China on Wednesday condemned a Pentagon report for claiming Beijing wants to double its stockpile of nuclear warheads within a decade as it seeks to deter the United States from any intervention linked to Taiwan.
The Pentagon’s annual study on China’s military power issued Tuesday said it has already matched or outstripped the US military in several areas of defence.
It added that the People’s Liberation Army aims to be ready to win any conflict with the US over self-ruled Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory.
China’s defence ministry called the report “utterly wrong” and a misinterpretation of Beijing’s “defence policy and military strategy”.
The report “defamed China’s military modernisation, defence expenditure, nuclear policy and other issues”, the ministry said in a statement.