CHINA has warned Australia will become a "potential target for a nuclear strike" amid fears a submarine pact with America and Britain will fuel a terrifying arms race.

       State-controlled media reported Chinese military experts fear the subs could be armed at short notice with nukes, despite assurances they will only carry conventional weapons.

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       Australia has been threatened with nuclear oblivion by China's state-controlled media Credit: Reuters

       Australia announced plans yesterday to acquire nuclear-powered submarines as part of a new Indo-Pacific security alliance with the United States and Britain.

       Known as AUKUS, the pact will see Australia get the technology to deploy nuclear-powered submarines — but not armed with nukes — as part of an agreement intended to counter China's rising military might.

       Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian condemned the alliance as "seriously damaging regional peace and stability, intensifying the arms race, and undermining the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons".

       Nuclear-armed states like China and Russia are directly facing the threat from Australia's nuclear submarines

       Global Times

       But the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece, the Global Times, went one step further and directly threatened Australia with nuclear destruction.

       The article cited an anonymous "senior Chinese military expert" that the new submarines could potentially be fitted with nuclear weapons provided by the US or UK.

       He said: "This would make Australia a potential target for a nuclear strike, because nuclear-armed states like China and Russia are directly facing the threat from Australia's nuclear submarines which serve US strategic demands."

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       The article warned Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s ambition to ramp up Australia's military "could bring destructive consequences" in the event of a nuclear war.

       China is believed to have between 250 and 350 nuclear weapons, compared to America's colossal arsenal of 5,800 and Russia's total of 6,375.

       It is busy building "at least 250 long range missile silos" in three locations — sparking fears a new nuclear arms race is underway.

       A third missile silo field in a remote area in Inner Mongolia has reportedly been photographed by a European Space Agency satellite as Beijing launches its largest ever nuke expansion.

       Meanwhile, Taiwan staged anti-invasion drills amid fears China will launch an attack at any moment.

       It comes after China flew 19 nuke bombers and fighter jets into Taiwan air space, sparking World War Three fears.

       Last year alone, the Asia and Oceania region lavished more than half a trillion US dollars on its militaries, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

       China accounts for about half of Asia's total and has increased defence spending every year for the last 26 years, turning the People's Liberation Army into a modern fighting force.

       But defence spending in Australia, India, Japan, South Korea and elsewhere is also gathering pace.

       Michael Shoebridge, a former Australian defence intelligence official, now with the Australia Strategic Policy Institute, believes that spending is a direct reaction to China.

       "The actual military competition is between China and other partners that are wanting to deter China from using force," he said.

       "That reaction has just grown, particularly since Xi (Jinping) has become leader. He's clearly interested in using all the power that China gains fairly coercively and aggressively."

       China and France rebuke U.S. nuclear sub pact 'AUKUS'

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