Is Trident replacement legal under the Non-Proliferation Treaty?
Renewal of the Trident system is fully consistent with our international obligations, including those on disarmament. The UK fully complies with its obligations under Article VI of the Non Proliferation Treaty which does not establish a timetable for unilateral disarmament, either nuclear or general, and does not state that replacement or updating of currently held systems would be unlawful. Instead, Article VI places an obligation on all NPT member States to pursue the necessary negotiations to achieve the goal of disarmament. The UK shares this goal of a world free from nuclear weapons. Towards this end, we continue to press for multilateral negotiations towards mutual, balanced and verifiable reductions in nuclear weapons. Is retaining the deterrent incompatible with NPT Article VI The NPT does not establish any timetable for nuclear disarmament. Nor does it prohibit maintenance or renewal of existing capabilities. Renewing the current Trident system is fully consistent with the NPT
