The Chinese government has claimed that it has been "forced" to develop nuclear weapons as a United States official issued a warning about China's weapons of mass destruction program.
Newsweek has emailed the Pentagon out of hours and the defense ministry in Beijing for comment.
Why It Matters
In its latest report on Chinese military power, the Pentagon estimated China has over 600 operational nuclear warheads, about 100 more than the previous estimate, enabling it to target more of America's cities, military facilities and leadership sites than ever before.
The Chinese Defense Ministry hit back at the report, claiming the country adheres to "the nuclear strategy of self-defense and the nuclear policy of not using nuclear weapons first," while maintaining its nuclear forces at the minimum level required for national security.
What To Know
"China's development of nuclear weapons is a historic choice forced to be made," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun at a press conference on Wednesday.
It was made during "extraordinary times" in response to nuclear threat, as well as to end nuclear monopoly and to prevent a nuclear war, the spokesperson added. China, which is one of the nine nuclear-armed nations, detonated its first atomic bomb in 1964.
While the spokesperson asserted that China "never engages in arms race[s] with anyone," the Pentagon assessed that as a part of a strategic competition with the U.S., China continues its rapid nuclear expansion that it has neither publicly or formally acknowledged or explained.
The Chinese government's comment on its nuclear weapons development came after U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said on Monday that China, as well as Russia and the U.S., all possessed "a thousand-plus nuclear weapons" in the field.
Newsweek has emailed the defense ministry in Moscow for comment.
Kendall's remarks were made during an appearance at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank based in Washington, D.C., where he also warned that more adversaries are fielding nuclear weapons, making the world a more dangerous place.
China has emerged as a "formidable peer competitor" and a "potential adversary," and it will continue to grow its nuclear capabilities to levels comparable to those of the U.S. and Russia, according to a report prepared by the U.S. Department of the Air Force in December.
What People Are Saying
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Wednesday: "As a responsible major country, China is committed to the path of peaceful development and friendly cooperation with all countries in the world."
U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall said on Monday: "It gets more dangerous as other countries proliferate [nuclear] weapons. It gets more dangerous as people think about using tactical nuclear weapons."
What Happens Next
Both the U.S. and China are likely to continue to modernize their nuclear capabilities. It remains to be seen whether the two nations, as well as Beijing's quasi-ally Russia, will reach a three-party agreement on arms control in the future that limits their nuclear forces.
English (US) ·