The Pentagon says China is rapidly expanding its nuclear forces

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China has increased its arsenal of operational nuclear warheads from 500 to 600 in just one year, as the People’s Liberation Army continues to rapidly expand its forces, according to the US Department of Defense.

The Pentagon said in its annual report on Chinese military power: Chinese People’s Liberation Army It expanded its arsenal by 20 percent in the 12 months from mid-2023, and was on track to have 1,000 operational warheads by 2030.

The Pentagon has warned in recent years that the United States will soon face two nuclear counterparts ChinaIran’s arsenal is close in size to the United States and Russia.

China has not denied increasing the size of its nuclear forces, but it rejects American concerns about this issue, saying that Washington is using it as an excuse for its pursuit of “absolute strategic hegemony.”

The Pentagon report estimated that China will continue to increase its nuclear forces until at least 2035. But he did not repeat it. Its forecast for 2022 was that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army was on track to have 1,500 warheads. By the middle of the next decade, a number that would nearly match the number published by the United States and Russia.

A US defense official said that the Pentagon is being cautious in its latest forecasts.

“The further we go…the more difficult it is to have forecasts that you can have a lot of confidence in, because there are a lot of variables that can cause them to adjust either what they think is necessary or what they can do.”

The People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, which manages most of China’s nuclear arsenal, is developing new intercontinental ballistic missiles that would significantly improve its nuclear capabilities, the report said.

The report, approved by Congress, comes as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office in January. Defense experts are waiting to see what approach he will take in dealing with China and Taiwan.

US officials believe President Xi Jinping has ordered the Chinese military to develop the capability to invade Taiwan by 2027, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army. The defense official stressed that the Pentagon did not believe an attack on Taiwan was “imminent or inevitable,” and said the United States had “real and strong deterrence today.”

The PLA has made “varying progress” toward its 2027 modernization goal, the report said.

The report said the People’s Liberation Army was facing a new “wave” of corruption in its senior ranks that “may have stalled” progress toward the 2027 target. The report concluded that it “may have shaken Beijing’s confidence in senior PLA officials.”

China’s Defense Ministry said last month that Miao Hua, one of the five most senior military officers leading the People’s Liberation Army, was also involved Investigation into “serious breaches of discipline”.

The Financial Times reported last month that some US officials believe Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun is also under investigation. The US official said he could neither confirm nor deny whether Dong was being investigated. Beijing has rejected this claim. Both Dong’s predecessors – Wei Fenghe and Li Shangfu – have been placed under investigation for corruption.

In the second half of 2023 alone, China removed at least 15 high-ranking military officials and defense industry executives, including the head of the People’s Liberation Army’s missile force, the Pentagon official said.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said in August that Beijing’s nuclear strategy focused on self-defense, and that it had always kept its nuclear capabilities at the “minimum required by national security.”

“The United States is the main source of nuclear threats and strategic risks in the world,” Mao said.