China blasts US report, reiterates 'no 1st use' nuke policy
China's Defense Ministry says the country strictly adheres to a policy of no first use of nuclear weapons “at any time and under any circumstances."
BEIJING (AP) — China strictly adheres to its policy of no first use of nuclear weapons “at any time and under any circumstances," its Defense Ministry said Tuesday in a scathing response to a U.S. report alleging a major buildup in Beijing's nuclear capabilities.
The Pentagon last week released an annual China security report that warned Beijing would likely have 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035, and that it has provided no clarity on how it plans to use them.
That report “distorts China’s national defense policy and military strategy, makes groundless speculation about China’s military development and grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs on the issue of Taiwan," ministry spokesperson Tan Kefei said in a statement.
Tan accused the U.S. of being the “biggest troublemaker and destroyer of world peace and stability," and repeated that Beijing has never renounced the use of force to conquer self-governing Taiwan, a U.S. ally that China considers part of its territory.
