If there is a Cold War Between the United States and China...

[Frodo]

...should we allow Taiwan and Japan to develop nuclear weapons with which to defend themselves? 

[dead0man]

we should offer them the use of ours first, like we do (did?) with the UK and Germany (others?) that would be way cheaper for them

[dead0man]

correcting myself
 Belgium-Kleine Brogel-20
 Germany-Büchel-20
 Italy-Aviano-40
 Italy-Ghedi
 Netherlands-Volkel-20
 Turkey-Incirlik-50

[PSOL]

The US won’t allow Japan to assert themselves like that. That would maintain the independence of Japan from US influences and make it easy to create their own bloc independent of China and the US. Nah, at most they’ll continue allowing the Japanese Army to mobilize and develop.

[MABA 2020]

No way! The less countries with nukes the better, I don't want to live in a world where every little spat has the spectre of nuclear war hanging over it

[CumbrianLefty]

No way! The less countries with nukes the better, I don't want to live in a world where every little spat has the spectre of nuclear war hanging over it

Yes, the "more nukes the better" crowd have always puzzled me.

[MABA 2020]

No way! The less countries with nukes the better, I don't want to live in a world where every little spat has the spectre of nuclear war hanging over it

Yes, the "more nukes the better" crowd have always puzzled me.

I can only believe it comes from people not really thinking though the implications of the things they say.

Having more nukes=safety might make sense if you put literally zero thought into it

[Frodo]

No way! The less countries with nukes the better, I don't want to live in a world where every little spat has the spectre of nuclear war hanging over it

Yes, the "more nukes the better" crowd have always puzzled me.

I can only believe it comes from people not really thinking though the implications of the things they say.

Having more nukes=safety might make sense if you put literally zero thought into it

Has any nation-state with nuclear weapons ever been attacked by another nation-state?  Saber-rattling over North Korea aside.... 

[brucejoel99]

Japan has no domestic support or interest in nuclear arms. Taiwan probably does, but they're very dependent on international politics & trade so souring relations for a bomb in the future might not be good thinking & they know it (no doubt the PRC would undertake a naval blockade of Taiwan). More likely than nukes would be selling Taiwan something like the P-8 Poseidon & a ton of Quickstrike & CAPTOR mines for use in the Taiwan Strait. Laying a minefield would quickly shut down any amphibious invasions the PLAN might be contemplating as well as harm Chinese shipping without precipitating an existential crisis by nuclear powers.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

Nuclear latency

Nuclear latency or a nuclear threshold state is the condition of a country possessing the technology to quickly build nuclear weapons, without having actually yet done so. Because such latent capability is not proscribed by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, this is sometimes called the "Japan Option" (as a work-around to the treaty), as Japan is considered a "paranuclear" state, being a clear case of a country with complete technical prowess to develop a nuclear weapon quickly, or as it is sometimes called "being one screwdriver's turn" from the bomb, as Japan is considered to have the materials, expertise and technical capacity to make a nuclear bomb at will.