In the backdrop of Taiwan tension, China is mulling tripling its nuclear warheads arsenal to 900 by 2035, according to Japan’s Kyodo News.
Citing Chinese sources, the publication stated that the plans formulated by the People’s Liberation Army had been approved by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The current plan is to raise the number of nuclear warheads to 550 by 2027, the centenary of the foundation of the armed forces, and later take it to 900 by 2035.
Beijing has closely monitored the ongoing situation in Russia and reflected that Moscow’s strong nuclear deterrence policy had prevented the likes of the US or NATO to open up a war front.
Politburo understands that the lethal capabilities of nuclear weapons can be a good bargaining chip, if and when it goes for a Taiwan invasion.
Notably, this is not the first instance when reports of China attempting to expand its nuclear arsenal have swirled around. Last year, a Pentagon report suggested that China was planning to take its nuclear warhead stockpile to 1,500.
The report stated that “the Department of Defense estimates that (China’s) operational nuclear warheads stockpile has surpassed 400.” By 2035, China “will likely field a stockpile of about 1,500 warheads” if its nuclear development pace is maintained.
“They’ve got a rapid buildup that is kind of too substantial to keep under wraps. It does raise questions about whether they are kind of shifting away from a strategy that was premised on what they referred to as a lean and effective deterrent,” a US military official was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Notably, Russia currently leads the chart in the number of nuclear warheads in possession. It has 5,977 warheads while the US comes behind at second with 5,428 warheads, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.