CHINA reportedly plans to build 1,000 nuclear weapons in the next decade after worrying the United States would start a war before the 2020 election.
According to the US Defense Department's annual China military power report, the communist nation's nuclear acceleration may enable them to have "up to 700deliverable nuclear warheads by 2027.”
The report also claims the project aspires to supply China with at least 1,000 nuclear weapons by 2030.
Last year’s Pentagon report said China had a nuclear stockpile of about 200 warheads, and that could double over the next decade.
“They appear to have decided to go in kind of a different direction in terms of expanding their nuclear force in terms of size,” an anonymous senior US defense official told the Washington Post.
“Whereas before I would have said that they were gradually increasing the size now they seem to be trying to take that up to a different level.”
The senior defense official said US has about 3,750 nuclear warheads but the growth is a concern.
It was sparked by China's concern that former President Donald Trump would launch an attack, according to the report.
The report is released at a time when the United States tested a hypersonic weapon system with strike capability after China reportedly flew a terrifying nuke right around the Earth.
On October 17, the Financial Times reported that China "tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August that circled the globe before speeding towards its target, demonstrating an advanced space capability that caught US intelligence by surprise."
There's been speculation that the US and China are heading toward a nuclear showdown over Taiwan as both countries appear unlikely to reach a compromise over the island’s future, an expert has warned.
China has vowed to reunify the island and fears are growing that the US could be dragged into a future conflict involving Beijing and Taipei as war games intensify.
Late last week, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen admitted for the first that US troops have been on the island secretly training its military.
Ethan Paul, of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told The Sun that Taiwan is the “key piece” in President Xi’s “rejuvenation” project and believes Beijing doesn't consider itself a “great power” unless unification isn’t achieved.
He said: “China has this concept of rejuvenation. A large part of the idea is redeeming the history of colonialism in China – not only by Western powers but also by Japan.
“If China cannot fulfill unification, then China is in fact not the great power that it seeks to be and is still under the thumb of the west.”
He also fears that the US and Beijing will be unable to strike a compromise over the island's future, adding "there's no middle ground" as Beijing either unifies Taiwan or it doesn't.
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