https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/f...amme-0b553mj65
Fears rise over China’s nuclear weapons programme
Beijing is feared to be in the process of a significant expansion of its nuclear weapons capability after commencing the construction of more than 100 new missile silos in its northwestern desert.
Work is underway at several sites spanning hundreds of square miles near the ancient Silk Road city of Yumen, according to satellite images obtained by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California.
The work indicates a major uptick in China’s nuclear deterrent, Dr Jeffrey Lewis, an expert on China’s nuclear arsenal, told the
Washington Post.
Describing the scale of the project as “incredible,” Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Programme at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said, “if the silos under construction at other sites across China are added to the count, the total comes to about 145 silos under construction.”
“We believe China is expanding its nuclear forces in part to maintain a deterrent that can survive a US first strike in sufficient numbers to defeat US missile defences.”
Lewis said the silos are likely intended for a Chinese missile that can carry multiple warheads with a range of 9,300 miles, sufficient to reach the US mainland.
The construction boom represents a major shift for China, which is thought to hold a modest stockpile of as few as 250 nuclear weapons, compared to the 11,000 collectively owned by the US and Russia. Beijing has deployed decoy silos in the past.
Admiral Charles Richard, who commands US nuclear forces, said at a congressional hearing in April that a “breathtaking expansion” of China’s intercontinental ballistic missile programme was taking place, including mobile missile launchers that can be hidden from satellites.
The Chinese navy, meanwhile, has introduced submarines capable of holding nuclear weapons.