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| Photo Credit: Reuters

Washington DC:

Every year the Pentagon prepares a detailed special report about China’s rapidly-growing military and sends it to the US Congress which then examines it thoroughly. The Pentagon keeps a very close watch on China’s military activities and tracks its progress on various parameters on a yearly basis.

This year’s report has revealed something startling about China’s nuclear weapons stockpile. In an era where the focus of the world is on de-nuclearisation and disarmament, Beijing was found to most-actively adding weapons to its stockpile. At least 100 nuclear warheads have been added to its arsenal in 2024 alone.

The Pentagon report also highlights that China now looks to accelerate the pace of producing even more nuclear weapons and cross the 1,000-nukes mark by 2030. It is estimated that China currently has around 600 nukes in its inventory.

“China has the world’s leading hypersonic missile arsenal and has advanced its development of both conventional and nuclear-armed hypersonic missile technologies,” the report stated. It also noted that China will continue to grow its nuclear arsenal at least till 2035.

A POLICY OF SECRECY AND DECEIT

China keeps everything related to its military and defence a closely-guarded secret. It never divulges any information regarding its army, air force, or navy, and the weapons under their control. Though Beijing formally announces a defence budget annually, the Pentagon believes that is not the true figure.

In 2024, Beijing announced an annual defence outlay of $224 billion, but Pentagon’s report reveals China has spends at least 40 per cent more than what it officially declares. This brings the defence budget anywhere in the range of $350 billion to $450 billion – or roughly half the US defence budget, which is over $880 billion.

Pentagon’s research also highlights Beijing’s wider focus to further modernise its military by developing a range of new missiles, including Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles or ICBMs – both conventional and nuclear – “that could strike Alaska, Hawaii, and the continental United States”.

The Chinese Navy is already the largest in the world with a declared fleet size of more than 370 ships and submarines. This is significantly larger than the fleet size of the US Navy, which is 290 ships and submarines.

China’s air force too is a force to be reckoned with as it has more than 1,200 fighter jets that are fourth-generation military aircraft – at par with some of the most sophisticated fighter jets manufactured by the United States and its allies in Europe. China’s air force has an overall strength close to 2,000 aircraft, which is massive.

US-CHINA DEFENCE TIES

Though there is a basic structure for defence talks between the two nations, and communication does take place at a junior level, China has rejected any high-level dialogue or cooperation with the US.

When US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin reached out to the Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun for a meeting on the sidelines of the defence summit in Laos last month, the latter declined it. Secretary Austin called it “unfortunate” and said that such an attitude is a “setback for the entire region”.

Incoming US President Donald Trump has appointed two fierce China hawks in his administration – Marco Rubio as the Secretary of State and Mike Walz as the US National Security Adviser.

the Chinese government has placed sanctions on Marco Rubio, and in 2020 had banned him from ever entering the country again – something Beijing would need to reconsider when he takes office as Secretary of State.

Weeks before the Trump Administration takes over, NSA-designate Mike Waltz has already urged President-elect Trump to “urgently end the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East in order to counter the greater threat from the Chinese Communist Party”.