China is building an extensive network of launch pads, bunkers, and communications facilities near its nuclear missile silos in the remote Xinjiang desert. (www.reuters.com)
from shish_mish@lemmy.world to world@lemmy.world on 29 May 10:01
https://lemmy.world/post/47490885

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Miller@lemmy.world on 29 May 10:26 next collapse

If this is being reported as unexpected then there is something desperately wrong with our intelligence, what else are the Chinese doing, building roads and schools near their houses?

Maeve@kbin.earth on 29 May 10:49 next collapse

This is a concerning report. They're trying to manufacture approval for bombing.

evenglow@lemmy.world on 29 May 11:08 collapse

Quantum communication satellites. Enough renewable energy to power the entire USA. Massive strategic petroleum reserve. Thorium power plants.

Just the usual.

Miller@lemmy.world on 29 May 12:50 collapse

Slow close toilet seats are fairly standard there too.

To be fair I think most of the complaints against China are identical to those being made against AI. We wanted them to have our motivations but we did not see how corrupt those motivations could be until they were reflected back by something that was not us.

Rat_in_a_hat@lemmy.ca on 29 May 16:19 next collapse

Is Reuters saying that it’s a bad thing for a country to protect it’s nuclear silos so bad actors don’t blow them up? What’s so nefarious about a country protecting nuclear silos?

I think it’s more telling that they feel the need to do it because it seems that the US and Israel haven’t shied away from hitting nuclear facilities (aka war crimes).

perestroika@slrpnk.net on 29 May 18:19 collapse

Reuters is not saying good or bad, they are just reporting that this happens.

In the sense that more countries are better prepared to blow up vast amounts of stuff, one may conclude it’s bad.

In the sense that deterrence may prevent conflict, some people may think it’s good.

Either way, it’s real. China has mounted more warheads on missiles and is working to better protect them from a first strike. For whatever reason, they think this posture is necessary.

Rat_in_a_hat@lemmy.ca on 30 May 00:56 collapse

I don’t know if we’ve read the same article because it reads as fear mongering defensive improvements with the tone that it’s for offensive use.

China’s nuclear missiles can already reach any city in the United States. Now, satellite images reviewed by Reuters show Beijing is building a sprawling web of launch pads, bunkers and communications nodes near the isolated nuclear silos that hold the Chinese military’s longest-range missiles.

China’s nuclear build-up is among the most scrutinized facets of President Xi Jinping’s military modernization because of what some foreign diplomats describe as Beijing’s lack of transparency and failed efforts by the United States to engage the Chinese leadership on its evolving nuclear capabilities and intentions.

But some senior Western diplomats and analysts say China would possibly resort to nuclear coercion to limit outside involvement in a conflict over Taiwan.

The scale of what is emerging in China’s northwestern desert has left even seasoned analysts startled.

0x0@infosec.pub on 30 May 15:03 collapse

This “article” could have just been a tweet