The Federation of American Scientists, the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, and others have received satellite pictures that appear to show China developing large fields of new missile silos in its sparsely inhabited western area.
This has sparked worries that Beijing is on the verge of building a far greater nuclear arsenal than anybody had anticipated, aiming to compete with the US and Russia, the two nations that have historically controlled the global nuclear order.
If this occurs, tripolarity will become the main property of that order for the first time, raising concerns about nuclear stability. Furthermore, tripolarity would be especially bad news for Washington in the present security climate, which is marked by increased US competitiveness with both Beijing and Moscow.
China urges to complete control over nuclear weapons
After successfully testing its first nuclear device in 1964, China became a nuclear-armed state in the late 1960s. Despite this, Beijing maintained a very restricted nuclear posture after that, owing to Chinese officials' belief that nuclear weapons were of little use. The Chinese leadership also wanted complete control over the weapons, which was simpler to do by keeping a limited nuclear arsenal and refusing to engage in arms races with the US and the Soviet Union, as per The Business Insider.
According to the Pentagon, China's nuclear weapon stockpile may double in size, bringing it to more than 400 warheads at the very least. Concerns that China poses a nuclear danger have been dismissed by Beijing, which points out that its arsenal is far inferior to that of the United States and Russia, the world's two greatest nuclear powers.
Along with expanding nuclear weapons, US Air Force Lieutenant General Thomas Bussiere pointed out that the United States and China lack a system for nuclear talks or treaties, as the United States does with Russia. Despite the US' efforts to get China to sign a nuclear weapons pact with Russia, Beijing has refused, stating that it has no intention of doing so.
Per Newsweek via MSN, the relationship between China and the United States has been worsening for some time, and Beijing regards most of America's activities as a method of preventing China from progressing. Attempts to draw China into treaties and discussion mechanisms, were a method of curbing "China's nuclear arsenal growth," which would perpetuate the gap in nuclear weapons, according to Hu Xijin, editor-in-chief of the Global Times.
The US offers talks with China
Despite Hu's denials that China is engaging in anything more than modest nuclear deterrence, he said that the country should continue to expand its nuclear weapons. He urged Beijing to take a "strong stance" on the issue and not be "dissuaded and influenced" by US officials and generals' "tricks."
According to Hu, a fundamental component of China's national security, this isn't the first time he's urged for China to increase its arsenal. Hu wrote an op-ed in June urging the country to prepare for an "intense battle between China and the United States," which would need a quick buildup in nuclear weapons and missiles.
While China has always positioned itself as a moral high ground, avoiding costly and hazardous weapons competitions, this looks to be changing under President Xi Jinping. China is heading into new terrain with nuclear weapons at the same time as it is cracking down on opposition at home and establishing new authority over Hong Kong.
Analysts are discussing the reasons for the country's fast expansion of its weapons, as well as the appropriate course of action for the US. The simplest explanation for the shift in strategy was that China desired an arsenal to match its economic, technical, and military might. Another reason was that China was anxious about American missile defenses, India's nuclear development, and Russia's terrifying new weapons.
There was also speculation that China was concerned about the vulnerability of its few ground-based missiles, and that by constructing more than 200 silos in two places, they might play games with the US, challenging authorities to guess where they were. China may be pulled into weapons control talks with the US and Russia at some point, with US officials allegedly requesting openness from Beijing before, as per The Sun.
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