According to newly reviewed satellite images by news agency Reuters, a large-scale military construction project is underway in a remote desert in China, which experts believe is to ensure the country can still launch a nuclear response even if its nuclear facilities are attacked first by the United States.
Reuters reviewed satellite images which showed more than 80 launch pads and three large octagon-shaped installations near the Hami nuclear silo field in north-west China.
Security analysts deduced that the launch pads could be used by mobile missile launchers and air-defence systems while the octagon-shaped facilities could support comunications, electronic warfare, and military command functions.
Alexander Neill, an adjunct fellow at Hawaii’s Pacific Forum think tank said, “We can see this infrastructure is being built on a grand scale, covering thousands of square kilometers of desert beyond the silo fields.”
“We’re looking at a very considerable enhancement and diversification of China’s strategic nuclear deterrent,” he added.
According to security experts, the scale of the protective infrastructure built around the nuclear missile sites is not typical when compared to other major nuclear powers.
Analyst Hans Kristenson told Reuters that the new developments appear different in both scale and ambition.
“I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” said Kristenson “It’s an extraordinary effort.”
Meanwhile, U.S Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was attending Asia’s premier defence summit in Singapore, said on Saturday that countries across the Indo-Pacific had concerns about China’s growing military capabilities, leading to uneasiness across the region. He said nations were closely watching Beijing’s expanding military programmes within the region and beyond.
“When we look across the region today, there is rightful alarm regarding China’s historic military build-up and the expansion of its military activities in the region and beyond,” said Hegseth at the meeting.
However, he clarified that the United States was not going to escalate tensions with the country and looked to maintain stability in the region.
