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A sprawling network of launch pads, bunkers, and communication nodes is rapidly taking shape in a remote Chinese desert, signaling a significant expansion of the country's nuclear infrastructure. Security scholars suggest the complex is designed to ensure China's ability to retaliate against a first strike on its nuclear arsenal.

Satellite images reviewed by Reuters show more than 80 launch pads intended for mobile missile launchers, alongside facilities for electronic warfare, satellite communications, and command operations. Three security analysts who assessed the imagery described the construction as being on a "grand scale," covering thousands of square kilometers.

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We can see this infrastructure is being built on a grand scale, covering thousands of square kilometers of desert beyond the silo fields.

This build-up represents a substantial upgrade to China's land-based nuclear forces and its capacity for a second strike. The move underscores the intensifying nuclear competition between China and the United States, especially as tensions rise over Taiwan's sovereignty. While China maintains a "no first use" policy, some Western diplomats and analysts express concern that Beijing might resort to nuclear coercion in a conflict over Taiwan.

The expansion has drawn scrutiny due to China's perceived lack of transparency regarding its evolving nuclear capabilities and intentions. The United States has made efforts to engage Chinese leadership on these matters, but with limited success. The development is seen by some as a considerable enhancement and diversification of China's strategic nuclear deterrent.

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we're looking at a very considerable enhancement and diversification of China's strategic nuclear deterrent.