COLD WAR II: China building new generation of mobile ICBMs.

Gen. Anthony Cotton, who took over Strategic Command in December, revealed details of the new mobile ICBM development in closed-door testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee last week, The Washington Times has learned.

The four-star nuclear forces commander described the rapid deployment of Chinese strategic nuclear missiles, bombers and submarines as “breathtaking” – and was the second Strategic Command leader to testify to the alarming pace of nuclear expansion by Beijing.

The new missile was mentioned by Gen. Cotton in a little-noticed passage in his prepared testimony to the committee.

In outlining Chinese missile advancement, including that China now has more ICBM launchers than the United States, Gen. Cotton stated that the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force is “developing a new generation of mobile ICBMs.”

A Strategic Command spokesman declined to comment further on the new missile, citing a policy of not discussing classified information. The spokesman said the general stands by his testimony on the weapon.

The disclosure comes as the United States government is struggling to modernize its own aging nuclear forces, including 400 silo-based Minuteman III ICBMs that are nearing the end of their life cycle.

We’ve known about China’s “strategic breakout” for three years, at least: China Is Engaged in a Massive Nuclear Missile Buildup.