Global security risks rise as geopolitical relations deteriorate: think tank

STOCKHOLM, June 12 (Xinhua) -- Global geopolitical relations have deteriorated in the past year and security risks have continued to rise, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report on Monday.

Global security and stability are facing increasing risks as geopolitical tensions are heightened, and mistrust and division are growing. The impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis is reflected in almost all aspects of related issues such as armaments, disarmament and international security, said the report.

It estimated that there were 12,512 nuclear warheads in January 2023, with about 9,576 in military stockpiles for potential use, an increase of 86 more than in January 2022.

Of those, an estimated 3,844 warheads were deployed with missiles and aircraft, and around 2,000 -- nearly all of which belonged to the United States and Russia -- were kept in a state of high operational alert, meaning that they were fitted to missiles or held at airbases hosting nuclear bombers, said the report.

The United States and Russia together possess almost 90 percent of all nuclear weapons globally, it added.

"In this period of high geopolitical tension and mistrust, with communication channels between nuclear-armed rivals closed or barely functioning, the risks of miscalculation, misunderstanding or accident are unacceptably high," said Dan Smith, SIPRI's director.

"There is an urgent need to restore nuclear diplomacy and strengthen international controls on nuclear arms," he added while calling on the world's governments to find ways to cooperate to calm geopolitical tensions and to slow arms races.

Headquartered in Stockholm, SIPRI's research covers international conflicts, armaments, arms control and disarmament.