Conditions for China to Launch a First Strike [4] |
China’s conventional forces are unable to defend against a “large-scale foreign invasion” (“大规模外敌入侵”) |
If “the enemy attacks our nuclear bases with conventional arms, posing enormous threat to our strategic nuclear forces” |
PLA’s operational objectives face an “enormous threat”
(“巨大威胁”) by a “large-scale foreign military intervention” (“大规模军事干预”) in a “war of safeguarding national unity”—referring to a Taiwan conflict scenario
|
Escalation indicating an opponent’s “intention” to cross the nuclear threshold |
Attacks with conventional arms against nuclear bases and targets of life-and-death value like the Three-Gorges Dam causing destruction comparable to or larger than a nuclear attack.” |