A senior U.S. official on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) revealed what he said were new details of an underground nuclear test blast ‌that China allegedly conducted in June 2020. “It is ... what you would expect with a nuclear explosive test.”The ‌Comprehensive ⁠Test Ban Treaty Organization, which is charged with detecting nuclear test explosions, said that there was ⁠insufficient data to confirm Mr. Yeaw’s allegation with confidence. A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington said the allegation about China conducting a nuclear test was “entirely unfounded” and an attempt “to fabricate excuses for resuming” U.S. nuclear testing. The CTBTO’s monitoring system can detect “events” consistent with nuclear test explosions with yields of 551 tons (500 metric tons) of TNT or greater, he said. U.S. admits India first detected Chinese testThe U.S. conducted its last underground nuclear test in ⁠1992 and has been relying on a multibillion-dollar program that uses advanced tools and supercomputer simulations to ensure its nuclear warheads work properly.

Source: The Hindu February 18, 2026 08:18 UTC