WASHINGTON – US defense officials are growing concerned about the deepening ties between Moscow and Beijing – especially as China ramps up its nuclear capabilities, according to a new report.
The Pentagon’s annual assessment of “Military and Security Developments involving the People’s Republic of China,” released for Congress and released Thursday, revealed that Beijing may have exceeded its estimate of the number of nuclear warheads last year.
As of May, Beijing had about 500 nukes – up from an estimated 400 a year earlier. The 2022 version of the report predicts Beijing will surpass 1,000 warheads by 2030.
By comparison, Russia has an estimated 5,889 nuclear warheads in its stockpile while the US has 5,244, according to the Washington-based Arms Control Association. France has 290 and the United Kingdom has 225.
China has also expanded its navy to about 370 ships, up from about 340 last year, according to the report.
Although Congress in 2018 ordered the US Navy to expand to 350 ships as soon as possible, there were only 291 ships in the American fleet on Thursday.
Since World War II, the US has relied on its many alliances with democratic and consensual nations to maintain global security.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting in Beijing on October 18, 2023. Sputnik/Sergei Guneev/Pool via REUTERS A Pentagon report warns of China’s growing nuclear stockpile estimated at around 500 warheads.Photo by GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images
This is an advantage that America’s four main adversaries – Russia, China, Iran and North Korea – have long lost as they isolate themselves from the rest of the world.
But after nearly 20 months of war with Ukraine, Moscow is increasingly looking to its US adversary for help supplying weapons and equipment – and strengthening ties through cooperation.
“The PRC sees a ‘no-limits’ partnership with Russia as essential to advance the PRC’s development and emergence as a great power,” according to the report, which calls China by its official acronym.
“We do see the PRC viewing Russia as an important strategic partner from their perspective, to offset what Xi Jinping described earlier this year as ‘detention, repression and encirclement from the US and its allies and partners,'” a senior US defense official told reporters. on Wednesday.
However, China is at least trying to keep the relationship low-key, at least at the world level. For example, US officials believe Beijing “has tried a clever approach to provide material support to Russia for its war against Ukraine.”
China has also taken note of the US response to the Kremlin’s aggression.
A Chinese Navy warship in the South China Sea on October 4, 2023. A Pentagon report estimates that China has about 370 ships. AP Photo/Joeal Calupitan According to the report, China sees its partnership with Russia as “integral” to its development into a world power. Photo by SERGEI SAVOSTYANOV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
For example, Western sanctions imposed on Russia “have almost certainly strengthened the PRC’s insistence on defense and technological self-sufficiency and financial resilience.”
“The PRC is almost certainly learning lessons from Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine that best suits the PRC’s goal of strengthening a whole-of-government approach to countering the US-led containment strategy,” the report said.
“From the perspective of the PRC, the war provides a unique opportunity for PRC leaders to assess how countries use diplomatic, informational, military and economic measures to advance their interests before, during and after a major conflict.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
