Nuclear weapons will increase in the next decade and India, one of the nine nuclear States, will continue to modernise its nuclear arsenal, the prestigious Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said on Monday in its annual report.
The report assessed the current state of armaments, disarmament, and international security and said despite a marginal decrease in the number of nuclear warheads in 2021, nuclear arsenals are expected to grown over the next ten years. It signals that post-cold war decline in nuclear arsenals is ending.
The SIPRI report said the nine nuclear-armed States — the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) — continue to modernise their nuclear arsenals. Although the total number of nuclear weapons declined slightly between January 2021 and January 2022, the number will probably increase in the next decade, it said.
Russia and the USA together possess over 90 per cent of all nuclear weapons. The other seven nuclear-armed States are either developing or deploying new weapon systems, or have announced their intention to do so.
India had 160 nuclear warheads as on January 2022 and it appears to be expanding its nuclear arsenal, the report said. Similarly, Pakistan also appears to be expanding its nuclear arsenal, it said.
“China is in the middle of a substantial expansion of its nuclear weapon arsenal, which satellite images indicate includes the construction of over 300 new missile silos,†the SIPRI statement noted.
China had 350 nuclear warheads in January 2021 as well as January 2022, it said.
“Even though SIPRI’s estimate of China’s total inventory is the same as for January 2021, the number of stockpiled warheads potentially available for use has changed because new launchers became operational during 2021,†it noted.
While India’s nuclear stockpile increased from 156 in January 2021 to 160 in January 2022, Pakistan’s nuclear stockpile has remained at 165 in January 2021 and January 2022, the SIPRI said.
“India and Pakistan appear to be expanding their nuclear arsenals, and both countries introduced and continued to develop new types of nuclear delivery system in 2021,†it claimed.
India does not share official data on its nuclear arsenal. “The availability of reliable information on the status of the nuclear arsenals and capabilities of the nuclear-armed states varies considerably...India and Pakistan make statements about some of their missile tests but provide no information about the status or size of their arsenals,†the SIPRI’s statement said.
The Armed forces of India and China have been engaged in a tense border standoff in eastern Ladakh since May 5, 2020. Of the total inventory of an estimated 12, 705 warheads at the start of 2022, about 9,440 were in military stockpiles for potential use. Of those, an estimated 3,732 warheads were deployed with missiles and aircraft, and around 2000 - nearly all of which belonged to Russia or the USA - were kept in a state of high operational alert.
