Ian Patrick, FISM News
An annual report released by the United States Department of Defense on Wednesday warned of the “accelerating pace of” China’s nuclear capabilities, suggesting that China may have 700 nuclear warheads by 2027.
The report, entitled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2021,” is sent to Congress every year providing lawmakers with a background of China’s multiple goals involving national strategy, foreign policy, military development, and economic outlook.
Overall the report says that China’s national strategy “aims to achieve a ‘great rejuvenation'” of their country “to match or surpass U.S. global influence and power, displace U.S. alliances and security partnerships in the Indo-Pacific region, and revise the international order to be more advantageous to Beijing’s authoritarian system and national interests.”
Their foreign and economic policies are structured around this “rejuvenation” goal by being a more active player in the world in both areas. Their military strategy “aims to safeguard its sovereignty, security, and development interests” as it realizes the “rejuvenation” dream.
Buried within a section detailing titled “Missions and Task of China’s Armed Forces in the ‘New Era'” is one of the more notable parts of the entire report, which tells of China’s ever-growing nuclear capabilities.
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.
Apparently, China “is also supporting this expansion by increasing its capacity to produce and separate plutonium by constructing fast breeder reactors and reprocessing facilities.”
The report says that China is making nuclear warheads much quicker than anticipated and they will likely “have up to 700 deliverable nuclear warheads by 2027.” It assumes that China may be trying to reach a goal of 1,000 of these warheads by 2030 which surpasses “the pace and size the DoD projected in 2020.”
The DoD says that China may have also developed a “nuclear triad,” which means they would be able to launch nuclear capable weapons from the air, land, and sea.
Finally, China is trying to establish the “peacetime readiness of its nuclear forces” with the development of nuclear silos. A separate report from the Federation of American Scientists confirms through satellite imaging that China is making “significant progress” on three different missile silo construction sites that were discovered in the summer of 2020.
The report also reinvigorated concerns that China will use its military and economic influence to bring Taiwan under its fold. Although Taiwan is a separate democratic nation, China claims it to be part of the mainland country. Tensions between the two nations have been at a fever pitch with China even announcing earlier this year a plan to invade the island nation.