“Just because you build the silos doesn’t mean you have to fill them all with missiles,” said Vipin Narang, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor who specializes in nuclear strategy. The Chinese government dismissed the idea, saying that if the Americans were so concerned, they should cut their arsenal by four-fifths to Chinese levels. But the Biden administration had concluded that it would be unwise to let New START expire with Russia simply because China refused to join. She is headed next to nuclear discussions with Russia. At the White House, the National Security Council declined to comment on evidence of the expanding Chinese arsenal.

Source: New York Times July 26, 2021 23:43 UTC