China's nuclear arsenal growing: Russian weekly
Staff Reporter 2013-04-30 13:59
Concept art of China's Tang-class ballistic missile submarine. (Internet photo)
Reviewing the defense white paper released by the Chinese government on Apr. 16, the Independent Military Review, a weekly covering defense issues based in Moscow, said the People's Liberation Army is investing more resources to strengthen its nuclear strike capability.
The Review said a previous defense white paper released in 2013 revealed much more information regarding China's military buildup. The deployment of PLA ground combat units was reported, and the development and mission of the Second Artillery Corps, China's strategic missile force, was also described briefly.
Although the recent white paper did not mentioned the PLA's budget this year, the Review noted that it was already declared to be US$115.7 billion on Mar. 5 at the opening of the annual meeting of the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing.
Citing a report from the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission under the US Congress, the Independent Military Review said China is constructing ballistic missile submarines with the capability to launch a nuclear strike. The PLA Navy launched two Type 094 Jin-class ballistic missile submarines in 2004, and the weekly stated that there are currently four more boats under construction, which are assumed to be Type 096 Tang-class submarines.
While the Type 094 is designed to carry 12 JL-2 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, the Type 096 is able to carry 16 to 24. The Review said the JL-2 is able to strike targets at a distance of between 7,000 and 13,000 kilometers. Meanwhile, the weekly also said that Russia and India have also begun to increase their nuclear arsenal in response.
The US-based Arms Control Association has indicated that China possesses 240 nuclear warheads, though the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates the number at 200. It is a consensus among Western military analysts however that China's nuclear arsenal is growing.
