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China could have nuclear arsenal as big as the United States by end of decade according to new research
China led the way in building more nuclear weapons last year and could have an arsenal as big as the United States by "the turn of the decade" according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.Max MelzerDigital Reporter
June 12, 2023 - 6:07P
China led the world in building more nuclear weapons last year and could have an arsenal as big as the United States by the end of the decade according to new research.
In findings published on Monday the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said a number of countries had expanded their nuclear stockpiles last year including the US, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel.
However, China was leading the pack, boosting its arsenal from an estimated 350 warheads in January 2022 to 410 in January 2023.
China led the way in building more nuclear weapons last year and could have an arsenal as big as the United States by "the turn of the decade" according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Picture: Xia Yifang/Xinhua via Getty
While that number is still far behind both the US and Russia, each of whom have thousands of warheads, the researchers said they expected China's number to "keep growing," with the potential to equal its rivals by "the turn of the decade."
Associate Senior Fellow with SIPRI's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme and Director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists Hans M. Kristensen warned the trend was "difficult" to reconcile with China's stated aim of maintaining its own security.
"China has started a significant expansion of its nuclear arsenal," he said.
"It is increasingly difficult to square this trend with China's declared aim of having only the minimum nuclear forces needed to maintain its national security."
The build-up of nuclear weapons was a significant concern for the researchers, who warned the world may have reached the end of a period of reduced nuclear threat.
"The stockpile is the usable nuclear warheads, and those numbers are beginning to tick up," said SIPRI Director Dan Smith.
"We are approaching, or maybe have already reached, the end of a long period of the number of nuclear weapons worldwide declining."
Associate Senior Fellow with SIPRI's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme Hans M. Kristensen said it was "increasingly difficult" to reconcile China's nuclear build-up with its stated goal of national security. Picture: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
Heightened geopolitical tensions worldwide were likely the cause of rising stockpiles, although professor Smith noted that the war in Ukraine was not the instigating factor as it takes a long period of time to expand an arsenal.
The rapid build-up in China will concern the US and its allies in the Indo-Pacific with the risk of conflict in the region at its highest point in decades.
A close call between Chinese and US vessels in the Taiwan Strait last week led to another flare up between the two nations, with both sides accusing the other of wrongdoing.
China has made no secret of its ambitions in the region, laying claim to the entirety of the South China Sea despite objections from other Pacific nations and conducting massive military operations around Taiwan.
In response, the US and its allies have stepped up military cooperation and conducted freedom of navigation exercises aimed at curbing China's influence.
According to SIPRI, neither the US or UK significantly boosted their stockpiles last year, but the UK is expected to increase the number of warheads in the future after a 2021 announcement which pushed its upper limit from 225 to 260.
India, Pakistan and North Korea all upped their stockpiles by around five, although exact data on North Korea's program remains scarce so that number may not fully reflect any changes.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has in recent times made a number of threats to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
They have grown their arsenal from 4477 to 4489 after announcing it was suspending its participation in the 2010 Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms - known as New START.
China's nukes to rival US by 'turn of the decade'
China led the world in building more nuclear weapons last year and could have an arsenal as big as the United States by the end of the decade according to new research.
www.skynews.com.au
