a party to 10 nuclear arms control agreements. Four of them prevent the United States from deploying nuclear weapons in specific geographical areas: The Antarctic Treaty; The Outer Space Treaty; The Seabed Arms Control Treaty; and The Treaty of Tiateloco which covers Latin America and the Caribbean.
