Alwaght- China will surpass Russia as the top nuclear threat to the United States soon, a senior US military official said on Friday, warning that the two nuclear powers have no mechanisms to avoid miscommunication.
"There's going to be a point, a crossover point, where the number of threats presented by China will exceed the number of threats that currently Russia presents," said US Air Force Lieutenant General Thomas Bussiere, the deputy commander of the US Strategic Command -- which oversees American nuclear arsenal – during an online forum.
"There will be a crossover point, we believe, in the next few years," Bussiere added, emphasizing that the determination would not be based solely on the number of Beijing's stockpiled nuclear warheads, but also on how they are "operationally fielded."
He further noted that unlike Russia, Washington does not have any treaties or dialogue mechanism with China on the issue to "alleviate any misperceptions or confusion."
The senior military official also alleged that China's development of nuclear capabilities "can no longer be aligned" with its public position that it intends to maintain a minimum nuclear deterrent.
Bussiere also expressed concerns over China's advances in missile technology to deliver such warheads, claiming that Beijing last year tested more ballistic missile capabilities than the rest of the world combined.
China, however, insists that its nuclear arsenal is overshadowed by those of the US and Russia, noting that it is prepared for dialogue on the issue, but only on the condition that Washington reduces its nuclear weapons stockpile to Beijing's level.
Bussiere's remarks came amid Washington’s persisting efforts to realign its foreign policy aimed at placing greater emphasis in the Indo-Pacific region to counter China's surging economic and military might.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also expressed deep concerns about China's growing nuclear arsenal during a meeting with foreign ministers of Asian countries and partner nations in early August.
This is while the US Defense Department estimated in a 2020 report to Congress that China's operational nuclear warhead stockpile is in "the low 200s," adding that it was projected to at least double in size as Beijing expands and modernizes its forces.
The United States maintained 1,357 deployed nuclear warheads as of March 1 of this year, according to a fact sheet prepared by its own State Department.
US and Russia remain the world’s largest holders and developers of nuclear weapons, followed by Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korean and the Israeli regime, which has not declared its possession of nuclear warheads, but does not deny having them. The regime does not allow any international inspection of its nuclear facilities.