BEIJING: China said Sunday it is “firmly opposed” to the United States’ newnuclear weapons policy statement, describing its speculation about Chineseintentions as “wild guesses”.

The US Defense Department’s Nuclear Posture Review released Friday outlinesthe Pentagon’s nuclear ambitions under President Donald Trump, whilespelling out how it foresees nuclear threats in the coming decades.

Although the review largely focuses on Russia, several sections arededicated to the lack of transparency in China’s nuclear buildup.

The report says China has added new types of nuclear capabilities –ranging from a mobile intercontinental ballistic missile to a new ballisticmissile submarine — “with little to no transparency into its intentions”.

The report makes “wild guesses” about China’s intentions and exaggeratesthe threat of its nuclear force, defence ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiangsaid in a statement.

China is “firmly opposed to this”, Ren said.

China “has always kept its own nuclear forces at the minimum level requiredby national security”, Ren said, pointing out that the US has the world’slargest nuclear arsenal.

“We hope that the United States will abandon its Cold War mentality,” Rensaid.

Since taking office in 2012 President Xi Jinping has pushed for a muscularChina, including calls last October to develop a “world-class” military by2050.

China’s neighbours have watched warily as the People’s Liberation Army hasupgraded its arsenal with increasingly sophisticated weaponry and sought tocreate a more effective and professional fighting force.

Upgrades to its nuclear arsenal have received less attention, partlybecause of its small size, estimated by the Stockholm International PeaceResearch Institute at just 270 warheads compared to 6,800 for the US.

China has also long maintained it will never allow first use of its atomicweapons.

China “always abides by the principle of no first use of nuclear weaponsunder any circumstances”, Ren said, and will “unconditionally not use orthreaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states.”

The US military wants to revamp its nuclear arsenal and develop newlow-yield atomic weapons, largely in response to Russian actions in recentyears, the Pentagon said.

Moscow on Saturday denounced the “bellicose” and “anti-Russian” nature ofthe new US nuclear policy, warning it would take necessary measures toensure its own security. – AFP