Japan Defense Paper Warns of China’s Progress Toward ‘World-Class Military’

A soldier of the People's Liberation Army stands on a tank during a parade to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Communist Party's takeover of China, at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Oct. 1, 2019. Andrea Verdelli/Getty Images

The Chinese regime may be accelerating the timetable for its plan to build a “world-class military” by the mid-21st century, Japan said in a draft of its annual defense report.

The draft paper referred to Beijing as Japan’s “greatest strategic challenge” and warned that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could amass 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035, Kyodo News reported on May 23.