A new report by the Pentagon reveals that China might produce over 1,000 warheads by 2030 in order to increase its nuclear weapons arsenal. The Pentagon on Wednesday further estimated that Beijing could have 700 warheads ready by 2027 and possibly 1,000 by 2030, as reported by Reuters.
Though the numbers would still significantly be smaller than the current US nuclear stockpile, it represents a significant change in the US projection from last year, when the Pentagon warned the Chinese arsenal would top 400 by the end of the decade.
China has been repeatedly asked to join the US and Russia in a new arms control treaty. The East Asian country however says that its arsenal is dwarfed by those of the United States and Russia, and that it is ready for dialogue, only if Washington reduces its nuclear stockpile to China’s level.
In its annual report to Congress on China’s military, the Pentagon stressed on concerns regarding pressure on self-ruled Taiwan, and China’s chemical & biological programs and technological advancements.
“Over the next decade, the PRC aims to modernize, diversify, and expand its nuclear forces,” the report said, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
It added that China had started building at least three intercontinental ballistic missile silo fields. “Whether China follows through with these estimates from the United States will depend in great part on the policies and actions of the United States,” Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said.
“The potential for China to increase its arsenal to these levels underscores the urgent necessity of pragmatic bilateral or multilateral talks to reduce nuclear risks,” Kimball added.
The United States has a stockpile of 3,750 nuclear warheads, of which 1,389 were deployed as of Sept. 1.
