China Threatens Taiwan with Planes, the US with Hypersonic nukes?

Launching of a Chinese Long March rocket

Beijing: A record 38 Chinese military planes penetrated Taiwan's airspace recently and there is a growing fear that China might actually invade Taiwan. If this should happen, the next threat is imminent: a new cold war and nuclear arms race between China and the USA. Cold war 2.0 would come with a new dimension.

US intelligence was caught by surprise after learning that China has tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August, according to a Financial Times report last Saturday. Beijing immediately denied the claims, saying it was rather a routine spacecraft check.

The Chinese Long March rocket carrying the alleged missile streaked into space much like every other rocket, but soon after reaching orbit, its payload lurched downwards, circumnavigated the upper atmosphere, and crashed on the ground. The Financial Times report quoted five unnamed sources that attest that it was indeed a nuclear-capable hypersonic glider.

Hypersonic glide vehicles move at five times the speed of sound and unlike a ballistic missile, they fly at low trajectories and can maneuver in flight, which makes it almost impossible to track and destroy with any current technology, including US missile defense systems. US disarmament ambassador Robert Wood said, "We just don't know how we can defend against that technology, neither does China, neither does Russia." Two of the people familiar with the Chinese test said the weapon could, in theory, fly over the South Pole, which would pose a big challenge for the US military as its missiles defense systems are focused on the northern polar route. China currently has only 350 nuclear warheads compared to 5550 in the hands of the United States. However, recent reports suggest that China is steadily building up its nuclear power, including the building of 100 new missile silos in its western desert.

The revelation comes as the Biden administration undertakes the Nuclear Posture Review that determines the US nuclear weapons policy, which started in early July and will be finalized early next year. During the last NPR, the Trump administration sought to expand the role and capability of the U.S. nuclear arsenal. However, President Biden had criticized this during the presidential campaign and still maintains that his administration desires to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. strategy. Whether the recent news will bring about a change to that position is yet to be known.

The report has sparked debates on Washington's underestimation of China's capabilities, as Beijing continues to steadily build up its military power and engages in assertive military activities, like entering into Taiwan's airspace recently. China is not bound by any arms-control deals and has been unwilling to engage the US in talks about its nuclear arsenal and policy.

A clip from 'Television Event' that documents the aftermath of 1983 made-for-TV movie, The Day After – which imagined the impact of a nuclear attack on the USA.

'The Day After' outlines the effects of a devastating nuclear holocaust on small-town residents of eastern Kansas.