2 Sep

The US Defense Department says China's stockpile of nuclear warheads, currently estimated in the low 200s, is projected to at least double over the next decade.

The Pentagon's annual report on Chinese military trends released on Tuesday included for the first time an estimate of the country's nuclear arsenal.

The report says US bases in Japan are within range of a growing number of Chinese medium-range ballistic missiles and cruise missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

The United States is calling on China to join the New START Treaty, an arms reduction deal between the US and Russia due to expire in February next year.

China has indicated that it will not join the treaty, which would significantly limit its nuclear capacity.

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China Chad Sbragia said on Tuesday, "Just looking at the number of warheads by itself is not the entire picture or doesn't paint a holistic understanding of where the Chinese are."

He said China has developed submarine and air-launched nuclear missiles, and is adding silo-based underground intercontinental ballistic missiles.

He said the US will continue to monitor China's military expansion.

NHK