A new Pentagon report says the People’s Republic of China is expanding its nuclear force and strengthening its ties with Russia.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is expanding its nuclear force, has increased military pressure against Taiwan and has strengthened its ties with Russia over the past year, according to a December 17, 2024, Pentagon report that details actions accelerating key areas of conflict with the United States. The report, however, also notes that the recent rash of corruption allegations within the PRC’s powerful Central Military Commission, which oversees the People’s Liberation Army, is hurting Beijing’s military growth and could slow its campaign to modernize.
The impact, said a senior defense official, is a bit of a mixed bag because while there has been progress in some programs, the PRC has slid back in others. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, warned that Beijing is working toward developing a more diverse and technologically sophisticated nuclear force. While the expected number of nuclear warheads has maintained consistent growth, the PRC is broadening its targeting abilities. Beijing will be able to go after more and different types of targets, do greater damage and have more options for multiple rounds of counterstrikes, the official said. The U.S. is urging the PRC to be more transparent about its nuclear program, while also warning that the U.S. will defend its allies and take appropriate steps in response.
According to the report, which provides the annual U.S. assessment of the PRC’s military power and is required by Congress, the PRC had more than 600 operational nuclear warheads as of May, and the U.S. expects it will have more than 1,000 by 2030.
The U.S. has worked to maintain a balance with the PRC, building up the U.S. military presence in the Indo-Pacific region to be ready to counter Beijing while also encouraging increased communications between the two countries at the diplomatic and military levels. That uptick in talks has coincided with a decrease in coercive and risky intercepts of U.S. aircraft since late 2023, compared with the previous two years. The PRC still, however, does what the U.S. military considers “unsafe” flights near U.S. and allied forces in the region.
The Pentagon’s national defense strategy is built around the PRC being the greatest security challenge for the U.S., and the threat from Beijing influences how the U.S. military is equipped and organized for the future. The corruption within the PLA has resulted in at least 15 high-ranking officials being ousted in a major shakeup of the PRC’s defense establishment. “This wave of corruption touches every service in the PLA, and it may have shaken Beijing’s confidence,” the report said.
The U.S. report also points to a persistent increased military presence by the PRC around Taiwan, the self-governing island the PRC claims as its own. The report said the Chinese navy has been in the region more and that there have been increased crossings into the island’s air defense identification zone and major military exercises in the area.