WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th July, 2021) The United States is aware of China's nuclear buildup, including the construction of new silos, but won't disclose its intelligence assessments, the Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday.
"We are not going to get into intelligence assessments of Chinese nuclear capabilities... We remain concerned about China's modernization and the development of capabilities that in many ways seemed to serve no other purpose than to try to prevent the US and allied access to areas of the Indo-Pacific," Kirby said during a briefing.
Recent satellite images revealed the construction of 119 missile silos in China's Gansu province. China is believed to have an arsenal of 250 to 350 nuclear weapons, according to published reports.
"We made no secret in fact that we are aware that they continue to build out nuclear capabilities including the construction of silos," Kirby said.
The State Department earlier said that new silos reported by US media may suggest that China's nuclear arsenal will "grow more quickly and to a higher level than perhaps previously anticipated."
