The United States has reiterated its concerns over the rapid growth of China’s nuclear arsenal

The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, expressed his deep concern about the growing nuclear arsenal from china during a meeting with foreign ministers of Asian countries and other allied countries, according to a statement released Friday.

At a virtual meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which brings together more than two dozen countries, Blinken he also called on China to stop its “provocative” behavior in the South China Sea and “expressed serious concerns about ongoing human rights violations in Tibet, Hong Kong and Xinjiang.”according to the statement from the US State Department.

“The secretary also expressed deep concern at the rapid growth of the PRC’s nuclear arsenal, which highlights how Beijing has radically departed from its decades-long nuclear strategy based on minimal deterrence, ”he added.

In his speech, Blinken urged all ARF member states to pressure Myanmar’s military government to end violence and support your citizens in their efforts to return to democratic governance, the statement said.

The Pentagon and the State Department recently raised concerns about China’s build-up of nuclear forces, after expert group reports based on satellite imagery They say the Asian country appears to be making hundreds of new silos for nuclear missiles.

The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) alerted last week of a possible rebound by the Chinese armed forces after a series of satellite images showed the construction of new silos for missiles at the Asian giant.

“Build silos in Yumen and Hami He makes part of the biggest expansion of Chinese arsenal everThe experts said in a report released on Monday. Given the preparatory work, scientists estimate that there could be between 120 and 110 silos, respectively.

FAS data indicates that China currently has around 350 nuclear warheads. In 2020, the Pentagon detailed that this number was around 200, although he expects it to double over the next decade.

The Asian country’s arsenal is smaller than that of countries like Russia and the United States, which have around 4,000 nuclear warheads. For experts, there are several reasons for building these silos. Among other issues, this could respond to the modernization of American, Russian and Indian forces.

China could also fear that its silos will be easily attacked, as well as the US defense system. However, the Chinese government has repeatedly assured that he has no intention of carrying out attacks with nuclear weapons, which he would only use for self-defense.

Since the end of the 90s, the United States government has attempted to get China to accede to international arms control treaties, an issue that has so far been unsuccessfully resolved.

(With information from Reuters and Europa Press)

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