Within a decade, it is expected that China will have as many nuclear warheads deployed as the United States. Pentagon estimates suggest that Beijing will have 1,500 operable nuclear weapons by 2035.

The Ukraine war has not only shattered millions of lives and shaken Europe. It also has inured Washington to the use of nuclear threats as leverage.

The US Department of Defense is reviewing approaches to nuclear deterrence against the backdrop of China and Russia's growing nuclear capabilities, as well as the possible absence of international arms control agreements after February,

The department's report states that US needs integration of non-nuclear capabilities, where feasible, to support nuclear deterrence mission.