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A formation of Dongfeng-41 intercontinental strategic nuclear missiles participates in a military parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in Beijing, capital of China, on Oct. 1, 2019. Photo: Xinhua
The Pentagon on Tuesday released an annual report on “Military and security developments involving the People’s Republic of China.” To make its objective more obvious, the Pentagon touted the so-called Chinese military threat in a crude way. He claims that China “has the largest navy in the world” and that China “will at least double” the size of its arsenal of nuclear warheads over the next decade.
By saying that China “has the largest navy in the world,” the Pentagon is deliberately misleading the discussion. The report highlighted that China has 350 ships and submarines compared to about 293 US ships. However, the number itself can hardly speak of combat capabilities. Many Chinese ships are small and medium ships. In terms of capital ships – that is, leading or primary ships in naval fleets – the number the US Navy has clearly gives them the absolute advantage.
The United States Navy has 11 large nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and also the largest aircraft carriers in the world, which can carry around 80 combat aircraft each. Of course, the Chinese navy has developed rapidly over the past 20 years. It now has two conventionally-powered (non-nuclear-powered) carriers, plus amphibious assault ships and 10,000-ton class guided missile destroyers. However, compared to the US number, the Chinese Navy still lags behind.
However, the United States believes that its absolute military superiority in the Pacific may be affected by the increasing power of the Chinese military. So it tends to take every opportunity, even in its annual reports, to exaggerate the strength of the Chinese navy. She scares her traditional military allies by pointing out that the Chinese navy is growing at a terrifying rate. It tells those regional US allies that they need more protection from the US Of course, the Pentagon also wants to seek more budget from the US Congress. By presenting the Chinese military as a threat, he makes more excuses to achieve his goal.
Compared to previous relevant US reports, the biggest difference from the latter is that the Pentagon has done more calculations on both China and the US nuclear deterrence. It is estimated that China’s current arsenal of nuclear warheads it is 200 and will double in the next 10 years. The figure is pure US one-sided speculation without any evidence to prove its authenticity.
The number of nuclear weapons that China has now and will develop in the future depends on China’s strategic needs. Beijing will not participate in a nuclear arms race, especially with the United States. China’s nuclear warhead arsenals, regardless of whether it is 200 or doubling in size, is far less than even a fraction of America’s 3,800 nuclear warheads. Such a comparison of numbers shows that China’s nuclear weapons are developed to fight back. They are a force to prevent nuclear deterrence from others, or nuclear blackmail.
China’s future nuclear development will also be realized and adjusted based on the needs of China’s national defense and strategy. The number is not our main task, but raising the quality is. The focus of China’s nuclear development should be to boost nuclear weapons precision and launch capabilities. It should improve the missiles to strike farther and make them more capable of carrying more decoy projectiles to improve the penetration ability of the Chinese nuclear weapons defense.
The Pentagon has gone to great lengths to calculate China’s nuclear warheads because it intends to adjust its own approach to military development. The voices calling for the restart of nuclear tests are multiplying in the United States. Given that the country has already abandoned the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, it is very likely that it will exalt the so-called Chinese nuclear threat in an attempt to pave the way to make its own advances in nuclear development. The possibility that the United States begins developing new types of nuclear weapons and resumes its nuclear tests cannot be ruled out.
The annual report on the Chinese military is a provocation, as America’s increasingly aggressive military moves abroad. Given their inextricable internal problems (including the world’s highest infection rates and death toll from the new coronavirus, and the strong contradictions between different racial groups), Washington politicians have no choice but to divert public attention. of the crisis at home. So he chose a relatively strong and convenient rival: China.
But all of America’s provocative moves are closely monitored by China. Once the US reconnaissance aircraft or warships approach the China Air Defense Identification Zone or the islands and reefs, the Chinese fighter aircraft and navy ships will immediately start and the will expel. The United States can hardly take advantage of these operations.
The interactions will normally end after the expulsion taken by the Chinese side. This means that the United States will withdraw in the face of China’s counterattack capacity. It shows that the provocative actions of the United States are weak and lack of confidence in nature.
From time to time, the Pentagon has hinted that it does not want a true outbreak of war. He maintains his provocations under pressure from Washington. Meanwhile, it sends signals to maintain communication with the Chinese army. Simultaneously, it continues to cause problems while trying to control the crisis.
The Pentagon is acting like an ax to the White House while its own strength and confidence is waning. Deep in his heart, he doesn’t want to instigate a real full-scale war. As a result, he is behaving like a torn and shy man.
The author is a Beijing-based military analyst. [email protected]
