China is increasing its stockpile of nuclear warheads faster than any other country, adding 100 nuclear bombs a year to its arsenal, according to a recently published report, which estimates that China now has at least 600 nuclear warheads, the Guardian reports today.
At the current rate of increase, China could have 1.500 nuclear warheads by 2035. That's almost as many as Russia and the US currently have combined - ready for use.
Hundreds of facilities for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), long-range missiles used to carry nuclear weapons, are being built in desert fields in northern China. Three mountainous areas in eastern China already have operational ICBM silos, the report said.
China is believed to have 24 nuclear warheads already mounted on missiles, or located in bases with operational forces, meaning they could be deployed at very short notice.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has increased the country's nuclear arsenal faster than any other Chinese leader. Previous leaders, such as Deng Xiaoping, argued that China needed only modest reserves to act as a deterrent to potential adversaries.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun declined to comment on the report, but said: "China has always adhered to a nuclear self-defense strategy, has always kept its nuclear forces at the minimum level necessary for national security, and has not participated in an arms race."
China's nuclear capabilities are of particular concern to Taiwan, a self-governing island that China considers part of its territory. Beijing has said it is determined to reunite Taiwan with China, by force if necessary.
Chinese scientists argue that possessing a powerful deterrent, such as nuclear weapons, could prevent any third party from intervening in a conflict.
Last year, the US approved a new nuclear strategy that focuses on the threat from China.
The report's authors noted that fewer warheads are being dismantled each year, while the pace of deployment of new nuclear weapons is accelerating.
Hans Kristensen, a senior fellow at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which authored the report, said: "The era of reducing the number of nuclear weapons in the world, which has lasted since the end of the Cold War, is coming to an end."
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