China building massive launch pads near nuclear sites, satellite images surfaced

New Delhi: (Raghwendra Pratap Singh) :

A massive military facility is reportedly being developed in China that, according to some security experts, appears to be built to make sure a US first strike against the country's nuclear weapons cannot stop Beijing from launching a response.

A day after the findings were made in a Reuters report, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday called on Asian partners to increase defence spending to counter China's growing military strength, warning that there was "rightful alarm" over the pace of Beijing's military expansion.

There is rightful alarm regarding China's historic military buildup and the expansion of its military activities in the region and beyond," he said.

The size of the project taking shape in China's northwestern desert has surprised even experienced analysts. "I've never seen anything quite like it," said Hans Kristensen, director of the Federation of American Scientists' Nuclear Information Project. "It's an extraordinary effort."

China already possesses nuclear missiles capable of reaching any location in the United States. Now, satellite photographs reviewed by Reuters indicate that Beijing is constructing a massive network of launch pads, bunkers and communication facilities close to remote nuclear missile bases that house some of the country's longest-range missiles.