The Washington Post believed it had found evidence of the long-awaited nuclear armament. But now it looks as if the supposed silos are just the bases of wind turbines.
On June 30, the Washington Post warned of the yellow danger. “China is building more than 100 new missile silos in its western desert, say analysts,” was the headline. The message went around the world.
What happened? In the Gobi Desert near the city of Jumen, experts from the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California, discovered 119 construction sites. In the deserted Gobi, the 119 construction sites form a mathematically exact pattern. “The 119 almost identical construction sites have features that correspond to those of the existing launch systems for China’s arsenal of ballistic missiles with nuclear propulsion,” said the Post.
Over 100 silos would be a huge leap for China. The economic giant is a nuclear dwarf and only has an arsenal of 250 to 350 nuclear weapons. China is getting ready to outstrip the US in all areas. In the military sector, this is reflected in the intensive armament of the navy, which is being equipped with carrier groups and the most modern guided missile destroyers in the world. They also have their own stealth jets and missile equipment.
Russian and Western experts assume that extensive modernization and expansion of the nuclear arsenal is also planned. The system would come at the right time.
Massive armament
“If you add the silos under construction in other locations across China, that adds up to about 145 silos under construction,” said Lewis, director of the Washington Post’s Center for Nonproliferation Studies. “We believe China is building up some of its nuclear forces to have a deterrent weapon. They must survive a US first strike in sufficient numbers and then overcome US missile defense.”
But from the beginning, individual facts did not fit into the picture. The launching devices are far too close together for a silo farm. Actually, they should be designed in such a way that a nuclear first strike can only knock out one silo. Even if some of the facilities are just fakes intended to deceive the enemy and not house any real missiles, the tight packing would be counterproductive.
It is just as astonishing that the construction of highly sensitive nuclear silos could be observed so easily by commercial satellites and that no effort was made to camouflage anything except that the suspected excavation pits were covered.
State media deny
Now it looks like the Washington Post fell for a fake report. China’s state media have since denied it. They claim it will be a new zone on a neighboring wind farm. In their pictures, the workers do not dig shafts for silos, they lay foundations on which wind turbines will later be mounted. It is always necessary to cover the actual construction sites in the Gobi,
The state-affiliated “South China Morning Post” did not miss the opportunity to inform the US media about the “real” background of the project. Instead of armament, the fight of the communist party against poverty in the country is shown here. Indeed, efforts to drastically reduce poverty and develop poor parts of the country are Beijing’s central domestic effort. Gansu Province has the lowest gross national product in the country. For a long time it was unclear how to find a way out of this mess. The province is remote, there is a lack of fertile land and water. The increased development of an industrial agricultural economy as in comparable regions was therefore not an option.
For this, electricity could be generated naturally in the Gobi desert. But the first attempts to build large wind farms since 2009 came to a dead end: the electricity could be generated, but there weren’t enough consumers nearby. In 2016, Beijing stopped the further expansion of the wind farms. A further expansion was announced only a few weeks ago. Now the wind farm is to be massively expanded by 2025 – the equivalent of 15 billion US dollars is to be made available for this. “We finally made it – we turned the lifeless Gobi into an unlimited treasure trove,” said Jiuquan Communist Party secretary Wu Yangdong, cheering last month. “We’re building a three gorges dam on wasteland.”
Largest wind farm in the world
In order to consume the electricity, ultra-high voltage lines were and are being built to generate wind energy in 20 provinces. At the same time, electricity-intensive data centers are to be located. Nevertheless, the transport of eco-energy will generate costs, and at the same time smaller wind farms will be built near the industrial centers. But it is well known that Beijing has a lot of staying power when it comes to pursuing strategic industrial goals. And green energy is high on the priority list. Perhaps not in the near future, but in the medium-term future, superconductors should also be possible at less extreme temperatures. Then the loss-free transport of electricity over long distances would be possible. This form of industrially usable superconductivity is also a central component of Beijing’s ambitious plans for high-speed trains, where China is to become a global technological leader.
The dispute between the Post Office and China’s state media cannot really be decided. The lack of camouflage and the small distances speak in favor of the wind farm thesis. Besides, it would be a very crude lie. The West would quickly notice if no wind turbines were built on the pedestals.
David William is a talented author who has made a name for himself in the world of writing. He is a professional author who writes on a wide range of topics, from general interest to opinion news. David is currently working as a writer at 24 hours worlds where he brings his unique perspective and in-depth research to his articles, making them both informative and engaging.
