A nuclear alert has been issued over Chinese arsenals

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has warned in a new report that China's stockpile of nuclear weapons is growing rapidly and that the country may deploy nuclear warheads for the first time.

China has expanded its nuclear force from an estimated 410 warheads in January 2023 to about 500 by January this year, according to the Institute on Global Security and Weapons' annual report released Monday, roughly in line with Pentagon estimates released in October.

And a first for the East Asian nation, “China may now deploy a small number of warheads on peacetime missiles,” SIPRI wrote, estimating that two dozen such warheads are currently deployed.

In terms of size, China's nuclear stockpile is a distant third to that of Russia and the United States, whose thousands of warheads account for nearly 90 percent of the world total. The United States and Russia account for nearly all of the world's strategically deployed weapons.

Most of the nine nuclear-weapon states are either developing their nuclear arsenals or have plans to, according to Hans Christensen, associate senior fellow at the institute and director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists. FAS).

“China is expanding its nuclear arsenal faster than any other country.”

Spokesman Lin Jian referred reporters to China's 2019 White Paper on Defense when asked about SIPRI's estimates at the Chinese Foreign Ministry's regular press conference on Monday. The document emphasizes that China maintains a no-first-use policy and limits its nuclear capabilities to “the lowest level necessary for national security.”

Lin took aim at Washington's nuclear policies, which had a “serious impact” on global stability.

“If you are really interested in strategic security, I would recommend that you turn your attention to upgrading the US nuclear triad and increasing nuclear sharing and enhanced deterrence.

China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.

The SIPRI report follows a warning last week by Prannoy Bhaddi, a senior White House aide, that China, Russia and North Korea “are all expanding their nuclear arsenals at a wide and varied pace.”

If this continues, Vaddi said, the United States will need to be prepared to deploy more strategic nuclear weapons.

The total number of nuclear weapons in the world is decreasing as Russia and the United States dismantle their retired warheads.

However, this is consistent with an increase in the proportion of operational nuclear weapons in the stockpile, SIPRI director Dan Smith said.

“While the number of nuclear warheads worldwide continues to decline as Cold War-era weapons are gradually dismantled, we unfortunately see an increase in the number of operational nuclear warheads year after year,” the institute quoted him as saying.