Pentagon scaremongering in bid to justify US' aggressive nuclear policy: China Daily editorial

A report released last week by the US Department of Defense on China's military development, which alleges that China is increasing its nuclear weapons arsenal much more quickly than anticipated, narrowing the gap with the United States, is simply wild and biased speculation.

The claims have been denounced by China, as they are not based on facts and are aimed at misleading the international community and diverting attention from the US building up its nuclear strike capabilities. It is known to all that the US already boasts the largest and most advanced nuclear arsenal in the world, making it the biggest nuclear threat. Statistics from international think tanks indicate, as of early 2021, the US had 5,550 nuclear warheads.

But even that formidably destructive arsenal is not enough. With the world's sole superpower adopting an increasingly aggressive global strategy, it is investing trillions of dollars to upgrade its "nuclear triad" — its nuclear forces on land, in the sea and in the skies. It has not only developed low-yield nuclear weapons but also resumed research and development of land-based medium-range ballistic missiles and sought to deploy them in Europe and the Asia-Pacific.

Worse, the US has lowered its threshold for the use of nuclear weapons and unilaterally withdrawn from key international nuclear disarmament treaties including the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

And to serve its greater global strategic purposes, it has formed a new Anglo-Saxon military alliance with the United Kingdom and Australia solely with the aim of containing China.

In contrast, China sticks to a self-defensive nuclear strategy, with its nuclear forces always being kept at the minimum level required to safeguard national security. It remains committed to the nuclear weapons policy of no-first-use at any time and under any circumstances, and the country clearly and unconditionally pledges that it will never use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against nuclear-free countries and regions.

China's Ministry of National Defense has repeatedly asserted that the country's military development is solely for safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests. It is for crushing any ploy to undermine regional peace, stability and prosperity and does not target or pose a threat to any other country.

Even if the People's Liberation Army has heightened its combat preparedness and increased training and other activities in response to the US' strategic provocations over the Taiwan question and the South China Sea issue, China's defense policy is still defensive in nature.

The Pentagon's conspiratorial report, instead of hoodwinking people around the world, only lays bare its own strategic intentions. The Pentagon is just making excuses for the US to hike its own defense budget and implement an aggressive strategy targeting China. By revealing that the US believes there are advantages to be gained in provoking a competitive nuclear relationship with China, the Pentagon has made clear it is the US that is pushing nuclear escalation.