China speeding up underground silos

China appears to be moving faster toward a capability to launch its newer nuclear missiles from underground silos, possibly to improve its ability to respond promptly to a nuclear attack, according to an American expert who analysed satellite images of recent construction at a missile training area.

Hans Kristensen, a longtime watcher of U.S., Russian and Chinese nuclear forces, said the imagery suggests that China is seeking to counter what it may view as a growing threat from the United States. The US in recent years has pointed to China’s nuclear modernisation as a key justification for investing hundreds of billions of dollars in the coming two decades to build an all-new US nuclear arsenal.

There’s no indication the United States and China are headed toward armed conflict, let alone a nuclear one. But the Kristensen report comes at a time of heightened U.S.-China tensions across a broad spectrum, from trade to national security. A stronger Chinese nuclear force could factor into U.S. calculations for a military response to aggressive Chinese actions, such as in Taiwan or the South China Sea.

The Pentagon declined to comment on Kristensen’s analysis of the satellite imagery, but it said last summer in its annual report on Chinese military developments that Beijing intends to increase the peacetime readiness of its nuclear forces by putting more of them in underground silos and operating on a higher level of alert in which it could launch missiles upon warning of being under attack.

China appoints ex-PLA General who headed troops on India front to top panel

China has appointed General Zhao Zongqi, a former top People’s Liberation Army officer who oversaw the border with India, as the deputy chairman of the influential Foreign Affairs Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), the country’s Parliament.

An official announcement by the NPC said Gen Zhao has been appointed as the deputy chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, an influential body of the NPC. The appointment comes ahead of the annual meeting of the NPC beginning from March 5.