Beijing Reacts to U.S. Concerns About China’s Nuclear Weapons

China has accused the United States and Japan of triggering nuclear proliferation while claiming its nuclear capability is kept at a “minimum level.”

Beijing was responding to the ministerial meeting between the U.S. and Japan on extended deterrence in Tokyo on Sunday. During the meeting the U.S. reaffirmed its “nuclear commitment” to defend ally Japan by reinforcing extended deterrence. This is a commitment to deter and respond to potential nuclear and non-nuclear scenarios in defense of allies and partners, also known as providing a “nuclear umbrella,” according to the U.S. Air Force doctrine publication on nuclear operations.

“The PRC [China], Russia, and North Korea continue to threaten global security with their increasing emphasis on nuclear capabilities, so our extended deterrence relationship is more important than ever,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said after the meeting.

The U.S. and Japan planned to compile their first joint document on extended deterrence within the year, Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun reported last week. It will specify the circumstances necessary for Washington to retaliate with nuclear weapons in the event of a threat to Japan.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said during a press conference on Monday that Washington and Tokyo were exaggerating the threat posed by China and creating fear by talking of regional tensions.

He said that “China is a force for world peace, a contributor to global development and a defender of international order.”

During a meeting with Austin and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Tokyo on Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged to further strengthen deterrence capabilities.

“We remain absolutely committed to the defense of Japan,” Austin said in response.

“China always keeps its nuclear strength at the minimum level as required by national security,” said Lin on Monday. He stressed that his country “does not pose a threat to any country” while its defense development and military activities were “justified and reasonable.”

Lin criticized the decision made by the U.S. and Japan on extended deterrence, claiming this “nuclear commitment” was a relic from the Cold War.

“This will drive up regional tensions and trigger nuclear proliferation and conflict risks,” he warned.

China demanded the U.S. abandon extended deterrence to its non-nuclear allies during a session of the Preparatory Committee of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, or NPT, held in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday.

Sun Xiaobo, Director-General of the Department of Arms Control under China’s Foreign Ministry, said Washington has increased tensions in the Asia-Pacific and stimulated the nuclear arms race and proliferation risks by strengthening its “nuclear umbrella” in the region.

“Nuclear-weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states participating in nuclear sharing and extended deterrence should take concrete measures to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in their national and collective security policies,” Sun said during the session.

Jim Warden, Director of the Office of Nuclear Energy, Safety, and Security in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation at the U.S. Department of State, denounced China’s nuclear policy in a statement delivered to the NPT Preparatory Committee.

“Russia and the PRC are expanding and diversifying their nuclear weapons arsenals—showing little or no interest in arms control,” he said on Friday in response to China’s suspension of nuclear weapons talks with the U.S., which was announced on July 17.

Last year, the U.S. Defense Department said China continued rapid nuclear expansion and has more than 500 warheads, a figure that would exceed 1,000 by 2030. Meanwhile, newly declassified information shows that there are 3,748 nuclear warheads in the U.S. stockpile./newsweek.com/