China Sends Nukes Into The Pacific

For the first time ever, the Chinese military will be sending submarines armed with nuclear missiles into the Pacific Ocean. And given that China and the US keep bumping into each other in the South China Sea, the timing feels a little passive aggressive. Both countries’ navies have been in a strategic standoff in the area, where a US spy plane and two Chinese fighter jets came close to colliding last Tuesday.  

What does this mean?

Beijing’s bold move risks stoking the tension between the US and China and advancing an arms race, but China insists that they didn’t have a choice. The US “started it” when they announced plans to station the Thaad anti-ballistic system in South Korea, where hypersonic glide missiles would sleep within striking distance of China. While those missiles are meant for North Korea, Beijing does has a point when they said they feel cramped with a limited deterrent force. Yet, these are still playground politics…except with nukes.