China will triple its arsenal of nuclear weapons by 2035: the disturbing report released by the Pentagon

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China It will triple its nuclear arsenal to 1,500 warheads by 2035, the Pentagon estimates in a report published Tuesday that also highlights the growing sophistication of the Asian power’s air force.

The Pentagon highlights improvements in Beijing’s nuclear and conventional forces, identified by Washington as its most important challenge.

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“The Department of Defense estimates that (China’s) arsenal of operational nuclear warheads has already exceeded 400,” supports the report. “Yes China continues the pace of its nuclear expansion, andIt is likely that it will have an arsenal of about 1,500 warheads” by 2035, highlights.

This figure would still be far behind those available from United States and Russiawhich have several thousand nuclear warheads each.

China is also working on modernizing its ballistic missiles. capable of carrying nuclear weapons. In 2021, the study recalls, it made 135 test launches, “more than the rest of the world combined”, excluding those fired in conflicts, according to the report.

Also Beijing Air Force is advancing, “quickly catching up with Western air forces”warns the Pentagon.

The report points to the way in which China is using its army in the Indo-Pacific region: “It has adopted more coercive and aggressive actions,” he stresses.

This is especially the case around Taiwan, the self-governing island that Beijing considers a rogue province and claims as its own.

In August, a visit by the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, angered Chinawhich reacted with the largest and most aggressive maneuvers around the island since the 1990s.

Since then, both parties have tried to reduce the tension. The senior defense official said that although Chinese military activity around Taiwan has decreased since that episode, it is still higher than before.

Beijing is “establishing a kind of new normal in terms of the level of military activity around Taiwan following the visit” of Pelosi, said the official.

“Even if we don’t see an imminent invasion, it is obvious that this high level of intimidating and coercive activity around Taiwan is cause for concern,” he added.

Source: Elcomercio

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