China is expanding its nuclear arsenal much more quickly than anticipated, narrowing the gap with the United States, the Pentagon disclosed in a report published Wednesday.
China could have 700 deliverable nuclear warheads by 2027, and could top 1,000 by 2030 — an arsenal two-and-a-half times bigger than what the Pentagon predicted only a year ago, the report revealed.
The updated estimate marks a dramatic increase from the projection reported in last year’s China Military Power report, which placed the tally around 400 warheads within a decade.
‘Over the next decade, the PRC aims to modernize, diversify and expand its nuclear forces,’ the Pentagon warned in a congressionally mandated report, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
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‘The PRC is investing in, and expanding, the number of its land, sea and air-based nuclear delivery platforms and constructing the infrastructure necessary to support this major expansion of its nuclear forces,’ the report said, adding that China has begun building at least three intercontinental ballistic missile silo facilities.
China’s growing arsenal is still dwarfed by the United States and Russia who own the lion’s share of the world’s nuclear weapons. The American stockpile stands at approximately 3,750 nuclear warheads.
Washington has previously called on China to join the U.S. and Russia in a new arms control treaty.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
