China to increase nuclear warheads to 1,500, US military warns
- A new Pentagon report says China is on track to having nearly 4 times the number of warheads by 2035, speedily closing the gap with the US
- An increase in capabilities means uncertainty over how Chinese experts view the role of such weapons, such as the ‘no first use’ policy, one analyst says
China is expanding its nuclear force and is on pace to nearly quadruple the number of warheads it has by 2035, rapidly closing its gap with the United States, the Pentagon said in a report released on Tuesday.
The report builds on the military’s warning last year that China is expanding its nuclear force much faster than US officials had predicted, highlighting a broad and accelerating build-up of military muscle designed to enable Beijing to match or surpass US global power by mid-century.
Last year, the Pentagon said the number of Chinese nuclear warheads could increase to 700 within six years and may top 1,000 by 2030. The new report says China currently has about 400 nuclear warheads, and that number could grow to 1,500 by 2035.
The United States, by comparison, has 3,750 active nuclear warheads.
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Beijing’s growing arsenal is creating uncertainty for the US as it navigates how to deter two nuclear powers, Russia and China, simultaneously, the Pentagon said in its recent nuclear posture review.