WASHINGTON: A new report released by the U.S. Pentagon claims that China is aggressively expanding its nuclear arsenal building and the necessary infrastructure to support its nuclear expansion. It also said that China plans to have at least 1,000 nuclear weapons by 2030.
A Pentagon report on “Military and Security Development” in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2021 states that China is increasingly investing in and expanding its land, sea and air-based nuclear distribution platforms. According to a Pentagon report, China has also begun building the infrastructure needed to support this major expansion of its nuclear arsenal. The report also said that the accelerated pace of the PRC’s nuclear expansion could enable the PRC to acquire 400 distributable nuclear weapons by 2024. The PRC is likely to have at least 1,000 weapons by 2030, which will exceed the speed and size of the DOD estimated in 2020.
The Chinese government has already set up a new nuclear triangle, with the development of ballistic missiles (ALBMs) and its land and sea-based nuclear capabilities, which can be launched at a cost of nuclear power, the report said.
A senior U.S. defense official told reporters about the Pentagon report. “The nuclear proliferation (People’s Republic of China) is definitely a very important and sensitive issue for us,” the official said.
