Pentagon: China expanding nuke force to strengthen its ability to ‘fight and win wars'

Amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing, a Pentagon report released on Wednesday, 3 November, revealed that China is rapidly expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than expected as it seeks to build global influence. According to the report, Beijing may have 1,000 nuclear warheads by the end of the decade, including 700 “deliverable” warheads by 2027. In its report, the Pentagon did not say how many weapons China has today, however, previously, it had said that the number was in the “low 200s” and was likely to double by the end of this decade. 

China is strengthening its “ability to ‘fight and win wars’ against a ‘strong enemy’ — a likely euphemism for the United States -, coerce Taiwan and rival claimants in territorial disputes, counter an intervention by a third party in a conflict along the PRC's periphery, and project power globally,” read the report titled ‘Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China’.

The report said that the Chinese may already have established what is known as a nuclear triad - the combination of land, sea, air-based missiles that the US and Russia have had for decades. It also stated that China is pursuing a network of overseas bases and logistics hubs that could “interfere” with US military operations and could support Chinese military operations against Washington. Further, the Pentagon report asserted that China has begun construction of at least three new missile fields that “cumulatively contain hundreds” of underground silos from which ICBMs could be launched. 

China plans to become global military power by 2049 

It is to mention that the latest Pentagon report was based on information collected through December 2020. It referred to the widely known fact that Beijing had fielded the DF-17 medium-range ballistic missile, equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle designed to evade US missile defences. It was unclear from the report exactly how many nuclear warheads that China has on hand, however, the Pentagon has predicted that Beijing’s stockpile was in the low 200s and was projected to double by 2030. 

Following the release of the report, a senior US defence official told AP that the forecast reflects several known developments, such as China’s addition of a nuclear bomber capability, as well as public statements in Chinese official media that have made reference to China needing 1,000 nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, a separate report from the Federation of American Scientists revealed that China had been constructing facilities near the cities of Yumen, Hami and Ordos that appeared to be missile silos. Beijing, however, has not yet confirmed or denied the report, but it is to mention that Chinese President Xi Jinping had previously stated that China plans to become a global military power by 2049. 
 

(Image: AP)