China building up nuke capacity faster than expected

China is developing its nuclear arsenal faster than US projections had previously anticipated, according to a Pentagon report released yesterday China possessed "more than 500 operational nuclear warheads as of May 2023 -- on track to exceed previous expectations" the Department of Defense said in its annual China Military Power Report, issued annually and mandated by Congress. "We're not trying to suggest a very large departure from where they looked to be headed... but we are suggesting that they're on track to exceed those previous projections," a senior defense official told journalists. Nevertheless, the uptick "raises a lot of concerns for us," the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.