Jeffrey Lewis argues that, whatever China’s motives are for deploying such weapons, “there is no arguing that China’s nuclear force is small.” Unless, of course, you happen to live in Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Nepal, Tibet, the Philippines, Indonesia, or Malaysia — all of which collectively have zero nuclear weapons.
Lewis also assures us China has no interest in a “large” number of missiles. He argues that China’s nuclear posture has been driven “by an enthusiasm for reaching technological milestones” — as if China is simply engaging in a high school science project.
In the nuclear deterrent business, U.S. commanders both civilian and military are paid to take things seriously.
Getting the nuclear deterrent business wrong would, after all, be bad for America, bad for civilization and bad for the world.
Recently, China tested a missile with multiple warheads. Up to that time, all of China’s nuclear-armed missiles were assumed to have only single warheads. Many of those were liquid-fueled and required considerable time to load and launch.