Chris Lange, FISM News

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The Defense Department acknowledged that China was able to capitalize on the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan to promote propaganda to “erode U.S. and partner influence” in its annual report to Congress on national security developments relating to China.

The report indicates that China seized on the Biden administration’s August 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan to show world leaders that the U.S. is not a dependable ally. 

“The PRC employed multiple diplomatic tools in an attempt to erode U.S. and partner influence, such as highlighting the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan,” the report states.

Biden received strident bipartisan criticism over the chaotic withdrawal that left at least 100,000 allies stranded and led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members.

China accelerates expansion of nuclear arsenal

The report also revealed an accelerated “major expansion” of China’s nuclear arsenal that could quadruple the amount by 2035.

“The Department of Defense estimates that the PRC’s operational nuclear warheads stockpile has surpassed 400,” the report stated, noting that, if the CCP continues at this pace, “it will likely field a stockpile of about 1500 warheads by its 2035 timeline.” The U.S. currently has 3,750 active nuclear warheads.

According to the report, China has focused on improving and enhancing its military “across all warfare domains” encompassing “the full range of land, air, and maritime, as well as nuclear, space, counterspace, electronic warfare … and cyberspace operations.”

Patty-Jane Geller, a senior policy analyst at the Center for National Defense, said that the U.S. must act quickly to strengthen its nuclear forces amid increased threats from China and other actors. 

“Failure to adjust U.S. nuclear forces to account for China’s strategic breakout, in addition to the advancing Russian, North Korean, and Iranian nuclear threats, will result in an ever-growing risk of deterrence failure,” Geller wrote in an article published Wednesday by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation.

“To maintain strong deterrence, Congress and the Administration must bolster the size and capability of U.S. nuclear forces and reconstitute the U.S. ability to hedge against an uncertain future,” she said, using a phrase coined by the Trump administration.

Gellar warned that “the current nuclear force structure will likely not suffice to protect Americans from these growing threats and may increase the chance of deterrence failure.”  

During his 2019 campaign, President Biden told the Council for a Livable World that he would not support President Trump’s 2018 Nuclear Posture Review which promoted the continued development of low-yield nuclear weapons as a “hedge against an uncertain future.” 

“No. The United States does not need new nuclear weapons,” Biden said. “Our current arsenal of weapons, sustained by the Stockpile Stewardship program, is sufficient to meet our deterrence and alliance requirements.

Biden vowed that his administration would work to “reduce … our reliance and excessive expenditure on nuclear weapons.”

The Washington Times reported earlier this month that the Biden administration has “quietly reduced the role of nuclear weapons in American defense strategy by eliminating a decades-long policy of using nuclear arms to hedge against future developments and threats.”

China developing AI technology to target US operations system

The DOD report also highlights the CCPs “new core operational concept,” called “Multi-Domain Precision Warfare (MDPW)” which the Pentagon said utilizes “big data and artificial intelligence to rapidly identify key vulnerabilities in the U.S. operation system” so that it can “launch precision strikes against those vulnerabilities.” Such an attack could potentially cripple critical infrastructure, military comms, and U.S. banks.

Another concerning item in the report is a note that China “continues to engage in biological activities … which raise concerns regarding its compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention.” 

The DOD added that currently, “China probably has the technical expertise to weaponize chemical and biological warfare agents.” 

This article was partially informed by a Breitbart report.