The US Defense Department’s annual report on China’s military, released in November, again illustrated the breathtaking pace and scale of China’s conventional-military modernization.
But this year’s report includes a more urgent message: China “has accelerated its nuclear expansion” and is “exceeding the pace and size the DoD projected in 2020,” the Pentagon said.
This month, a Chinese arms-control official denied those assertions, but Beijing’s work is still seen as troubling. It’s also a reminder of just how small China’s nuclear arsenal was and is compared to other major powers, and it shows how dramatically Chinese thinking about nuclear weapons has shifted in recent years.
Continue Reading Article ( Business Insider ) …
Why Is China Accelerating Its Buildup Of Nuclear Weapons?
The US Defense Department’s annual report on China’s military, released in November, again illustrated the breathtaking pace and scale of China’s conventional-military modernization.
But this year’s report includes a more urgent message: China “has accelerated its nuclear expansion” and is “exceeding the pace and size the DoD projected in 2020,” the Pentagon said.
This month, a Chinese arms-control official denied those assertions, but Beijing’s work is still seen as troubling. It’s also a reminder of just how small China’s nuclear arsenal was and is compared to other major powers, and it shows how dramatically Chinese thinking about nuclear weapons has shifted in recent years.
Continue Reading Article ( Business Insider ) …
Published in Asia and Commentary & Analysis