China’s nuclear arsenal is expanding faster than US military officials anticipated one year ago, says Pentagon report

The report highlights growing concern in Washington about Beijing’s rush to build more nuclear weapons and other cutting-edge military technologies

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff warns China’s recent advances in hyperspace missile technology represent a fundamental change in military balance of power

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Military vehicles carrying DF-41 ballistic missiles roll during a parade in Beijing in 2019. A new Pentagon report published on Wednesday said China’s nuclear arsenal has expanded faster than US military officials anticipated one year ago. Photo: AP

Robert Delaney,Jacob Fromerin WashingtonandMark Magnierin New York

Published: 1:03am, 4 Nov 2021Updated: 4:15am, 5 Nov 2021

China’s growing nuclear arsenal has expanded faster than US military officials anticipated just one year ago, according to a new Pentagon report published on Wednesday.

The report highlights growing concern in Washington about Beijing’s rush to build more nuclear weapons and other cutting-edge military technologies, widely viewed in the US capital as a growing threat to American power and global stability.

The Pentagon released the report just hours after Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned that China’s recent advances in hyperspace missile technology represent a “fundamental change” in the military balance of power – one that compels the US to pull off a similar leap in technological preparedness.

“We’re witnessing one of the largest shifts in global geostrategic power that the world has witnessed”, said Milley, referring to the totality of China’s advances in nuclear capabilities, air and naval forces and its reported recent tests of hypersonic missiles. Milley was speaking at the Aspen Security Forum in Washington.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen (centre) speaks with military personnel near aircraft parked on a highway in Jiadong, Taiwan in September. Mark Milley (not pictured) on Wednesday dodged questions about the US government’s strategy of “strategic ambiguity” with respect to Taiwan. Photo: Taiwan Presidential Office via AP

Milley added that the step change in military technology highlighted by China’s hypersonic missile prowess, artificial intelligence and robotics is the biggest since air power, mechanisation and radar were the decisive technologies that were used throughout World War II.

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