How Many Nukes Does China Have?

choi

Bret Stephens, How Many Nukes Does China Have? Plumbing the secret Underground Great Wall. Wall Street Journal, Oct 24, 2011
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB ... 39502894496030.html
(May 12, 2008 Sichuan earthquake)

Quote:

"The [Pentagon's Defense Threat Reduction Agency's] interest in the subject had been piqued following the devastating May 12 earthquake that year [2008] in Sichuan province: Along with ordinary rescue teams, Beijing had deployed thousands of radiation specialists belonging to the Second Artillery Corps * * * The involvement of the Second Artillery wasn't entirely surprising, since Sichuan is home to key nuclear installations, including the Chinese version of Los Alamos. More interesting were reports of hillsides collapsing to expose huge quantities of shattered concrete. Speculation arose that a significant portion of China's nuclear arsenal, held in underground tunnels and depots, may have been lost in the quake.

"China's tunnel-digging mania did not end with Mao's death. If anything, it intensified. In December 2009, as part of the celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic, the PLA announced to great fanfare that the Second Artillery Corps has built a cumulative total of 3,000 miles of tunnels—half of them during the last 15 years. 'If you started in New Hampshire,' notes Mr Phillip] Karber by way of reference, 'and went to Chicago, then Dallas, then Tijuana, that would be about 3,000 miles.'

My comment: There is no need to read the rest, because nobody outside China's leadership knows.


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(1) 美国销毁最后一枚冷战时期巨型核弹. VOA Chinese, Oct 25, 2011.
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/n ... LEAR-132514193.html

Note: B-53 nuclear bomb
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B53_nuclear_bomb

(2) 日本国会电脑网络据称遭到来自中国的黑客袭击. VOA Chinese, Oct 25, 2011.
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/n ... apan-132522043.html

(3) 英少将：英国应向最大的网络威胁中国学习应对之策. VOA Chinese, Oct 25, 2011.
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/n ... hina-132519618.html

Note: 少将 乔纳森.肖  Maj Gen Jonathan Shaw

(4) 中国否认在南中国海争议上有军事意图. VOA Chinese, Oct 25, 2011.
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/n ... -sea-132516973.html

(5) 美众院贸易听证 促总统对华施压. VOA Chinese, Oct 25, 2011.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/si ... us_china_yuan.shtml
("美国众议院筹款委员会主席坎普周二（25日）表示，美国应该对中国表现出强硬态度，并在世界贸易组织提出申诉")

Note: House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dave Camp (R-Michigan)

(6) Elisabeth Bumiller, U.S. Pivots Eastward To Address Uneasy Allies. New York Times, Oct 25, 2011.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/2 ... llies-on-china.html

Quote:

"In the Chinese military’s view, the [PLA] buildup is needed to defend against what it sees as a growing and potentially unfriendly American presence in the Pacific. 'It’s a serious threat and a potential threat,' Sun Zhe, the director of Tsinghua University’s Center on United States-China relations, said in an interview late last year, citing the seven American aircraft carriers and 18 American nuclear submarines in the region. 'If you say they are only targeting North Korea, nobody will believe it.'

"In response [to PLA buildup], the Pentagon has stepped up investments in a range of weapons, jet fighters and technology, including in a new long-range nuclear-capable bomber aircraft, which the Pentagon had stopped developing in 2009, as well as a new generation of electronic jammers for the Navy that are designed to prevent a missile from finding and hitting a target. The Pentagon has bolstered its cyberwarfare capabilities and is developing a highly classified war strategy for Asia, called AirSea Battle Concept, aimed at coordinating naval and air forces in the Pacific.

My comment:
(a) There is no need to read the rest of the report.
(b) SUN Zhe  孙 哲

(7) Gerald F Seib, After Iraq, US to Refocus on Asia. Wall Street Journal, Oct 25, 2011.

My comment: There is no need to read this report, which cites an article by "an economist and former president of National Association of Manufacturers":

Jerry Jasinowski, Making It in America. Huffington Post, Oct 19, 2011
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/je ... ring_b_1019518.html
("At the same time, U.S. manufacturing, despite its troubles and the loss of jobs, has become more competitive. In recent years, we have registered the strongest productivity growth in the industrial world, and our export sector -- mainly manufacturing -- has been growing steadily. In fact, the value of U.S. manufacturing increased by one third to $1.65 trillion from 1997 to 2008, before the onset of the recession, according to BCG. The reality is -- we are already competing effectively with China, and the tide is turning in our favor")

There is no need to read the rest of Mr Jasinowski's article, either.