A U.S. nuclear and missile defense expert said, “The U.S. is exposed to China’s nuclear threat, as China is rapidly increasing its nuclear arsenal and testing new technologies that neither the U.S. nor Russia possess.” claimed.
Patti-Jane Zeller, senior researcher for nuclear deterrence and missile defense at the Center for National Defense of the Heritage Foundation, wrote an article on Wall Street (WSJ) on the 15th titled, “Whether we like it or not, the United States is engaged in a nuclear race with China.”
The United States is unprepared for a Chinese nuclear threat. The current US nuclear defense posture was created more than a decade ago and is primarily focused on deterring Russia. At the time, most people believed that China had around 200 nuclear weapons. However, the Pentagon estimates that China’s nuclear arsenal will reach 1,000 by 2030.
The modernization of US nuclear capabilities has remained at the level of replacing existing nuclear weapons. Even that has been very slow.
The United States must have a nuclear force that convinces China that the use of nuclear weapons will do more harm than good. Not sure if that’s possible right now. The US nuclear force is not strong enough to take on both Russia and China at the same time. As cooperation between the two countries intensifies, such concerns will only grow.
The United States should prioritize the following three priorities to strengthen its nuclear force.
First of all, we need to increase our nuclear arsenal. For deterrence to be sufficient, it must have nuclear weapons capable of attacking the assets the enemy values most, such as nuclear weapons. Given China’s hundreds of new nuclear launch pads, the United States must have nuclear weapons to attack them all. Nuclear deterrence is about numbers.
We need to increase the nuclear modernization defense budget to purchase land-launched missiles, Columbia-class submarines, and B-21 bombers. In addition, it must have the ability to increase nuclear warheads in the short term. Currently, it takes more than a few months, if not years, to increase the number of warheads mounted on intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
Second, it must have the capabilities necessary to deter the threat posed by China. Current nuclear arsenals are geared towards Russian deterrence and are not sufficient to deter China. The goals of America’s adversaries may be different, and the circumstances in which nuclear weapons are used may also be different.
At the very least, the United States should accelerate the development of nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missiles. By strengthening nuclear forces in the Indo-Pacific region, we can provide a credible countermeasure for the US president to choose against China’s limited use of nuclear weapons, such as a tactical nuclear attack against the US on Guam.
The development budget of 45 million dollars (approximately 58.4 billion won) approved last year should be increased to 400 million dollars this year so that cruise missiles can be deployed by 2030.
Finally, given the uncertainty of the extent of China’s nuclear threat and the new situation in which the US, China, and Russia are in a nuclear race, the US should be able to change its nuclear arsenal.
The current US nuclear program is not designed to change quickly in response to changes in the new geopolitical environment. For example, it took 12 years to design the W93/Mark 7 nuclear warhead. In addition, the United States will not increase the plutonium stock needed to build nuclear warheads beyond 2030.
This wasn’t a problem until China’s nuclear arsenal surged, but the current situation makes it difficult to easily build up military power without spending a lot of money, and long-term investments are needed to rectify this. Investment and efforts to prepare for a nuclear war must be strengthened.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.