Calls for preparation for attacks from China and Russia – El Financiero

US President Joe Biden approved a highly classified nuclear strategic plan in March that, for the first time, reorients the US deterrent strategy to focus on the rapid expansion of China’s nuclear arsenal.

That roadmap also seeks for the first time to prepare the United States for possible coordinated nuclear challenges from China, Russia and North Korea, the newspaper revealed on Tuesday, August 20. The New York Times.

The document in question is updated approximately every four years and is so highly classified that there are no electronic copies, only a small number of copies printed distributed to a few national security officials and Pentagon commanders.

The New York Times He noted that Congress is expected to be informed before Biden leaves office. after the elections of November 5.

The document examines in detail whether the country is prepared to deal with nuclear crises or a combination of nuclear and non-nuclear weapons.

The paper recalled that in the past the possibility that US adversaries could coordinate nuclear threats to overcome the US nuclear arsenal seemed remote, but explained that the “emerging partnership” between Russia and China and the conventional weapons that North Korea and Iran are providing to Russia for the war in Ukraine has changed Washington’s thinking.

The change is also attributed to China’s nuclear ambitions. Nuclear expansion is moving ahead at a faster pace than officials expect intelligence agencies anticipated two years ago, driven by President Xi Jinping’s determination to match or surpass the size of the arsenals of Washington and Moscow.

In October last year, the Pentagon said that China had a nuclear-armed force by May 2023. 500 nuclear warheadsa figure that was on track to exceed previous forecasts, and which could reach one thousand by 2030.

Its annual report on Chinese military power, published by the Department of Defense at the request of Congress, estimated that this arsenal will continue to grow until 2035, in line with the goal of ensure that the modernization of its military is “basically complete” by then.

The Asian country’s military strategy also highlighted that it considers its “limitless” association with Russia It is essential to advance its development and emergence as a great power.

The New York Times He said on Tuesday that Washington is also concerned about the stalled talks with China on improving nuclear security. There was an exchange on this matter between the two countries last autumn.but Beijing has hinted, according to its information, that there is no interest in continuing it.