Pentagon Says China Likely To Have 1,500 Nuclear Warheads By 2035

Chinese Dong Feng 26 ballistic missile. (Wikimedia Commons/IceUnshattered)

JAKARTA - China will likely have a stockpile of 1.500 nuclear warheads by 2035, if it continues to accelerate its current nuclear build-up, according to a report released by the United States Department of Defense (Pentagon) on Tuesday.

The figure underscores growing US concern about China's intentions to expand its nuclear arsenal, even though the projections do not suggest China is accelerating its already fast pace of warhead development.

"They have a rapid buildup that is too big to keep secret," a senior US defense official said at a news briefing about the Pentagon's annual report on China's military.

"It does raise the question of whether they are shifting somewhat away from a strategy based on what they call a lean and effective deterrent," he said.

The report, which mainly covers activities in 2021, says China currently has a nuclear stockpile of more than 400 warheads.

The Pentagon's projection for China's nuclear arsenal of 1.000 warheads by 2030 remains unchanged, the official said, adding the projection for 2035 was based on an unchanged pace of expansion.

China says its arsenal is dwarfed by that of the United States and Russia, and is ready for dialogue, but only if Washington reduces its nuclear stockpile to China's level.

The United States has a known stockpile of about 3.700 nuclear warheads, with 1.740 of them deployed, according to the think-tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Earlier, Chinese President Xi Jinping hinted during the Communist Party Congress in October that China would strengthen its strategic deterrent, a term often used to describe nuclear weapons.

The report also reiterated concerns about increasing pressure by Beijing on self-ruled Taiwan, an island that China sees as a breakaway province.

However, US officials say Washington does not see an invasion of Taiwan in the near future.