A senior American military officer notified lawmakers in January that China has more land-based fixed and mobile intercontinental ballistic missile launchers than the US, according to a letter sent to Congress.
The letter from Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander of US Strategic Command which oversees the US nuclear arsenal says that as of October 2022 China’s inventory of land-based fixed and mobile ICBM launchers “exceeds the number of ICBM launchers in the United States.”
The letter also says that China’s does not have more ICBMs or nuclear warheads than the US.
A joint statement released on Tuesday by Republican leaders of Congress’ Armed Services committees called the letter “a wake-up call for the United States.”
“It is not an understatement to say that the Chinese nuclear modernization program is advancing faster than most believed possible. We have no time to waste in adjusting our nuclear force posture to deter both Russia and China. This will have to mean higher numbers and new capabilities,” the statement said.
The details of the letter were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Though the US has larger nuclear arsenal than China, Beijing’s efforts to modernize and increase its nuclear capabilities have alarmed lawmakers and garnered the attention of US military leaders.
The news of the letter comes as tensions between the US and China have increased over a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon the US military shot down over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday. The balloon resulted in Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponing his anticipated trip to Beijing, calling the balloon’s presence over the continental USA a “clear violation of US sovereignty and international law.”
China has maintained that the balloon crossing into the US was “completely an accident” and said on Sunday…
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