THE US has blocked radioactive fuel to China over fears Beijing wants to triple its nuke stockpile.
President Joe Biden‘s administration ordered the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to block exports to China on “national security” grounds, The Times reported.
The export of radioactive materials to China’s state-owned nuclear company the China General Nuclear Power Group is now banned under the order.
It comes after Chinese state media called for a tripling of the nation’s nuclear arsenal to fend off the “warmongering” US.
The Global Times – the newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, which has a circulation of 1.5million – published a fiery editorial last year in which it accused Washington of trying to stoke conflict with China.
Chinese military officials were urged to increase the state’s nuclear stockpile to 1,000 warheads, more than triple its current estimated size of around 300.
The newspaper – which is often seen as the unfiltered mouthpiece of Beijing – called for the increase to “deter potential impulsive military action by US warmongers”.
Meanwhile China is busy building “at least 250 long range missile silos” in three locations — sparking fears a new nuclear arms race is underway.
A third Chinese missile silo field in a remote area in Inner Mongolia has been reportedly been photographed by a European Space Agency satellite as Beijing launches its largest ever nuke expansion.
The Arms Control Association said Beijing’s rapid nuclear buildup could significantly influence President Joe Biden’s administration’s up-and-coming Nuclear Posture Review, where it decides how many nukes it needs.
The campaign organisation has estimated at least 250 nuclear long-range nuclear missile silos at three locations.
US Air Force Lieutenant General Thomas Buseyre, deputy commander of the US Strategic Command, warned China is set to overtake Russia as America’s main nuclear threat.
He told an online forum: “There’s going to be a point, a crossover point, where the number of threats posed by China will exceed the number of threats that Russia currently presents.”
China slammed Britain and America for “aggravating an arms race” after the countries announced a historic security pact to build nuclear submarines for Australia.
The Communist regime’s Washington DC embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu accused the nations of adopting a “Cold War mentality” like the terrifying nuke stand-off between the US and the Soviet Union in the 20th century.
The three countries’ leaders unveiled the alliance dubbed AUKUS in what was seen as a move to counter China’s rising might.
This comes amid raising tensions in disputed territories such as the South China Sea and Taiwan.
But Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the agreement “seriously undermines regional peace and stability and intensifies the arms race”.
He said: “The export of highly sensitive nuclear submarine technology by the United States and Britain to Australia once again proves that they use nuclear exports as a tool of geopolitical games and adopt double standards, which is extremely irresponsible.”
He added that the deal gave regional countries “reason to question Australia’s sincerity in abiding by its nuclear non-proliferation commitments”.
He urged the Western allies to “abandon their outdated Cold War zero-sum thinking” or risk “shooting themselves in the foot”.
