Pentagon Warns of China's Nuclear Cache --- Expanding arsenal will allow Beijing to thwart a U.S. move to support Taiwan, report says

"WASHINGTON -- China is on pace to challenge the U.S. militarily and prevent it from intervening in a crisis with Taiwan, including by expanding its stockpile of nuclear warheads, the Pentagon said in a report published Tuesday.

The 170-page congressionally mandated annual report, which assesses China's military and security strategy, comes amid U.S.-China tensions over Taiwan and halting efforts by the U.S. to engage Russia and China in nuclear arms-control talks. The report concluded that China's goal of expanding its nuclear arsenal and its military pursuit of control of Taiwan hadn't been hampered over the past year.

The report predicted that China would field a stockpile of about 1,500 warheads by 2035, about triple the number today.

Beijing has long rejected arms-control talks with the U.S. China has pointed to its smaller inventory of nuclear weapons and said the U.S. should cut its stockpiles before talks.

John Kirby, the National Security Council strategic coordinator, declined to address specific intelligence assessments about China's nuclear arsenal on Tuesday, but said that the U.S. has watched the Chinese increase their arsenal, both nuclear and conventional.

"We've watched as they have built more ships; we've watched as they become more aggressive, and try to integrate their military services to a finer degree than they were before," Mr. Kirby told CNN. "All of this is concerning, which is why the president has made it clear that China was going to remain as a significant challenge for us in the Indo-Pacific."

Russia has 5,977 warheads, followed by the U.S. with 5,428 and China with at least 350, according to a June 2022 report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

As Beijing focuses on countering the U.S. along China's periphery and over Taiwan, it is transforming its military into a global force, the Pentagon report said. It also confirmed that China conducted a new hypersonic missile test in 2021.

China focused in 2021 on advancing nearly every part of its military, including its ships, air force and basing across the world, and worked to integrate its forces, the report said. China "could conduct a range of options for military campaigns against Taiwan, with varying degrees of feasibility and associated risks," it said.

While the report is largely based on 2021 data, in 2022, China boosted its military activity around Taiwan, particularly after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's August visit to the self-governing island, said a senior defense official. The response from Beijing, which regards Taiwan as part of China, reshaped the Pentagon's conclusions.

The U.S. doesn't foresee an imminent invasion of Taiwan, the defense official said Monday." [1]

Mr. Landsbergis should take care of this. Where are our sniper women with white panty hoses?

 

1. World News: Pentagon Warns of China's Nuclear Cache --- Expanding arsenal will allow Beijing to thwart a U.S. move to support Taiwan, report says
Youssef, Nancy A. 
Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 30 Nov 2022: A.6.