The Chinese government described this Thursday as “manipulation” the US Pentagon report that warns of a more rapid expansion than expected of the Asian giant’s nuclear arsenal.
“The report released by the US Defense Department, like previous similar reports, ignores the facts and is full of prejudices,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin.
The official also accused Washington of “manipulation” and “inflating the thesis of China as a nuclear threat”, and pointed out precisely the United States “as the world’s largest source of nuclear threat.”
The Pentagon report released on Wednesday asserts that China is developing its nuclear arsenal faster than anticipated and that it can now launch missiles armed with nuclear warheads from land, sea and air.
According to the report, China could have 700 nuclear warheads in 2027 and reach 1,000 in 2030, an arsenal two and a half times larger than the Pentagon predicted just a year ago.
The assessment appears in the annual report that the Defense Department submits to Congress on Chinese military developments.
Even with 1,000 nuclear warheads, the Chinese arsenal would be far from equaling that of the United States and Russia, which together possess more than 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons: 5,550 the United States and 6,255 Moscow, according to figures from the Stockholm International Institute. for Peace Research (Sipri).
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source China calls US report on its nuclear arsenal “manipulation”
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