BEIJING, Feb. 23 -- The United States has been repeatedly hyping up the so-called "China's nuclear threat", only to seek excuses for expanding its own nuclear arsenal and maintaining military hegemony, said Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense, at a regular press conference on Thursday.
Senior Colonel Tan made the remarks when commenting on the report submitted by the US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) to Congress saying that China currently has more land-based launchers for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) than the US. Tan also made refutation to some Japanese media reports which said that the nuclear warheads held by China are likely to see an enormous increase before 2027 and that once China achieves its goal of military modernization, it would probably give up the commitment to no first use of nuclear weapons.
“The reports are nothing but irresponsible hype. China firmly follows a self-defensive nuclear strategy, the goal of which is to maintain national strategic security by deterring other countries from using or threatening to use nuclear weapons against China”, said the spokesperson, adding that China strictly adheres to the policy of no first use of nuclear weapons at any time and under any circumstances, and has made a clear commitment not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states or nuclear-weapon-free zones.
China has the most stable, consistent and predictable nuclear policy. China will not engage in nuclear arms race with any other country and will always maintain its nuclear power at the lowest level required for national security, he stressed.
Senior Colonel Tan pointed out that the US, however, has the largest nuclear arsenal in the world and is still investing heavily in upgrading its nuclear triad, developing low-yield nuclear weapons, lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, and strengthening its nuclear umbrella.
Senior Colonel Tan noted that China urges the relevant parties to stop the hype, reduce the role of nuclear weapons in national security policies, adopt the policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons, take their special and primary responsibilities for nuclear disarmament seriously, and take concrete actions to maintain global strategic stability.