The Pentagon this week issued its annual report on China’s military power that claimed Beijing could nearly quadruple its nuclear stockpile by 2035, bringing it to 1,500 warheads.
Current estimates put China’s nuclear stockpile at about 350, although the Pentagon claims the number has surpassed 400. Beijing has signaled it plans to increase its nuclear deterrence, but it’s not clear if they will build new warheads at the rate the Pentagon estimates.
China’s arsenal is vastly smaller than the US and Russia’s and, unlike Washington and Moscow, has a no-first-use policy. Including retired warheads that are expected to be dismantled, the US is estimated to possess 5,500 warheads, and Russia is said to have 6,250.
The US has called on China to engage in trilateral arms control talks, but the only way that would happen is if the US and Russia work together to significantly reduce their stockpiles, and the prospects of any new arms control agreements between Washington and Moscow are bleak.
The Pentagon’s report echoed its recently released National Defense Strategy, which identified China as its top priority. The military power report calls Beijing the “most consequential and systemic challenge to our national security and to a free and open international system.”
The report said that China is keeping up “persistent” military operations around Taiwan, which is a response to increasing US support for Taipei.
In August, China launched its largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visiting the island. Beijing has kept up the military pressure since then by regularly flying planes across the median line, an informal barrier that separates the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Before Pelosi’s visit, China made clear it would respond to the provocation, and analysts rightly predicted that flights across the median line would become a regular operation if she went through with the trip.
So what? We have thousands. We have used a couple of nukes. Long, long ago. We found that they were pretty , destroying structures and melting human beings. So we set out to make better nukes. And more of them.
Pentagon: Our budget COULD BE 1500 trillion by 2035. So keep giving us more money while we make up nonexistent threats!
Bomb, bombs and more bombs?……………………………
Surely there are enough nukes to bomb the world several times over…? If all the nuclear countries got together and could agree, each country could work on thinning out, at least the excesses?… Heck, five nukes apiece would be enough to end the world as we know it….
So, is China inferring that Nancy is a “provocation”?…
1. You’re right, strategic nukes are useful only as a suicide bomb (MAD), so, given their present kiloton-age, beyond a limited few the rest are superfluous.
2. The neocon policy she signaled by her visit: China the #1 threat, constant vilification and hostile propaganda, sanctions, war games, massively arming Taiwan and encouraging independence movement, constitutes a very serious provocation.
Well said Robert and thank you…
My take on it is that the Pelosi visit was just the last straw. And I agree with Robert that our hostility and insistence on not recognizing China’s red lines were … well. By the time we finished with them verbally they had to respond.
The Ukrainian coup happened in 2014. The SMO started in 2022. China seems to be following in Russia’s footsteps.
Ever so slowly and patiently.
“Including retired warheads that are expected to be dismantled…” Believe me folks, no warheads are being dismantled anytime soon. They’ll be using all of them… Very soon.
You really have to have a low opinion of your population’s collective intelligence when you try to sell them this load of garbage.
In actuality they have to have a low opinion of our population’s gullibility to accept an “official” narrative, like the notion that Afghanistan needed to be invaded. In August of 2001 almost no one believed that it was a good idea to invade Afghanistan. By the end of September fully 80% of Americans were all for it. 9/11 was the pretext for all the Middle East wars of this century. As General Wesley Clark said, “seven Muslem nations in 5 years”, all of them planned long before 9/11.
I heard FOX report on this breathlessly. 1,500 is the limit mentioned in the now defunct START treaty. So we are getting all excited about China informally adhering to START.
the US is estimated to possess 5,500 warheads, and Russia is said to have 6,250
“Iran must be destroyed because they might be enriching their uranium to a level that we simply cannot tolerate!”
…. uncle sam
So fucking what?