A draft Pentagon report has revealed that China has likely deployed over 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) across its latest silo fields, with an aim for rapid nuclear expansion. The report highlights China’s growing military ambitions and strategic focus on Taiwan. It also suggests that China is modernising its nuclear arsenal faster than any other nuclear-armed nation. According to the report, China’s nuclear warhead stockpile stood in the low 600s in 2024, but projections indicate it could exceed 1,000 warheads by 2030. The Pentagon report also notes that China has no plans for arms control, even after appeals from the world leaders including US President Donald Trump. The report comes ahead of the 2025 expiration of the New START treaty, raising concerns over a potential three-way nuclear arms race. Meanwhile, Beijing has maintained a self-defense nuclear strategy and a no-first-use policy.
It is significant that the report highlighting Chinese nuclear expansion and its aims, comes months after Trump said that he has instructed the US Department of War to start testing nuclear weapons “immediately.” Trump had said that he took the decision because of nuclear tests by Russia and China.
The draft report estimates more than 100 DF-31 ICBMs loaded in silo fields near the Mongolia border. It also pointed at China’s Taiwan plans, stating, “Beijing was refining its military options to take Taiwan by brute force,” adding that one option could include strikes 1,500-2,000 nautical miles from China. “In sufficient volume, these strikes could seriously challenge and disrupt US presence in or around a conflict in the Asia-Pacific region,” it added. The report claimed, “China expects to be able to fight and win a war on Taiwan by the end of 2027.”
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