In early 2021, senior U.S. officials warned that the Chinese Communist Party had also long covered up its nuclear weapons development and that Beijing’s nuclear bullying had become more aggressive, threatening its neighbors. Beijing’s unfettered nuclear development is a central part of the Communist threat.
At the start of the new year, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President Trump‘s special envoy for arms control, Marshall Billingslea, co-authored an op-ed in Newsweek titled “China’s Nuclear Build-Up Should Worry the West. ” in Newsweek. In the article, the two senior officials note that the Chinese Communist Party’s nuclear arsenal is the fastest growing in the world, but is not transparent. They urged allies to speak out and Beijing to increase transparency.
During the Cold War, the two officials said, the U.S. and Soviet Union recognized the importance of arms control to the national security of both countries, so the two sides engaged in a series of talks and established a framework to deal with potentially deadly misunderstandings.
Today, however, the Communist regime refuses to say how many nuclear weapons it possesses, how many it plans to develop, or how it plans to use them. The two officials argued that China (CCP) is the least transparent of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Nonetheless, the two officials said the U.S. is aware that the CCP is possessing nuclear weapons on sea, land and air and is rapidly developing and modernizing its nuclear weapons capabilities. Communist leaders threatened in 2012 that nuclear weapons would support their great power status and created a separate rocket force as part of the Communist Party’s plan to build a “world class” military by 2049.
No Limits on Communist Nuclear Weapons Development
Two officials said satellite images show the Communist Party is developing its military forces. If current trends are maintained, the officials said, the Communist Party is expected to at least double its total nuclear arsenal in the next decade.
While the United States is constrained in its development by the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Weapons Treaty, the Communist Party’s military has deployed thousands of theater ballistic missiles near its shores that can be equipped with either nuclear or conventional warheads, the two officials said. Their goal is to target U.S. forces in East Asia and to intimidate and coerce U.S. allies.
These weapons are not just for show; the two officials noted that the CCP launched more missiles in 2018 and 2019 than the rest of the world combined. in 2020, the CCP test-fired more than 220 ballistic missiles, more than the total for any of the previous two years. Commercial satellite imagery shows year-round activity at Lop Nur, the Communist Party’s nuclear weapons testing site.
In an analysis of the two officials, Bill Gertz, national security correspondent for the Washington Times, also noted specifically that in the past, Communist activity at Lop Nur was seasonal and sporadic.
Communist Nuclear Bullying Becomes More Aggressive in Threatening Neighbors
The rapid development of Chinese Communist Party nuclear weapons has endangered neighboring countries. The two officials noted that the modernization of Chinese weapons has made Beijing’s nuclear bullying more aggressive, threatening even its non-nuclear neighbors and undermining confidence in its so-called “no first use” nuclear weapons policy. The U.S. Department of Defense report also shows evidence that the Chinese Communist military is adopting an “early warning launch” posture.
By contrast, the United States and other democracies insist on transparency and respect for international norms regarding nuclear weapons. We also publicly release our Nuclear Posture Review and exchange data with Russia on nuclear issues on a semi-annual basis,” the officials wrote in the article. Both France and the United Kingdom regularly issue statements detailing the number and types of nuclear weapons in their arsenals. The Chinese Communist Party refuses to adopt these procedures, insisting instead on secrecy as its preferred strategy.”
Beijing’s 20-year-long asymmetric arms race is a central part of the CCP’s challenge
With the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), signed by the U.S. and Russia in 2010 and entered into force in 2011, expiring in February of this year, a new arms race is bound to result if the CCP’s nuclear weapons stance remains unchanged. The two officials noted that the current New START limits U.S. and Russian development of certain types of weapons, but gives the CCP continued unfettered freedom to develop them. They wrote, “Any renewal of New START must include China, the U.S. has done its part to reduce nuclear dangers, and it is time for China (the CCP) to stop posturing and start taking charge.”
Both officials also called on allies to step up and urge Beijing to participate in the negotiations. They noted that over the past four years, the Trump administration has awakened the world to the Chinese Communist Party’s challenge, of which Beijing’s two-decade-long asymmetric arms race is a central part. The Chinese Communist challenge endangers American soil, the U.S. strategic position in the Indo-Pacific, and America’s allies and partners.
They write, “We have briefed allies, partners, and even the highest levels of the Russian government on China’s (CCP) nuclear build-up.”
Finally, they say that “any nation with a great claim” must deal responsibly with the world’s most dangerous weapons, a valuable lesson from history.
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