All The News That's Fit To Print About China

"China’s construction of nearly 250 new silos has serious implications for international relations and China’s role in the world. The Chinese government has for decades insisted it has a minimum deterrent and that it is not part of any nuclear arms race. Although it remains unclear how many silos will actually be filled with missiles, the massive silo construction and China’s other nuclear modernization programs are on a scale that appears to contradict these polices: the build-up is anything but “minimum” and appears to be part of a race for more nuclear arms to better compete with China’s adversaries."

"The silo construction will likely further deepen military tension, fuel fear of China’s intentions, embolden arguments that arms control and constraints are naïve, and that US and Russian nuclear arsenals cannot be reduced further but instead must be adjusted to take into account the Chinese nuclear build-up.?

"The disclosure of the second Chinese silo missile field comes only days before US and Russian negotiators meet to discuss strategic stability and potential arms control measures. Responding to the Chinese build-up with more nuclear weapons would be unlikely to produce positive results and could cause China build up even more. Moreover, even when the new silos become operational, the Chinese nuclear arsenal will still  to be significantly smaller than those of Russia and the United States."

"The clearest path to reining in China’s nuclear arsenal is through arms control, but this is challenging. The United States has been trying to engage China on nuclear issues since the late-1990s, but so far with minimal success. Rather than discuss specific limitations on weapon systems, these efforts have been limited to increasing transparency about force structure plans and strategy, and well as discussing nuclear doctrine and intentions."

"The Trump administration correctly sought to broaden nuclear arms control to include China, but fumbled the effort by turning it into a public-relations pressure stunt and insisting that China should be part of a New START treaty extension. Beijing not surprisingly rejected the effort, and Chinese officials have plainly stated that “it is unrealistic to expect China to join [the United States and Russia] in a negotiation aimed at nuclear arms reduction,” particularly while China’s arsenal remains a fraction of the size."

Matt Korda and Hans Kristensen, Federation of American Scientists 

The Hami missile silo field domes are identical to silo domes seen at the Yumen missile silo field and the Jilantai training area.

 

"[The Chinese nuclear weapons stockpile was] expected to double, if not triple or quadruple, over the next decade."

Admiral Charles Richard,commander U.S. nuclear forces

 

"The silo construction at Humen and Hami constitutes the most significant expansion of the Chinese nuclear arsenal ever."

Matt Korda and Hans M.Kristensen

China has certainly not endeared itself to the freedom-loving Western democracies of late. Its aggression over territorial rights in the Himalaya with India, in the South China Sea with its near neighbours, disputes over land, sea and air rights have all alerted its neighbours to a sovereignty agenda whose fulfillment will most certainly diminish their own disputed rights. Taiwan is in Beijing's crosshairs, and Hong Kong has suffered a blow to its hopes for the future as a bastion of democracy.

 

Life in prison is the sentence that people in Hong Kong face for daring to challenge the supremacy of China and this is just what a young activist, Tong Ying-kit, 24, is now facing for hoisting a protest flag on July 1st last year reading "Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of Our Times". He was convicted of terrorism and inciting secession under the controversial national security law meant to stamp out dissent that mightily offends Beijing. 

So it is with a jaundiced eye that the United States looks in at what intelligence agencies suspect is the latest move by China to assert itself. As though to complement Chinese President Xi Jinping's assertion to "bash the heads" of any foreign intrusive powers that plan to interfere with Beijing's sovereign rights on its own territory. As, for example, global criticism of the oppression of Tibetans and of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

Beijing has had a lot on its plate recently from its Belt & Road initiative with massive investments all over the world meant ultimately to benefit China's status as a trade and production colossus on the world stage where Beijing longs to be recognized as a world power at least on par with the United States of America. United China is Beijing's goal and it will brook no interference nor questioning of its right to act as it will in securing 'harmony' among its many restive parts.

 

The Hami missile silo field covers an area of about 800 square kilometers and is in the early phases of construction.

 

Now, according to satellite images, it appears that China has been busy, building a second nuclear missile base able to hold dozens of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Spread over 300 square miles in the Xinjiang region, the vast site is theorized to hold 110 silos for launching weapons. "The most significant expansion of the Chinese nuclear arsenal ever."

Civilian satellite was utilized by the Federation of American Scientists to examine the Gobi Desert close to Hami where Uyghur Muslims are believed to be kept in "re-education camps". A series of large inflatable domes typical of those generally made use of by construction teams on military bases to shield from view work they are performing within, were identified. 

Only weeks earlier another silo field had been spotted in Yumen, northeast China. There, according to the James Martin Center for Non-proliferation Studies, are located 120 missile silos, as well. China's version of the issue of missile silos and their projectiles are that it maintains a "minimum deterrent" of nuclear weapons, estimated to number some 300, by experts. The United States and Russia both maintain strategic arsenals easily five times that size, along with stockpiles of roughly 5,000 weapons each.

At the same event when President Xi made his "bash the heads" threat, he pledged to build up China's military. He also spoke of the nation's commitment to the "reunification" of Taiwan, reiterating the importance of social stability which would be more certain in Hong Kong under Beijing's thumb, and at the same time enhancing Beijing's thrust toward security and sovereignty. It is President Xi casual scorn of security and sovereignty of other nations that is found so offensive.

"Just because you build the silo doesn't mean you have to fill them all with missiles. they can move them around."

"It's not insane. They make the United States target a lot of silos that may be empty. They can fill these silos slowly if they need to build up their force. And they get leverage in arms control."

"I'm surprised they didn't do this a decade ago."

Vipin Narang, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Hami and Yumen missile silo fields are located deeper inside China than any other ICBM base and beyond the reach of conventional cruise missiles.  Image: Google Earth.