Commonground
Senior Moderator
Taiwan Media
Wed, Oct 15, 2025
China’s rapid expansion and diversification of its nuclear arsenal has raised the prospect that Beijing could resort to “nuclear blackmail” or even nuclear warfare against Western nations should they intervene in a conflict over Taiwan, much like the Kremlin’s warnings during its invasion of Ukraine, defense experts said.
At a Sept. 3 military parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, China unveiled three nuclear-capable missiles: the JL-1 air-launched ballistic missile, the JL-3 submarine-launched intercontinental missile and the DF-61 surface-to-surface intercontinental missile.
Analysts described the display as signaling China’s emergence as a potential “nuclear triad” power — capable of delivering nuclear strikes from air, land and sea — a development that has put democratic nations on alert.
Until recently, China lacked the capability to conduct airborne nuclear strikes.
However, a Sept. 29 New York Times report quoted Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center, a Washington-based foreign affairs think tank, as saying that a conflict in the Taiwan Strait would “have a nuclear dimension,” particularly if the US intervenes or threatens to do so.
The same report cited evidence of increased missile activity at the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force’s 611th Brigade base in China’s Anhui Province, about 700km from Taiwan, where nuclear-capable Dongfeng-26 (DF-26) missiles have been deployed.
With an estimated range of 5,000km, the DF-26 could reach US military bases on Guam and elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region.
Continued: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2025/10/15/2003845506
Wed, Oct 15, 2025
China’s rapid expansion and diversification of its nuclear arsenal has raised the prospect that Beijing could resort to “nuclear blackmail” or even nuclear warfare against Western nations should they intervene in a conflict over Taiwan, much like the Kremlin’s warnings during its invasion of Ukraine, defense experts said.
At a Sept. 3 military parade in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, China unveiled three nuclear-capable missiles: the JL-1 air-launched ballistic missile, the JL-3 submarine-launched intercontinental missile and the DF-61 surface-to-surface intercontinental missile.
Analysts described the display as signaling China’s emergence as a potential “nuclear triad” power — capable of delivering nuclear strikes from air, land and sea — a development that has put democratic nations on alert.
Until recently, China lacked the capability to conduct airborne nuclear strikes.
However, a Sept. 29 New York Times report quoted Kelly Grieco, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center, a Washington-based foreign affairs think tank, as saying that a conflict in the Taiwan Strait would “have a nuclear dimension,” particularly if the US intervenes or threatens to do so.
The same report cited evidence of increased missile activity at the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force’s 611th Brigade base in China’s Anhui Province, about 700km from Taiwan, where nuclear-capable Dongfeng-26 (DF-26) missiles have been deployed.
With an estimated range of 5,000km, the DF-26 could reach US military bases on Guam and elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region.
Continued: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2025/10/15/2003845506