*WASHINGTON:*
The Chinese military is pressing to double its 200-plus nuclear warheadswithin a decade with the ability to launch them aboard ballistic missilesby land, sea and air, the Pentagon said in a report Tuesday.
Aside from aiming for technological parity with the United States, thePeople’s Liberation Army is also focused on conducting joint operations, tobe able to deter or defeat any US effort to intervene on Taiwan’s behalf,the report said.
It said that PLA has already matched or surpassed the United Statesmilitary in several areas, including shipbuilding, land-based ballistic andcruise missiles, and air defense systems.
And in its first public estimate of China’s nuclear capacity, the annualreport said the country has warheads numbering “in the low 200s” in itsnuclear stockpile, much less than the 300 or more estimated by independentanalysts.
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That number is expected to double over 10 years. China can already launchnuclear weapons by ballistic missile from land and sea, and is developingthe capacity to do develop an air-launched ballistic missile as well, thereport said.
“It is likely that Beijing will seek to develop a military by mid-centurythat is equal to — or in some cases superior to — the US military, orthat of any other great power that the PRC views as a threat,” the reportsaid.
If China achieves that goal and the United States fails to address it, thereport said, it “will have serious implications for US national interestsand the security of the international rules-based order.”
