Why is China building hundreds of new nuclear missile silos?

Hello, America has presented a lot of evidence that China is expanding its nuclear arsenal. Is that true and why do they do it? Let's find out together in this video.

Now, a research team from the Federation of American Scientists say they have discovered that China is building up to 110 silos for intercontinental ballistic missiles near the eastern Xinjiang city of Hami, a One of the largest silos under construction, larger than the Russian and American silos during the cold war. A month earlier, the Center for Nonproliferation Research, a non-governmental organization in California, also identified 120 silos under construction at Yumen in the Gansu desert, a province near Xinjiang. Thus, China is building at least 230 nuclear missile silos, but all of them have been detected via satellite images and there may be many more that have yet to be discovered.

 

The US Strategic Command in charge of nuclear weapons confirmed this with a headline that read: "This is the second time in a month people have discovered what we have been talking about for a long time, with the growing threat facing the world and the veil of secrecy about it". The US State Department said the findings are deeply disturbing and demonstrate that China is deviating from its previously established nuclear strategy. Experts believe that the silos are designed for China's new model of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) codenamed DF-41, which is a long-range missile capable of reaching most of the United States.

 

So what does this mean? As you may know, since World War II, China has adhered to a policy of minimal nuclear deterrence, which means that China is allowed to maintain a nuclear arsenal, but it is small enough to fight back if attacked with nuclear weapons, not to maintain a large arsenal that could create a nuclear war that destroys the world. The Pentagon estimates that China has about 200 active nuclear warheads, about the same size as the nuclear arsenals of Britain or France. However, if there are only 200 nuclear warheads, why should China build at least 230 missile silos? So one of two cases will happen.

 

First, China not only has 200 nuclear warheads, they've built more than that. "China is rapidly expanding its nuclear force," US officials say. In the most recent annual report on China's military power released last September, the Pentagon said the country's warhead stockpile is expected to at least double in size over the next decade. The head of the Strategic Command, Admiral Charles Richard, said: "China's nuclear program is progressing so rapidly that intelligence will become obsolete within a month."

 

Or secondly, they are playing camouflage. In particular, it has long been feared that: "in a crisis, the United States could use its vast arsenal or even a new generation of high-accuracy conventional missiles to wipe out China's meager numbers on land". And of course the Chinese missiles will most likely be destroyed in an American sweep before it can strike back at the enemy, or if some missiles are lucky enough to pass,, but it is also unlikely to be usable because the US is developing new generation of intelligent missile defense systems that can neutralize Chinese missiles, in other words China's nuclear arsenal could become useless. The US has insisted that US missile defense systems are not aimed at Russia, but there is no guarantee that it is not aimed at China.

 

However, if China's missiles could be moved underground between the silos, the US would not be able to destroy them and there would be no way of knowing which missile would strike. James Acton, UK nuclear policy program director, said: "The old Chinese silos in the northern region of Inner Mongolia are tens of kilometers apart, while the ones in Gansu are only about 3 km, new silos are built closer together and between them is a system of tunnels to move missiles.", sounds very reasonable.

 

In addition, according to Acton, China's DF-41 missiles can carry at least two warheads. Since 1980, China has stopped producing Plutonium, so it is impossible for China to have enough warheads to fill all the new nuclear silos under construction. Thus, it is reasonable to build many silos for the purpose of distraction.

 

The discovery of nuclear silo construction projects will lead to two problems:

 

The first is China's nuclear weapons readiness. Specifically, when the missile is placed in the silos, it will be launched faster than on a mobile launcher that often has to refuel when launching. The United States believes that with so many immediately-ready missiles and advanced early-warning radars that China is beginning to develop with Russia's help, along with an early warning satellite in polar orbit, the country could adopt a launch on warning policy, meaning the missile could be launched immediately when satellites and radar identify a nuclear attack on China.

 

And the second issue is China's role in global nuclear arms control. Previously, only the US and Russia had the power to negotiate and control nuclear weapons. Currently, Russia and the US are still implementing the New Start Treaty, which will expire in 2026 and when it wants to renew it, it is likely that they will have to invite China in for a three-way discussion, and thus China's position will be much more powerful, thank you for watching the video, goodbye and see you again.