Here is the Pentagon’s warning about China’s nuclear moves
Beijing strengthens its nuclear arsenal with 500 warheads in May, 100 more than last year. The Pentagon also estimates that China will likely double the number of nuclear warheads to more than 1,000 by 2030.
China accelerates its nuclear race.
Beijing is carrying out a "major expansion" of its nuclear arsenal, increasing weapons production and strengthening its navy.
In a report released yesterday, the Pentagon estimated that China currently has about 500 nuclear warheads at its disposal, which is 100 more than last year. In the document, the US Department of Defense also underlined that the Chinese authorities aim to double the number, reaching over a thousand by 2030.
While this year's report contains no major revelations, it underlines the Pentagon's view of China as America 's main strategic competitor. Despite the wars in Ukraine and Gaza , China remains the primary security threat in the minds of many American policymakers, and the Pentagon's annual report to Congress is closely monitored by budget makers at the White House and on Capitol Hill in order to set priorities of budget, notes the Financial Times .
The Pentagon information comes as US President Biden prepares for a possible face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping next month in California.
All the details.
CHINA'S NUCLEAR RACE
As of May 2023, Beijing had more than 500 operational nuclear warheads. Washington predicts that number will “likely” grow to more than 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030. Those numbers are broadly in line with the Pentagon's prediction last year that Beijing could produce about 1,500 nuclear weapons by 2035.
STILL BEHIND THE USA AND RUSSIA
However, Beijing's nuclear stockpile is still much smaller than that of Russia or the United States, Politico points out. As of January, Russia had 5,889 nuclear warheads while the United States had 5,244, according to SIPRI. The United States has 1,550 strategic nuclear warheads deployed, as permitted by the New Start arms control treaty. Last February , Russian President Putin declared that Moscow was suspending its participation in the New Start treaty.
Beijing has refused to engage in arms talks with Washington and Moscow, arguing that the other two nations' arsenals are much larger than its own.
RANGE OF CHINESE INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILE TO HAWAII
Additionally, Beijing completed construction of at least 300 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silos last year. Not only that, it "could" focus on the development of a new conventionally armed missile system, says the Pentagon in its latest China Military Power report.
The report adds that the development of conventional, non-nuclear ICBMs “would allow the People's Republic of China to threaten conventional strikes against targets in the continental United States, Hawaii, and Alaska.”
FOCUS AI AND BIG DATA
But China's military expansion is not limited to its nuclear arsenal.
According to the Pentagon, China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) is exploring security strategies based on artificial intelligence and big data to find vulnerabilities in the United States that it can then target.
BEIJING CHASES SPACE SUPERIORITY
Finally, on space, the report finds that China is closing the once-wide gap with US space capabilities, Spacenews points out.
Among the Chinese anti-satellite weapons that the Defense Department fears most are ground-based missiles and high-powered lasers, satellites with robotic arms capable of grabbing other satellites, cyberattack capabilities and other systems that could block or disable the US satellites. The People's Liberation Army continues to invest in improving its capabilities in space intelligence, satellite communications, satellite navigation and meteorology, as well as human spaceflight and robotic space exploration, according to the Pentagon report.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/ecco-lallarme-del-pentagono-sulle-mosse-nucleari-della-cina/ on Fri, 20 Oct 2023 05:35:10 +0000.