China poses major nuclear threat to the West, armed forces chief warns

China now poses a major nuclear threat to the West after rapidly expanding its atomic weapons arsenal, the head of Britain’s armed forces has warned. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, Chief of the Defense Staff, said the world was now entering a new ‘nuclear age’ – with China posing a more deadly threat than ever before. In an alarming address to the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London, Admiral Sir Tony said Britain was facing a new ‘world order’ shaped by its enemies and regional conflicts. The military boss claimed Russia, China, Iran and North Korea all posed a danger, and highlighted Beijing as a particular challenge for the US. For decades, the nuclear threat posed by China was not considered significant. But Beijing is now expanding its stockpile of nuclear weapons more rapidly than any other country.

It is feared that by 2030, the communist state will be on a par with the US and Russia and could soon have an apocalyptic arsenal of 1,000 nuclear warheads. Speaking at RUSI’s annual Chief of the Defense Staff lecture, Adm Sir Tony said the world was ‘at the dawn of a third nuclear age’. He said the initial nuclear age was the Cold War, a period ‘defined by two opposing blocs governed by the risk of uncontrollable escalation and the logic of deterrence’. The second nuclear age was defined by ‘disarmament efforts and counter-proliferation’, he continued. However, the situation faced by the world now was ‘altogether more complex’, he said. ‘From Russia, we have seen wild threats of tactical nuclear use, large-scale nuclear exercises and simulated attacks against NATO countries, all designed to coerce us from taking the action required to maintain stability,’ Adm Sir Tony warned.

‘China’s nuclear build-up poses a two-peer challenge to the United States. Iran’s failure to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency is a concern, and North Korea’s ballistic missile program and erratic behavior present a regional and, increasingly, a global threat.’ A recent paper by Rusi warned that China was ‘moving to a launch-on-warning posture akin to those maintained by Russia and the US’. In recent years, China has emerged as a nuclear superpower. It has built hundreds of new intercontinental ballistic missile silos and ramped up its construction of nuclear warheads. During his speech, Admiral Sir Tony said that as Britain’s military chief he had a ‘responsibility’ to ‘stiffen the nation’s resolve’. ‘That requires me to speak plainly about the threats we face and the response required,’ he said.

The British armed forces chief said the world was dividing into three groups: Russia , China and its allies who want to undermine global security; responsible nations such as the UK; and states which seek to exploit the chaos for their own advantage. During his landmark address in London on Wednesday, Admiral Sir Tony called on international leaders to ‘recognize that one era has ended and another has begun’. He also warned that collusion between these hostile states could increase, including the possibility that North Korea provides tens of thousands more troops to back the Russian occupation of Ukraine. He asked: ‘Do we understand what is at stake? And are we sufficiently motivated to respond? This year’s most extraordinary development was the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers on the border of Ukraine. ‘And the possibility of tens of thousands more to follow as part of a new security pact with Russia, which could involve the exchange of the most sensitive technology and expertise between Moscow and Pyongyang.

‘Add to this the use of Iranian-supplied drones by Russian forces, and Russia’s threats to arm the [Yemeni] Houthis in direct retaliation for Western support to Ukraine, and we are witnessing the world aligning into three groups. ‘Talk of world order may sound abstract… And multi-lateral institutions may feel remote. But they are real. ‘Their presence, and more so their absence, can be felt in a way that is immediate and visceral.’ Admiral Sir Tony insisted the direct threat to the UK posed by Russia remained ‘remote’ and was adamant that as long as the West aligns its interests and capabilities, responsible states can thwart the opponents of democracy. He said: ‘If we step back for a moment, we can see our strengths. ‘A Europe and America that represents half the world’s wealth versus a Russia that is facing economic and demographic decline.

‘A NATO that spends more on defense than Russia and China combined and is becoming even stronger. ‘An international community that has responded to Russia’s aggression with unprecedented cohesion and resolve.’ The comments came after a minister warned the entire British Army would be wiped out in ‘six months to a year’ during a major war with Russia. Alistair Carns, who won the Military Cross for gallantry on special forces operations, issued the bleak assessment as he stressed the importance of building up Britain’s military reserve forces. The MP’s warning came as he highlighted the huge numbers of Russian soldiers being slaughtered in Ukraine. The veterans minister, who is also a reservist, said around 1,500 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded every day. The highest reported total in a single day is around 2,000.

Mr Carns claimed the ability for Russia to be able to absorb such savage losses and continue with his invasion of Ukraine was part of Putin ‘s plan, which is why Britain must boost its number of full-time professional soldiers and widen its pool of part-time reservists. ‘In a war of scale – not a limited intervention, but one similar to Ukraine – our army for example on the current casualty rates would be expended – as part of a broader multinational coalition – in six months to a year,’ Mr Carns reported said in a speech at a conference on reserves at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London . Mr Carns, a former full time Royal Marine Colonel until he switched his military career for one in politics, noted that Russia would soon be moving onto its third army in Ukraine, having conscripted tens of thousands of troops into its war effort. ‘That doesn’t mean we need a bigger army, but it does mean you need to generate depth and mass rapidly in the event of a crisis,’ Mr Carns said. ‘The reserves are critical, absolutely central, to that process. Without them we cannot generate mass, we cannot meet the plethora of defense tasks.’

The British Army has shrunk to its smallest size in more than 200 years, with figures this year showing there were just 72,510 full-time, trained soldiers ready for deployment. It comes after Ben Wallace , the former defense secretary, announced in 2021 the Army would be cut to 72,500 personnel by 2025, scrapping the 82,000 target that had been set in 2015. Meanwhile, government figures show there are 24,068 reservists in the Army – which is 20 percent off its 2019 target of 30,000 set back in 2016. Britain has underinvested in its reserve forces, which have shrunk dramatically over the years. At the end of the Cold War, the ‘Territorial Army’, as it was known, had a trained strength of almost 73,000 soldiers. And by the end of the Second World War, more than one million army reservists had been called to fight. Limited funding has seen governments prioritizing cash for the full-time army, Royal Navy and RAF.

But this has led to reserves being undermanned, with part-time troops historically lacking basic equipment like body armor, weapons and vehicles and not receiving the training they need. Military top brass often claim war is started by professional armies but ended by civilians – who join the fight as volunteers or reservists as has happened in Ukraine. Mr Carns noted that Russia would soon be moving onto its third army in Ukraine having sustained heavy losses following more than 1,000 days of full-scale war. ‘That doesn’t mean we need a bigger army, but it does mean you need to generate depth and mass rapidly in the event of a crisis,’ Mr Carns said. ‘ ‘The reserves are critical, absolutely central, to that process. Without them we cannot generate mass, we cannot meet the plethora of defense tasks.’ Reservists train in their own time, often attending evening or weekend sessions, or two-week annual courses.

Britain also has a ‘strategic reserve’, which comprises of all former service personnel for a set period after they leave the regular military. Previously this pool of troops – which can be called upon in the event of a war – used to train annually during the Cold War, with the Ministry of Defense keeping track of who was in the strategic reserve and where the lived. However, this training ceased after the Cold War. Now the MoD does not necessarily know who or where everyone in the strategic reserve is based, reports Sky News . Mr Carns said Britain needed to catch up with its NATO allies and ‘place a greater emphasis’ on reserve forces. He added ‘we need to grow our active reserve’ to respond ‘at short notice’.

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