Hi everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Military TV. Today, we are going to take a deeper
look at China’s powerful nuclear arsenal, as well as discussing whether they could have one thousand
nuclear warheads by 2030. To tame your curiosity, sit back and watch this video ‘till the end.
According to the recent US Defense Department report released in the beginning of November,
China’s fervent effort to strengthen its strategic nuclear ordnance will predictably enable them to
own 1000 nuclear warheads by the year 2030. The annual reported of Pentagon submitted to Congress
also detailed estimates of China military power that count 700 deliverable nuclear warheads by
2027 and subsequently reaching 1,000 three years later. The report also cautioned that
China has probably already developed a nascent nuclear triad by developing a nuclear-capable
air-launched ballistic missile and improving its ground and sea-based nuclear capabilities.
However, according to Sweden-based Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI),
despite the rapid acceleration on weapon expansion, China, which reportedly only
has the total of 350 nuclear warheads, is still left behind the United States with its
nuclear stockpile of 5,550 warheads, and Russia, which has staggering number of 6,255 stockpiles.
To date, Beijing has declined the invitation to join arms control talks,
stating that its nuclear arsenal is much smaller than those of other two major nuclear powers.
Nonetheless, China’s passion in pursuing broad military modernization program has successfully
cast suspicion on its real intentions. Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff spoke during a discussion at the Aspen Security Forum and stated that he regarded
China as “No. 1” military challenger to the United States. This statement came a week later after he
dubbed China’s recent hypersonic weapon as a near “Sputnik” moment, which in 1957 has stirred the
American public and helped trigger the nuclear arms race during a Cold War. General Milley also
said that China has its own “China dream” and wish to challenge the liberal rules-based order.
Following the question related to China-Taiwan conflict, Milley then added that the United
States absolutely has the capability to defend Taiwan from China’s attack as long as the US
political leaders agree to do so. However, he also mentioned that such a decision would convey a huge
shift from United States’ long-held “strategic ambiguity” policy on China-Taiwan dispute,
that has helped maintaining the significant relation between China and the United States.
Mr. Milley went on and said that he doesn’t have any expectation from China to resort
to real military action against Taiwan in the next 24 months, but when asked whether Pentagon
could defend Taiwan in such an event, he firmly stated that the United States definitely have the
capacity to do “all kinds of things around the world, to include that, if required.”
In its most recent 2019 defense plan, China stated that it would preserve its "nuclear
capabilities at the minimal level essential for national security.” Beijing has also stated that
it will not use nuclear weapons first or against any country that does not possess nuclear weapons.
However, in mid-2021 a report from the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) enclosed satellite
images from Xinjiang province in the western part of the country that suggest China is building a
nuclear missile silo field. It is reportedly the second new silo to be built and currently
under construction in western China. The site is known to be able to accommodate about 110 silos,
which refer to underground establishment used for the inventory of missiles as well as from
where they are going to be launched. Another report from the Washington Post stated 120 silos
spotted at a desert area in Yumen, Gansu Province. The new location at Hami, roughly 380 kilometers
north-west of Yumen, was at a considerably earlier stage of development, according to the
released FAS assessment. Previously, commercial satellite imagery was used to detect the silo
field in Xinjiang, but Planet, a satellite imaging firm, later produced higher-resolution images.
That’s all for today, thank you for watching and see you in the next episode!