China seems to be on the “warpath” with indications of plans to restart nuclear weapons testing, warns a defence expert.

Fresh satellite images of the highly secretive Lop Nur military base, often dubbed as “China’s Area 51”, reveal significant expansion efforts by Chinese military forces amidst rising tensions with Western countries. The images show boreholes and horizontal tunnels designed for nuclear device detonations, an extended runway, and advanced new fighter aircraft.

Multiple access roads, support structures and explosive storage facilities also appear to have been built since the last aerial photographs were taken in 2020.

Recently, both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have declared their intentions to resume nuclear weapons testing for the first time since the Cold War ended. The newly surfaced photographs suggest that Xi Jinping may be pursuing similar goals, according to one defence expert.

China ‘to resume nuclear testing’

Professor Anthony Glees, a security and defence expert from the University of Buckingham, said: “Xi has heard his Putin saying Russia will resume nuclear weapons testing, has heard Trump responding immediately by saying the USA will do the same thing and Xi wants a slice of this particular cake as well.”, reports the Express US.

China currently boasts an arsenal of 600 nuclear warheads, a figure dwarfed by the US’s 5,177 and Russia’s world-leading stockpile of 5,500. The UK holds 225 nuclear warheads, a number set to rise to 260 in the near future.

The expansion of the Malan Air Base and Lop Nur, a secretive test facility in the Taklamakan Desert, signals China’s ambition to close this gap, warns Professor Glees. He cautioned: “This is a grim taste of what is to come.”

These developments should also ring alarm bells for officials in Taiwan, particularly in light of reports from U.S. intelligence suggesting that Beijing plans to launch an attack on the island nation by 2027. Despite China’s repeated insistence on a “peaceful reunification”, fears are escalating.

‘Massive airforce site’

Professor Glees declared: “Since September, there have been multiple signs that President Xi is now firmly on the warpath, and democratic, anti-Communist Taiwan under an ever-mounting existential threat.

“China is busy brewing, and it’s not Tsingtao Beer. These fascinating satellite images show preparations underway for a massive air force test site, with evidence that the three-mile-long runway being constructed will try out two new supersonic tail-less stealth planes, the three-engined J-36 and the smaller J-50, designed to fly extremely fast, extremely high, and be invisible to radar pulses.

“They are not defensive fighters; they are attack dogs. Their mission is to launch a surprise strike using new hypersonic missiles and drones. There can be little doubt that the target China has in its crosshairs is Taiwan.”