China’s nuclear arsenal is on track to more than triple by 2035 to reach 1,500 nuclear warheads, the Pentagon said in a report released Tuesday that also highlighted the steady improvement of China’s air force. Washington has identified Beijing as its main military challenge, and China’s annual military report highlights a buildup of both nuclear and conventional forces.
“The Defense Ministry estimates that the (Chinese) stockpile of operational nuclear warheads has exceeded 400,” the report said. “If China continues to increase its nuclear arsenal at this rate, in all probability it will have an arsenal of around 1,500 warheads” by 2035. An arsenal, however, still far behind that of the United States and Russia, which each possess several thousand. nuclear warheads.
135 ballistic missile tests in 2021
Beijing, which is also working to modernize ballistic missiles that could carry these nuclear warheads, tested 135 of them in 2021, “more than the rest of the world” if we don’t count those fired during military conflicts, the report says. And the Chinese air force is making great strides, “catching up quickly with the Western air forces.” A senior military official clarified before the report was published that the Chinese air force was trying to “act quickly on all fronts,” including equipment, pilots, and other personnel.
The report also finds that China is taking “more coercive and aggressive actions in the Indo-Pacific region,” a term used by the US administration to refer to a changing reality of alliances in the Asia-Pacific. This is especially the case for Taiwan, an island claimed by Beijing as part of its territory.
A visit to the island by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in August heightened tensions, and in response, China conducted its most aggressive military exercises on the island since the 1990s. Since then, it has decreased, but the senior military official noted that Chinese activity around Taiwan, even if it decreased, was still more important than before and a source of concern.
Source: BFM TV
