THIS IS A STRANGE COMPETITION. Hans at Strategic Security Blog notes that very recently both the British and Chinese governments have declared themselves to have the smallest nuclear arsenal of any NPT recognized nuclear power. After doing some digging, Hans concludes that either may be right; while secrecy precludes a determination of the exact number of warheads, both countries probably have around 200 total. The Chinese have more operational warheads than the British, although all of the British warheads are on extremely secure Trident missiles. This likely won't be a competition for long, as the Chinese are expected to increase their warhead levels, while the British will likely stay at the same level or decline. -- Robert Farley
