The Global Times, the state-run Chinese newspaper says the country is now considering upping their nuclear weapons program as a “strategic deterrence” against the United States.
Hu Xijin, the editor of the paper who wrote the op-ed said, “We must be prepared for an intense showdown between China and the U.S. The number of China’s nuclear warheads must reach the quantity that makes U.S. elites shiver should they entertain the idea of engaging in a military confrontation with China.”
He continued to voice his want for the “rapid” creation of nuclear warheads, DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles, and long-range strategic missiles.
Xijin then said, “On this basis, we can calmly and actively manage divergences with Washington to avoid a minor incident sparking a war. US hostility toward China is burning. We must use our strength, and consequences that Washington cannot afford to bear if it takes risky moves, to keep them sober.”
Rising tensions between the U.S. and China have been mounting as the U.S. condemned Beijing’s handling of the Hong Kong freedom protests, the Uighur Muslim concentration camps, and supporting Taiwan.
China wasn’t also too keen on having a U.S. warship sail in the Taiwan Strait to demonstrate a “free and open Indo-Pacific,” which China blames the U.S. of “endangering peace and stability.”
The Global Times‘ article came out the day after President Joe Biden ordered the intelligence community to dig into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic in China.
All of this has caused the U.S. and Australian military to work closer, strengthening their relations.
Australian Home Affairs Minister, Karen Andrews, said, “The United States is a very strong ally of Australia and we will continue to work with them.”
Not all are happy though, Australian Green Party leader, Adam Bandt, said, “There is a real risk that if Australia just does whatever the US wants that we are leading ourselves closer to a war. That would be devastating.”