With second missile field, China signals ‘largest expansion of nuclear force ever’: NYT report

A New York Times report states that a new missile field has been found in China's Xinjiang region and this is the second such discovery to be made in recent weeks.

Illustration by Ramandeep Kaur | ThePrint

New Delhi: A new field is under construction for 110 nuclear missile silos in China, approximately 1,930 kilometres west of Beijing, nuclear analysts studying commercial satellite images have found.

This is the second such discovery in recent weeks, according to a report in The New York Times, and the field is allegedly “being built to be discovered”.

The silos were found in the eastern part of the Xinjiang region and were first identified by nuclear experts at the Federation of American Scientists, a policy research group, last week.

According to the experts, this recent discovery, combined with the earlier missile field found near Yumen in the Gansu province, signals the “largest expansion of China’s nuclear force ever”.

The first field in the Gansu province, with 120 silos, was discovered by researchers at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California earlier this month.

According to the NYT, the discovery of the two fields shows that China now has roughly 230 new silos.

Shift in China’s ‘minimum deterrent’ nuclear policy

For decades, since its first nuclear test in 1964, China has consistently asserted that its nuclear doctrine is based on the concept of no-first-use. It has also termed its own nuclear arsenal as a minimum deterrent against nuclear attacks.

While the exact size of China’s nuclear weapons has not been publicly disclosed, reports estimate the country has produced around 200 to 300 nuclear warheads as of 2011.

The discovery of these two new fields, however, indicates a shift in China’s nuclear policy.

The NYT report cites three possible reasons for this.

The simplest reason, the report says, is that “China now views itself as a full-spectrum economic, technological and military superpower — and wants an arsenal to match that status”.

Another possibility is the growing insecurity felt by the Chinese government with increasingly effective US missiles and India’s rapid nuclear buildup.

The report further notes that Russia’s new hypersonic missile could also have led to Beijing wanting a “more effective deterrent”.

A third possible reason, the report cites, is that “China is worried that its few ground-based missiles are vulnerable to attack — and by building more than 200 silos, spread out in two locations, they can play a shell game, moving 20 or more missiles around and making the United States guess where they are”.

The new disclosures come at a time when US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, arrived in China Monday. She is the first senior US diplomat to visit the country since President Joe Biden took office.

While it is not confirmed that nuclear weapons are on the agenda in China, Sherman is scheduled to visit Russia next to discuss issues related to nuclear weapons.

(Edited by Rachel John)