China expands their nuclear missile launching capabilities

China is now building a nuclear missile silo field in the west. The satellite images from the Xinjiang province suggest that the site could have housed about 110 silos upon its finish. This came up with the report from the Federation of American Scientists.

The US defense officials have expressed their concern regarding the nuclear missile build-up of China. It is the new silo field. It has been reported to be under construction in Western China in the last 2 months.

In the last month, it has been reported that 120 silos had been spotted at a site in the desert of Yumen in the Gansu province. The FAS said in its report on Monday that the new site at Hami is around 380 Km from the North-west of Yumen. It took place much earlier than the stage of development.

In 2020 the Pentagon said that China was all set to double the stockpile of its nuclear warhead from the low base. The news is also coming as the US and Russia are preparing for arms control talks.

These talks between the US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Russia Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov are the first step. They are moving forward to revive the stalled negotiation to reduce its nuclear arms.

However, China had not taken any part in the negotiation for arms control. The US Strategic Command, the part of the Department of Defense, is responsible for strategic deterrence. It has voiced its concern for the report in the tweet.

It said, “This is the second time in two months the public has discovered what we have been saying all along about the growing threat the world faces and the veil of secrecy that surrounds it.”

The silo field in China got the detection with the use of commercial satellite imagery. Planet has later provided a higher resolution of pictures. In 2020 China had its nuclear stockpile of more than 200 warheads. It was aiming to double its mount. The US has approximately 3800 warheads.

Credits: BBC