WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed deep concern about China’s growing nuclear arsenal during a meeting with foreign ministers of Asian countries and partner nations, a statement released on Friday said.

Addressing a virtual meeting of the Asean Regional Forum (ARF), which groups more than two dozen countries, Blinken also called on China to cease “provocative” behavior in the South China Sea and “raised serious concerns about ongoing human rights abuses in Tibet, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang,” the statement from the US State Department said.

“The Secretary also noted deep concern with the rapid growth of the PRCs nuclear arsenal which highlights how Beijing has sharply deviated from its decades-old nuclear strategy based on minimum deterrence,” it added, using the acronym for China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.

In his address, Blinken urged all ARF member states to press Myanmar’s military government to end violence and support the people of the country as they work to return to democratic governance, the statement said.

Both the Pentagon and State Department have aired concerns recently about China’s buildup of its nuclear forces after think-tank reports based on satellite imagery saying that China appears to be constructing hundreds of new silos for nuclear missiles.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2021