United States: A US report has stated that Beijing is exceeding previous estimates in building up its nuclear weapons arsenal and is “almost certainly” learning lessons from Russia’s war in Ukraine regarding the consequences of a conflict with Taiwan.
The Pentagon report on China’s military power further warned that Beijing may be pursuing a new intercontinental missile system using conventional arms that enables them “to threaten conventional strikes against targets in the continental United States, Hawaii, and Alaska.”
The report comes a month before an expected meeting between Chinese leader Mr. Xi Jinping and President Mr. Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in San Francisco.
The annual report is one way the Pentagon measures the growing military capabilities of China, which is considered a key threat in the region and a long-term security challenge for the US.
However, after the recent Hamas attacks on Israel, the US has been forced again to focus on the Middle East. The US is rushing weapons to Israel while continuing to support and deliver munitions to Ukraine in its 20-month struggle to repel Russia’s invasion.
The 2023 report found that China is looking to field more than 1,000 nuclear warheads by 2030, continuing a rapid modernization aimed at meeting Mr. Xi’s goal of having a “world-class” military by 2049.
The report remarked that Beijing is intensifying military, diplomatic, and economic pressure not only on Taiwan but also on all its regional neighbours. The pressure against Taipei includes ballistic missile overflights, increased warplane incursions into its international defence zone, and a large-scale military exercise last August that encircled Taiwan.
In addition, the report noted that China has increased its harassment of US warplanes flying in international airspace in the region and recorded more than 180 instances where Chinese aircraft aggressively intercepted US military flights.
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