WASHINGTON: China is expanding its nuclear arsenal much more quickly thananticipated, the United States has said, but Beijing on Thursday slammedthe Pentagon report as overhyping the threat.
The United States has declared China its principal security concern for thefuture, as Beijing works to build the People’s Liberation Army into“world-class forces” by 2049, according to its official plan.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could have 700 deliverable nuclearwarheads by 2027, and could top 1,000 by 2030 — an arsenal two-and-a-halftimes the size of what the Pentagon predicted only a year ago, according tothe Pentagon report published Wednesday.
Like the United States and Russia, the two leading nuclear powers, China isbuilding a “nuclear triad,” with capabilities to deliver nuclear weaponsfrom land-based ballistic missiles, from missiles launched from the air,and from submarines, it said.
Beijing is also “building the infrastructure necessary to support thismajor expansion of its nuclear forces,” according to the assessment, whichcame in the Pentagon’s annual report to Congress on Chinese militarydevelopments.
But the report argued China was likely not seeking a capability to launchan unprovoked atomic strike on a nuclear-armed adversary — primarily theUnited States — but looking to deter attacks by maintaining a crediblethreat of nuclear retaliation.
Beijing has dismissed US fears over its military development, and onThursday accused the Pentagon report of aiming to “hype up talk of theChina nuclear threat.”
“The report released by the US Department of Defence, like previous similarreports, ignores facts and is full of prejudice,” said Chinese foreignministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.
Main US rival
A year ago, the Pentagon’s China report said the country had about 200deliverable warheads and would double that by 2030.
Independent researchers have in recent months published satellitephotographs of new nuclear missile silos in western China.
The developments come as China expands and upgrades its military, seekingthe capability of projecting power globally, much as the United States hasdone for decades.
The rivalry has increased concerns about a possible US-China clash,especially over Taiwan, which is closely supported by Washington butclaimed by Beijing as its territory — to be seized one day, by force ifnecessary.
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By 2027, the latest report said, China aims to have “the capabilities tocounter the US military in the Indo-Pacific region, and compel Taiwan’sleadership to the negotiation table on Beijing’s terms.”
Flashpoint
The report also confirmed recent reports that in October 2020, Pentagonofficials were forced to quell real concerns in Beijing that the UnitedStates, driven by domestic political tensions related to the presidentialelection, intended to instigate a conflict with China in the South ChinaSea.
Underscoring its fears, the PLA had issued intensified warnings instate-controlled media, launched large-scale military exercises, expandeddeployments and put troops on heightened readiness, the report said.
After senior Pentagon officials moved to directly speak to Chinesecounterparts, the concerns eased.
“These events highlighted the potential for misunderstanding andmiscalculation, and underscored the importance of effective and timelycommunication,” the report said.
It also questioned the PLA’s intent in biological research into substancesthat potentially have both medical and military uses.
“Studies conducted at PRC military medical institutions discussedidentifying, testing, and characterising diverse families of potent toxinswith dual-use applications,” the report said, raising concerns overcompliance with global biological and chemical weapons treaties.
Such concerns have mounted since Covid-19 emerged in Wuhan, central China,an area also home to a biological research lab with PLA connections.
China has denied the facility had anything to do with the Covid outbreak,but has limited access to it for investigators. -APP/AFP
