The Chinese military is pushing to double its more than 200 nuclear warheads in a decade with the ability to launch them aboard ballistic missiles by land, sea and air, the Pentagon said in a report Tuesday.
In addition to aiming for technological parity with the United States, the People’s Liberation Army also focuses on conducting joint operations, in order to deter or defeat any American effort to intervene on behalf of Taiwan, according to the report.
He said the PLA has already equaled or surpassed the US military in several areas, including shipbuilding, land-based cruise and ballistic missiles, and air defense systems.
And in its first public estimate of China’s nuclear capacity, the annual report said the country has warheads “in the low 200s” in its nuclear arsenal, less than the 300 or more estimated by independent analysts.
The report says the number is expected to double in 10 years. China can already launch nuclear weapons using ballistic missiles from land and sea, and is developing the capacity to develop an air-launched ballistic missile as well, according to the report.
“Beijing is likely looking to develop an army by mid-century that is equal to, or in some cases superior to, the US military or any other major power the PRC considers a threat.” the report said.
If China achieves that goal and the United States does not address it, the report said, “it will have serious implications for the national interests of the United States and the security of the rules-based international order.”
A Pentagon official said that while China remains far behind the United States in terms of nuclear warheads, the acceleration shows that Beijing is moving from its traditional “minimal deterrence posture” to full-blown competition.
“Combined with an almost complete lack of transparency regarding their strategic intent and the perceived need for a much larger and more diverse nuclear force, these developments pose significant concern to the United States,” said Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Chad Sbragia.
He said that military expansion is part of China’s overall strategy for radical modernization and to establish itself as a leading world power by 2049.
China has made clear that it sees the United States seeking to maintain military supremacy globally and says Washington, with military bases on the edge of the western Pacific and a powerful naval presence throughout the region, is the source of tensions in Asia.
The report noted that China already has the largest navy in the world, with 350 ships and submarines, compared to 293 in the US Navy.
The Pentagon has highlighted that deficit as it seeks to expand its fleet to 355 ships.
The report also highlights China’s advantage, which is not restricted by the arms deals that the United States and Russia have, in ground-launched ballistic missiles.
However, the United States is a leader in submarine-launched and air-launched ballistic missiles; China is still working to develop the latter.
The report described China as determined to project its power eastward in the Pacific beyond Taiwan and to pressure the United States to exit the region.
The report says that while China seeks to bring Washington’s ally Taiwan under its control, Beijing seeks the ability to win a possible war with the United States over the island.
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