China's nuclear weapons buildup is a ticking time bomb, and Keir Starmer's silence on the matter is concerning. While the UK prime minister's tentative pivot to the Dragon Throne has played well in Beijing, it has been met with skepticism in Trumpland. This is partly because Starmer, like other western leaders, has avoided addressing sensitive topics such as human rights abuses, the Jimmy Lai travesty, spying, and Taiwan. However, the most critical issue that was avoided altogether in talks with President Xi Jinping is China's rapid and unexplained buildup of nuclear weapons.
The uncontrolled proliferation of weapons of mass destruction poses the most immediate and existential threat to humanity. The Doomsday Clock recently advanced to 85 seconds to midnight, indicating that we are closer to nuclear Armageddon than ever before. Nuclear disarmament diplomacy is at a standstill globally, and the consensus on collective future action is expected to elude the upcoming non-proliferation treaty (NPT) review conference in New York.
China, with an estimated 600 warheads, is lagging behind in the nuclear arms race but is catching up quickly. Beijing offers no explanation for its dramatic surge in nuclear capabilities and rejects multilateral arms control talks. An official white paper published by China in November restated its position that countries with the largest nuclear arsenals must make the first move by unilaterally making "drastic and substantive reductions".
Despite its current advantages, the US is worried about China's nuclear weapons drive. The Pentagon warned that China's historic military buildup has made the US homeland increasingly vulnerable. It highlighted a more attack-ready, "hair-trigger" nuclear posture and claimed that about 100 ICBMs were recently installed in silos in northern China. Beijing is also testing its ability to strike US forces in the Pacific, potentially crippling future US military assistance to Taiwan.
What is Xi up to? China's nuclear weapons drive could be a question of status, with Xi wanting to match or surpass the US and Russia. Or maybe he is genuinely fearful of being attacked. Xi has acquired emperor-like sway after 13 years at the top, but he is also an insecure, fallible, and unimaginative politician not immune to global trends and pressures. Starmer's talks with Xi reportedly included Chinese threats to UK national security, yet he did not raise the issue.
Starmer's silence is unsurprising, as the UK is also expanding its nuclear strike force by buying US F-35A nuclear-capable fighter jets and allowing the US to store nuclear bombs at RAF Lakenheath for the first time in 20 years. Britain is in no position to criticize, and its unspoken message to Xi is stark: bombs away!
