The Japan Times reported that, based on satellite images, China has built a vast array of missile systems to protect against possible attacks on its nuclear ballistic missiles, which are located in silos deep in the Xinjiang desert.
Publish dateSunday 31 May 2026 - 08:44
Story Code : 356371
Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): It wrote about this: China has built a military complex of missile systems in the Xinjiang desert, which seems to be designed to counter an initial attack by the United States on China's nuclear arsenal to prevent it from damaging Beijing's ability to retaliate.
The images show more than 80 platforms for possible use by China’s expanding fleet of mobile missile launchers and air defense artillery, a new desert defense infrastructure that is located in two octagonal complexes southwest of China’s nuclear ballistic missile silo fields in the eastern Xinjiang desert.
Each of the two complexes is located 140 kilometers and 230 kilometers from China’s nuclear ballistic missile silo fields.
“We could see this infrastructure being built on a large scale, covering thousands of square kilometers of desert beyond the silo fields,” said Alexander Neel, a fellow at the Pacific Society in Hawaii. “Depending on the precise capabilities, we could see a very significant increase and diversification of China’s strategic nuclear deterrent.”
The scale of the construction represents a significant upgrade in Beijing’s efforts to secure a second-strike capability, highlighting the escalating nuclear competition with the United States as tensions rise over issues such as Taiwan’s sovereignty, the Japan Times wrote.
While China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) can launch nuclear weapons from submarines and aircraft, the silo fields in the northwestern region of Xinjiang and Gansu province are the core of the country’s nuclear forces, the report added.
U.S. officials and arms control analysts say China is expanding and upgrading its nuclear weapons capabilities faster than any other country. The latest Pentagon report on China’s military modernization said the country’s warhead production has slowed but is on track to have 1,000 warheads ready by 2030. A December report estimated that China may have loaded 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles into its three main silos.
China is also beefing up its early warning system, supported by Huoyan-1 satellites, according to U.S. officials. The system can detect an intercontinental ballistic missile within 90 seconds of launch and alert a command center within three to four minutes, the Pentagon says — enough time for China to fire its silo-based weapons before they hit.
The Japan Times wrote: While the cornerstone of China’s doctrine is a “no first use” policy of nuclear power, meaning its forces would not initiate a nuclear conflict, some senior Western diplomats and analysts say China is likely to resort to nuclear force to limit foreign interference in the conflict over Taiwan.
Xi Jinping warned US President Donald Trump this month that mishandling their countries’ dispute over Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, could lead them into a “dangerous place.”
The images show more than 80 platforms for possible use by China’s expanding fleet of mobile missile launchers and air defense artillery, a new desert defense infrastructure that is located in two octagonal complexes southwest of China’s nuclear ballistic missile silo fields in the eastern Xinjiang desert.
Each of the two complexes is located 140 kilometers and 230 kilometers from China’s nuclear ballistic missile silo fields.
“We could see this infrastructure being built on a large scale, covering thousands of square kilometers of desert beyond the silo fields,” said Alexander Neel, a fellow at the Pacific Society in Hawaii. “Depending on the precise capabilities, we could see a very significant increase and diversification of China’s strategic nuclear deterrent.”
The scale of the construction represents a significant upgrade in Beijing’s efforts to secure a second-strike capability, highlighting the escalating nuclear competition with the United States as tensions rise over issues such as Taiwan’s sovereignty, the Japan Times wrote.
While China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) can launch nuclear weapons from submarines and aircraft, the silo fields in the northwestern region of Xinjiang and Gansu province are the core of the country’s nuclear forces, the report added.
U.S. officials and arms control analysts say China is expanding and upgrading its nuclear weapons capabilities faster than any other country. The latest Pentagon report on China’s military modernization said the country’s warhead production has slowed but is on track to have 1,000 warheads ready by 2030. A December report estimated that China may have loaded 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles into its three main silos.
China is also beefing up its early warning system, supported by Huoyan-1 satellites, according to U.S. officials. The system can detect an intercontinental ballistic missile within 90 seconds of launch and alert a command center within three to four minutes, the Pentagon says — enough time for China to fire its silo-based weapons before they hit.
The Japan Times wrote: While the cornerstone of China’s doctrine is a “no first use” policy of nuclear power, meaning its forces would not initiate a nuclear conflict, some senior Western diplomats and analysts say China is likely to resort to nuclear force to limit foreign interference in the conflict over Taiwan.
Xi Jinping warned US President Donald Trump this month that mishandling their countries’ dispute over Taiwan, which China claims as its territory, could lead them into a “dangerous place.”
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