China Builds 330 New Missile Silos, US Worries

Illustration of China's Dong Feng-26 missile. (Wikimedia Commons/IceUnshattered)

JAKARTA - The United States (US) authorities expressed concern, along with the disclosure of reports of the construction of about 330 new missile silos by China, which could support the increase in the Bamboo Curtain country's nuclear power.

In the latest report by the Federation of United States Scientists (AFS) Monday this week, satellite images show China is building a new silo field near Hemi, east of the Xinjiang region. Reports say China is building 110 more missile silos.

The report comes weeks after the construction of about 120 missile silos in Yumen, a desert area about 240 miles (380 km) to the southeast. This achievement of China invites US concern.

"This is the second time in two months the public has learned of what we have been saying so far about the increasing threats facing the world and the veil of secrecy that surrounds it," US Strategic Command said in a tweet linked to a New York Times article about the AFS report, citing citing Reuters Wednesday 28 July.

In early July, the State Department called China's nuclear development worrying, judging Beijing as deviating from a decades-old nuclear strategy based on minimal deterrence. This led the US to ask China to reduce the risk of an arms race.

Illustration of a Chinese missile. (Wikimedia Commons/Tyg728)

Republican US Congressman Mike Turner, a ranking member of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, said the speed at which China's nuclear development was progressing was unprecedented and posed a real threat to the US and its allies.

He said China's refusal to negotiate arms control should be of concern and condemned by all responsible countries. Meanwhile, Turner's partner Mike Rogers said China's capacity building shows the need to rapidly modernize the US nuclear deterrent.

A 2020 Pentagon report estimates China's stockpile of nuclear warheads at a low category, at around 200, and projects the number could at least double as Beijing expands and modernizes its forces.

By comparison, analysts say the United States has about 3,800 nuclear warheads, with a State Department fact sheet saying 1,357 of them were in a "ready-to-use" position as of March 1.

Washington has repeatedly called on China to join it and Russia in a new arms control treaty.

United States Department of State spokesman Ned Price (Wikimedia Commons/US Department of State)

Previously, in early July, the US State Department expressed concern about the speed of construction of China's nuclear weapons facilities, even saying it could exceed what was previously anticipated.

"These reports and other developments suggest that the PRC's nuclear arsenal will grow faster, and to higher levels than previously anticipated," State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a news conference earlier this month.

"This buildup is worrying. It raises questions about the PRC's intentions. And for us, it reinforces the importance of pursuing practical steps to reduce nuclear risk. We encourage Beijing to engage with us on practical steps to reduce the risk of destabilizing the arms race - potentially destabilizing." tension," said Price at the time.

Price added that this is why President Joe Biden prioritized strategic stability in his engagement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the same reasoning would apply to engagements with other PRC nuclear powers.