{"id":127218,"date":"2021-08-19T19:06:04","date_gmt":"2021-08-19T13:36:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=127218"},"modified":"2021-08-20T18:38:54","modified_gmt":"2021-08-20T13:08:54","slug":"keeping-an-eye-on-chinas-expanding-nuclear-stack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/keeping-an-eye-on-chinas-expanding-nuclear-stack\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping an eye on China\u2019s expanding nuclear stack"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Source<\/strong>: <span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/keeping-an-eye-on-chinas-expanding-nuclear-stack\/article35987126.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Hindu<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Relevance<\/strong>: Implications of China&#8217;s expanding nuclear arsenal<\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis<\/strong>: The scope and prospective size of China&#8217;s nuclear capabilities is not known clearly. India should closely watch this build-up and work towards enhancing its own capabilities. An analysis of China&#8217;s expansion of its nuclear arsenal.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>Satellite images from <strong>Xinjiang province<\/strong> in the west of the country suggest it is building a nuclear missile silo field, a recent report from the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) says. The site is believed to host 110 silos.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: disc;\">\n<li>This development comes against the backdrop of evidence that <strong>China had already built a site with 120 silos<\/strong> in the arid <strong>region of Yumen<\/strong>, in the Gansu province.<\/li>\n<li>These events indicate that China is fielding a larger nuclear force based on fixed land-based capabilities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/640\/cpsprodpb\/8E14\/production\/_119627363_china_missile_silos_640map-nc.png?resize=640%2C586&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"China missile map\" width=\"640\" height=\"586\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Source<\/strong>: BBC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h5><strong>What is a missile silo?<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>It is a vertical cylindrical structure constructed underground, for the storage and launching of intercontinental ballistic missiles. The structures typically have the\u00a0missile\u00a0some distance below ground, protected by a large &#8220;blast door&#8221; on top. They are usually connected, physically and\/or electronically, to a\u00a0missile launch control center.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 635px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thumbs-prod.si-cdn.com\/CP4pyLKaXUHcmvWY_x2nwtTBMRc%3D\/fit-in\/1600x0\/https%3A\/\/public-media.si-cdn.com\/filer\/de\/e2\/dee26a85-eaf6-4557-a9c4-5e6ee04e7f0a\/18d_jj2018_img_2756_live.jpg?resize=635%2C478&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Inside a Soviet ICBM Silo | History | Air &amp;amp; Space Magazine\" width=\"635\" height=\"478\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Soviet ICBM silo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The\u00a0<em>missiles<\/em> are stored underground to provide protection from the natural elements and from attack.<\/p>\n<h5><strong>China&#8217;s nuclear arsenal<\/strong><\/h5>\n<ul>\n<li>Chinese nuclear forces stand at roughly anywhere between <strong>250 to 350 nuclear warheads<\/strong> according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) as well as the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).<\/li>\n<li>China\u2019s nuclear tipped ballistic missiles forces, whether land-based or sea-based, have certainly improved in quantity and quality.<\/li>\n<li>It&#8217;s Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) capabilities and Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) capabilities in the form of the <strong>Dongfeng-41 (DF-41)<\/strong> and the <strong>DF-26,<\/strong> respectively, are its most potent land-based missile systems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><strong>Reasons behind current expansion by China<\/strong><\/h5>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Increase the survivability of its arsenal<\/strong> against a first strike from their nuclear adversaries, most prominently the United States. Washington, which possesses a larger arsenal, stands at 3,800 warheads, and paired with its growing missile defence capabilities poses a threat to Chinese retaliatory nuclear forces. However, other countries too figure in China\u2019s nuclear expansion such as Russia and India, even if Russia is not an overriding concern presently.<\/li>\n<li><strong>To mislead enemies<\/strong>: The current silo-based missile expansion being undertaken by China can also be to mislead and deceive enemies by hiding actual number of nuclear tipped warheads.<\/li>\n<li><strong>A credible nuclear deterrent<\/strong>: Land-based nuclear capabilities, like silos also mean that for its enemies China will be a country with a huge number of targets to strike. The larger the target list for any potential opponent, the greater the chances of China\u2019s arsenal surviving a first strike, thereby boosting the credibility of China\u2019s nuclear deterrent. In all probability, China is expanding its nuclear forces to withstand a first strike and then execute a retaliatory attack that would defeat its enemy&#8217;s missile defences.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h5><strong>Implications for India<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>The growth in China\u2019s nuclear arsenal <strong>might not have an immediate impact on India,<\/strong> but its development of land-based nuclear silos in the Xinjiang province should worry decision-makers in New Delhi given the region\u2019s proximity to India.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>On boundary disputes<\/strong>: It is likely to have an impact on the ongoing boundary stand-off between the two countries in Eastern Ladakh. Fixed land-based nuclear capabilities give the Chinese an advantage in consolidating their territorial gains in Depsang, Demchok and Gogra-Hotsprings. It is likely to produce a suppressive effect against any conventional military escalation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h5><strong>Way forward<\/strong><\/h5>\n<p>The strategic balance between China and India is unlikely to be altered because of the Chinese nuclear expansion, but New Delhi should keep a close eye on its neighbour and work on enhancing its own strategic capabilities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Terms to know<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/stockholm-international-peace-research-institute-sipri\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SIPRI<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Source: The Hindu Relevance: Implications of China&#8217;s expanding nuclear arsenal Synopsis: The scope and prospective size of China&#8217;s nuclear capabilities is not known clearly. India should closely watch this build-up and work towards enhancing its own capabilities. An analysis of China&#8217;s expansion of its nuclear arsenal. Context Satellite images from Xinjiang province in the west&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/keeping-an-eye-on-chinas-expanding-nuclear-stack\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Keeping an eye on China\u2019s expanding nuclear stack<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10328,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[212,8844,9186,5304,9185],"class_list":["post-127218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-india-china-relations","tag-nuclear-threat","tag-nuclear-weapons","tag-threats-from-external-state-actors","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704939601},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10328"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127218\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}