1,500 units expected to be deployed in 2035
The U.S. Department of Defense estimated on the 19th (local time) that the number of deployed Chinese nuclear warheads exceeds 500. Last year alone, more than 100 nuclear warheads were produced, increasing nuclear power exponentially. It is also predicted that China will increase the number of operationally deployed nuclear warheads to 1,500 by 2035, putting it on par with the United States. As the space race and espionage war between the U.S. and China accelerate, the number of Chinese reconnaissance satellites reconnoitering the Korean Peninsula and the Taiwan Strait is estimated to have increased by more than 30 in just three months.
In the ‘2023 China Military Power Report’ released on this day, the US Department of Defense stated, “China has accelerated its nuclear expansion in 2022,” and “as of May this year, China’s operational nuclear warhead stockpile is estimated to be more than 500.” . The report on China’s military capabilities, which is submitted to Congress every year under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), last year estimated China’s stockpile of operational nuclear warheads by 2022 at 400.
The report continued, “China is estimated to have more than 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030, most of which will be deployed in (missile) systems capable of putting the U.S. mainland within range,” adding, “By 2035, there will be 1,500 nuclear warheads.” “It will exceed expectations,” he predicted.
Currently, the United States is deploying 1,419 of its 3,700 nuclear warheads. Russia, the world’s largest nuclear power, has deployed 1,550 of its 4,489 nuclear weapons. This means that China is seeking to triple the number of nuclear warheads that can be loaded onto missiles and launched immediately within 12 years, thereby attaining the same level of nuclear power as the United States and Russia.
“This is a level that exceeds previous predictions,” the report said. “In 2020, the Department of Defense estimated China’s stockpile of operational nuclear warheads to be in the low 200s and expected to at least double by 2030.”
Along with the increase in nuclear power, China’s nuclear operation concept is also shifting from ‘nuclear deterrence’, which prevents nuclear attacks by enemy countries, to ‘LOW (Launch on Warning)’ posture, which immediately launches a nuclear attack as soon as signs of an enemy attack are detected. said. A senior U.S. Department of Defense official said, “The Chinese government is expanding and diversifying its nuclear military capabilities quite rapidly,” and added, “Compared to 10 years ago, it is rapidly evolving in both scale and precision.”
China has also significantly strengthened its missile capabilities capable of attacking the United States, and currently possesses 350 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and 500 launchers, the report said. He also warned that a new ICBM system currently under development using conventional weapons could threaten Hawaii and Alaska as well as the U.S. mainland.
The report pointed out that China, which is known to have built a wiretapping base in Cuba following the reconnaissance balloon incident in February of this year, is also strengthening its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) system through reconnaissance satellites. Last year’s report estimated that China had 260 reconnaissance satellites in orbit around the Earth as of the end of 2021, but this year it said it was operating more than 290 as of March last year. “These satellites allow China to conduct reconnaissance of potential conflict areas in the region, including the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan, the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea,” the report said.
Conventional forces have also been strengthened, and the number of warships and submarines in the Chinese navy, now the world’s largest, totals 370, an increase of 30 from last year, and the number of air force aircraft increased by 350 to 3,150. In addition, despite the decline in economic growth, China’s defense budget as of last year was $229 billion, a 7.1% increase from the previous year, reaching 5.4 times that of Korea ($42.5 billion).
There are concerns that the rapid strengthening of China’s nuclear power could lead to weakening trust in the U.S. nuclear umbrella in the region. Victor Cha, Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a U.S. think tank, pointed out at a U.S. Senate hearing on the 4th, “China’s large-scale buildup of nuclear weapons and North Korea’s move to possess nuclear weapons are fundamentally changing the security environment on the Korean Peninsula.”
Washington =
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.