Washington, Oct 19: China has more than 500 nuclear bombs in its arsenal and is developing new Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) that will significantly improve its nuclear-capable missile forces, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
In its latest report on China sent to the US Congress, the Pentagon said that over the next decade, China will continue to rapidly modernise, diversify, and expand its nuclear forces.
“The PRC (People’s Republic of China) is developing new ICBMs that will significantly improve its nuclear-capable missile forces and will require increased nuclear warhead production, partially due to the introduction of multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) capabilities,” the Pentagon said in the report.
China may be exploring the development of conventionally-armed intercontinental-range missile systems, the report said.
If developed and fielded, such capabilities would allow China to threaten conventional strikes against targets in the continental United States, Hawaii, and Alaska. Conventionally armed ICBMs would present significant risks to strategic stability, the report said.
China is expanding the number of its land, sea and air-based nuclear delivery platforms while investing in and constructing the infrastructure necessary to support further expansion of its nuclear forces. In 2022, Beijing continued its rapid nuclear expansion, and the US estimates China’s stockpile had more than 500 operational nuclear warheads as of May 2023.
The US estimates that China will have over 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030. (PTI)
