China Could ‘Rapidly Expand’ Its Nuclear Warhead Stockpile, UK Peers Are Told

China Could ‘Rapidly Expand’ Its Nuclear Warhead Stockpile, UK Peers Are Told
Nuclear-capable missiles are displayed at a massive parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese communist regime in Beijing, China, on Oct. 1, 2009. Feng Li/Getty Images
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Nuclear weapons are “becoming more important” than they have been since the height of the Cold War, the House of Lords’ International Relations and Defence Committee has been told.

Andrew Futter, a professor of international politics at the University of Leicester, told peers on May 17: “China’s stockpile is probably around 300 or 400, that’s the best we can guess. But there is a fear that that could be quite rapidly expanded so it would come close to U.S. or Russian stockpiles. U.S. and Russian stockpiles are around about 5,000, although of those only a much smaller amount are deployed.”

Chris Summers
Chris Summers
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Chris Summers is a UK-based journalist covering a wide range of national stories, with a particular interest in crime, policing and the law.
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