The U.S. Department of Defense provocatively claimed in a new report released yesterday that China’s nuclear arsenal will exceed that of the U.S. by 2035. “DOD estimates that the P.R.C. possessed more than 500 operational nuclear warheads as of May 2023—on track to exceed previous projections,” a fact sheet released with the report claims. “DOD estimates that the P.R.C. will probably have over 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030.”
China “has clearly stated its ambition to strengthen its ‘strategic deterrent,’ and continued throughout 2022 to accelerate the modernization, diversification, and expansion of its nuclear forces, as well as the development of its cyberspace, space, and counterspace capabilities,” it claims further.
China “increasingly turned to the PLA as an instrument of statecraft,” in 2022, the report “finds,” according to the DOD press release “Throughout the year, the PLA adopted more coercive actions in the Indo-Pacific region, while accelerating its development of capabilities, including its nuclear, space, and cyberspace capabilities; deepening military ties with Russia; and strengthening its ability to project power in the Indo-Pacific region and globally. At the same time, the P.R.C. largely denied, cancelled, and ignored recurring bilateral defense engagements, as well as DOD requests for military-to-military communication at multiple levels.”
