China determined to strengthen nuclear deterrence
(Baonghean.vn)- On January 30, the official newspaper of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China said that the country needs to strengthen its nuclear deterrence and ability to withstand attacks to keep up with the developing nuclear strategies of the US and Russia.
Recently, the US news agency Huffington Post published a leaked draft of the Joint Nuclear Capability Review, saying that the Trump administration may be pursuing the development of new nuclear weapons and may clearly open the possibility of a nuclear response to major non-nuclear attacks.
The PLA Daily said that Washington's "unprecedented" move, combined with improvements in the quality of nuclear arsenals in both the US and Russia, means that both countries value deterrence and combat readiness.
 |
| China's nuclear weapons are becoming more destructive. Photo: AP |
The article was written by two researchers from the PLA Academy of Military Science, and included the following passage: “In today’s unpredictable world situation, in order to enhance our country’s strategic deterrence capability, to support our status as a major power… we need to enhance the reliability of our nuclear deterrence capability and counter nuclear attacks.”
The article said the change was important despite China's development of nuclear weapons to avoid being bullied by nuclear powers, and asserted that the country would always adhere to the "no first use" principle (meaning not to provoke any country with nuclear weapons, but will respond appropriately if attacked), and the ultimate goal is to eliminate nuclear weapons.
The article also said that neither Russia nor the United States would give up nuclear weapons, as each country has embraced high-tech weapons capabilities, alluding to the fact that the US Congressional Budget Office estimates that maintaining and modernizing the country's nuclear arsenal will cost more than $1.2 trillion over the next 30 years.
The PLA Daily said that this spending has led to a corresponding Russian military modernization program, aiming to promote the sharing of advanced weapons in the country's nuclear triad to at least 90% by 2021./.