The United States has said China is expanding its arsenal of nuclear weapons even more quickly than expected.
China had more than 500 operational nuclear warheads by May 2023 and was “on track to exceed previous projections”, the Pentagon said in its annual report (PDF) on China’s military power, which was released on Thursday.
The United States has said China is expanding its arsenal of nuclear weapons even more quickly than expected.
China had more than 500 operational nuclear warheads by May 2023 and was “on track to exceed previous projections”, the Pentagon said in its annual report (PDF) on China’s military power, which was released on Thursday.
Last month, Beijing defended such activities, saying they were necessary to “combat the arrogance” of alleged separatists in Taipei.
The US report suggested China was also “learning lessons” from Russia’s war in Ukraine, and that the sanctions imposed on Moscow had probably encouraged China to push for improved defence self-sufficiency and financial resilience.
The Pentagon also expressed concern about the Chinese military’s continued “refusal to engage in military-to-military communications with the United States” at a time when it also appeared to be willing to engage in more risky operational activities, noting the increasing number of intercepts by Chinese planes of US aircraft.
Such behaviour “raises the risk of an operational incident or miscalculation spiraling into crisis or conflict,” the report said, stressing that the defence department was determined to reopen lines of communication and “ensure competition does not veer into conflict”.
Li Shangfu, the Chinese defence minister who disappeared from public life in August, had been under US sanctions since 2018.
He had refused to hold meetings with US officials until sanctions were lifted, and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s attempt to hold talks during the high-level Shangri-La Dialogue in June this year, got no further than a handshake.
