China Is Moving Toward Fielding A Nuclear Triad

Jin (Type 094) Class Ballistic Missile Submarine Source: Photograph provided to CRS by Navy Office of Legislative Affairs, December 2010. Wikipeida.

The Diplomat: Pentagon: Air-Launched Ballistic Missile Will Realize China’s Nuclear Triad

China’s new nuclear-capable air-launched ballistic missile will complete its triad.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) released its annual public assessment of China’s military capabilities. You can read the full report here (PDF).

There’s a lot of meat to the report, which is a useful source of information on developments in China’s military capabilities and strategy, but I wanted to focus on one particularly interesting revelation.

Last year, as I noted, DoD released the U.S. government’s assessment that the People’s Liberation Army Air Force had once again been assigned a nuclear mission. China’s Air Force was taken off the nuclear mission sometime in the late-1970s or early-1980s, when Beijing’s nuclear gravity bombs were phased out in favor of the erstwhile Second Artillery Corps (now People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force) and its stable of long-range missiles.

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Update #1: With this new missile, China could join the ranks of the world's most dangerous nuclear arsenals (Business Insider)
Update #2: China on faster pace to develop nuclear triad, according to Pentagon, analysts (Jane's 360)

WNU Editor: I expect this Chinese nuclear buildup will continue for the foreseeable future. As to what are the U.S. options? It may come down to this .... China nuclear triad expansion threatens US trade deal (Chriss Street, American Thinker).