China claims recent Pentagon report of US 'hyping up' on its nuclear expansion is biased

The Pentagon has stated in a report that China's nuclear weapons arsenal might have 700 warheads by 2027, and possibly 1,000 by 2030, and said that Beijing is quickly growing the number of its nuclear delivery system. However, China has refuted the Pentagon's report and said that it is full of bias and ignores reality. According to Global Times, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that the US hyping up China's "nuclear threat" is nothing more than a ruse to distort words and confuse the public. 

China is building the infrastructure needed to enable its nuclear growth over the next decade, according to a new Pentagon analysis released on Wednesday which is titled "Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China (PRC) 2021." According to the Pentagon's report, the accelerated pace of the PRC's nuclear buildup may enable the PRC to have up to 700 deliverable nuclear weapons by 2027.

China is investing in and expanding the number of its land, sea, and air-based nuclear delivery platforms

According to the research, China is investing in and expanding the number of its land, sea, and air-based nuclear delivery platforms, as well as building the infrastructure to support this substantial growth of its nuclear forces. The creation of a nuclear-capable air-launched ballistic missile (ALBM) and the strengthening of China's ground and sea-based nuclear capabilities may have already produced an embryonic "nuclear triad," according to the research.

According to Foreign Policy, the Pentagon is especially concerned about China's accelerated development of conventional submarines with powerful anti-ship cruise missiles, with 25 Yuan-class ships expected to be operational by 2025. The Pentagon is also concerned about China's non-nuclear strike capabilities. US bases in Japan are within range of China's medium-range ballistic missiles, while Guam, which is the focus of a major Pentagon debate over missile defence, could be reached by land-based missiles or Dong-Feng 26 missile systems.

China's arsenal is dwarfed by that of the United States and Russia

The Arms Control Association's executive director, Daryl Kimball, said that China's ability to grow its arsenal to these levels emphasises the critical importance of pragmatic bilateral or multilateral talks to decrease nuclear threats. China claims that its arsenal is dwarfed by that of the United States and Russia.

(With Inputs from ANI)

Image: AP