Would an effective missile defense essentially neutralize Chinas nuclear deterrent?
China has about 18 long-range missiles at this point in time, and they’re planning a modest expansion. If you were to develop an effective defense, would it be good enough to blunt China’s potential to strike the United States? Or should the U.S. be resigned to being vulnerable to the Chinese, or those strikes? We’re always going to be vulnerable to a large-scale attack from a country with a capable nuclear force, and that includes China. It certainly includes Russia. What we don’t have to be vulnerable to are limited attacks, particularly those that would come from countries with only very limited capabilities. But do you think this would give the United States an enhanced ability to defend against the Chinese? Not in a sense that people fantasize about. The truth of the matter is that the Chinese have lived quite comfortably for decades now with overwhelming American nuclear superiority. We’ve never used it to coerce China. They’ve never shown the slightest fear that we would use it
