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Mysterious island in the China Sea could turn the country into a nuclear superpower: discover how a secret project is shaping global geopolitics and worrying major powers.
The mysterious Changbiao Island in the East China Sea has gone from being an isolated and inhospitable territory to the center of one of the most advanced and protected projects of the Chinese government, which could now become a nuclear superpower. In recent years, the island in the East China Sea has been transformed with the construction of nuclear reactors of the “fast breeder”, technology that can generate military-grade plutonium.
China could overtake Russia and the US as a nuclear superpower
Despite statements by the Chinese Communist Party that the project has exclusively civilian purposes, Western analysts and officials have doubts about this official version. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, Chief of the UK Defence Staff, recently highlighted that the world has entered into a “third nuclear age”, with the growing threat from China as a major concern.
Studies indicate that the expansion of China's nuclear arsenal, with the mysterious island project in the China Sea, could soon match that of superpowers like the United States and Russia, changing the global balance of power. Experts say fast reactors can produce highly pure plutonium, which is used in nuclear weapons.
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A report from the United States Department of Defense revealed that China has modernized its intercontinental missiles, started building new storage silos and is connecting two fast reactors to the power grid, promising to become a nuclear superpower.
China's offshore island could manufacture 50 nuclear warheads
Fast reactors, like the CFR-600 under construction on the mysterious island in the China Sea, use fast neutrons to create more plutonium than they consume.
Each reactor has the capacity to produce about 200 kilograms of plutonium per year, enough to produce 50 nuclear warheads, experts say, making China a nuclear superpower. Although the plutonium produced cannot be used directly in weapons, it can be processed at dedicated facilities, some of which are already under construction in China.
While the government denies any military intent with the project on the new island in the China Sea, the United States and other countries are skeptical. Intelligence reports reveal that Russia plays a key role in supplying key materials for China's fast reactors. In 2022, Rosatom, a Russian state-owned atomic energy company, sent essential fuel for the generation of the first reactor.
In addition, a cooperation agreement signed in March 2023 between Rosatom and China's atomic energy authority is expected to expand the partnership in projects such as fast reactors. Such an alliance worries Western powers as it strengthens China's lead in the global nuclear race.
Impacts of China as a nuclear superpower
Analysts indicate that the expansion of the nuclear arsenal with the mysterious island in the China Sea is linked to President Xi Jinping's ambition to "reunify" Taiwan to mainland China, potentially by force. The nuclear buildup would serve as a deterrent against military intervention by the United States, which has promised to defend Taiwan in the event of an attack.
Nikolai Sokov, a former Russian nuclear treaty negotiator, compared China's stance to Vladimir Putin's behavior in the Ukraine conflict.
For him, the nuclear arsenal would be used as a tool to intimidate adversaries and negotiate from a position of strength. This strategy is a reflection of the rising tensions in Asia and the country's growing role as a nuclear superpower, with the island in the China Sea.
