China and the United States are currently upgrading their militaries that experts speculate could be in preparation for war. 

In late November, news broke that China had been making hypersonic nuclear missiles that could outperform the nuclear weapons of the United States, threatening the currently fragile power balance that has so far kept the world away from war.

One of the new hypersonic nuclear missiles is called the Dong Feng 17 (DF-17), which can travel at 7,680 miles per hour for a distance of 1,600 miles. China’s Defense Coordinator Wu Qian says that the DF-17 and another missle, the DF-25, have a range of 5,000 miles and 3,000 miles, respectively.

With these new and advanced missiles, many are questioning whether China will abandon its long held “no first use” policy. Expert analyst Malcolm Davis has reported that the terms of China’s “no first use” policy are vague, allowing for a loose interpretation. To make matters worse, tension in Taiwan due to the United States supplying Taiwan with defense weapons when China wants to gain control over the island, coupled with the United States considering a “sole purpose” declaration in their 2022 nuclear posture review could upset the balance that is being held by deterrence. 

In addition to these nuclear weapons, China has also been working on their conventional forces by possibly building pseudo United States aircraft carriers to help their troops practice. These pseudo aircraft carriers have led many to believe that China is actively planning an attack on Taiwan and not just training for a possible scenario. 

While China has denied a lot of these theories and reported scenarios, the United States has taken action of their own against China: 

The Pentagon has begun to amp up the United States forces in Guam and Australia to rival China. These updated forces are the result of the Department of Defense’s global posture review, which is classified, but has released some details to the public. One notable aspect of the review was the Indo-Pacific region because of China’s delicate presence there. The United States is also planning to reduce troops in other areas in order to prioritize tensions with China more. 

With both China and the United States taking military action in the South China Sea region, it is evident that tensions are rising between the two powerful countries, creating a very uncertain future.