China to build anti-ship BMs
- Source: Global Times
- [02:12 November 18 2009]
- Comments
By Zhang Wen
China's military is close to fielding the world's first anti-ship ballistic missile, which could turn the Pacific Ocean region close to China into a "no-go" zone for the US fleet, Bloomberg on Tuesday cited a report from the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) as saying,
According to the news report, the missile, with a range of almost 1,500 kilometers, would be fired from mobile, land-based launchers and is "specifically designed to defeat US carrier strike groups."
Paul Giarra, a defense consultant who studies Chinese weapons, called the missile "a remarkably asymmetric Chinese attempt to control the sea from the shore."
"No US military operations – air or ground – are feasible in a region where the US Navy cannot operate," Giarra, president of Global Strategies and Transformation, based in Herndon, Virginia, said in an e-mail to Bloomberg.
"China is indeed developing anti-ship ballistic missiles. It is not a secret. During the 60th anniversary National Day military parade, China exhibited such missiles," Dai Xu, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times.
"However, the media report is rather exaggerated. The presumptions that it could threaten the US Navy force may be caused by the fear of a military attack from countries in the region, since five US carriers are based and operate freely in international waters near China," Dai added.
Bloomberg also quoted an e-mail from Scott Bray, who wrote the ONI report, as saying China also is developing an over-the-horizon radar network to spot US ships at great distances from its mainland.
Andrew Krepinevich, the president of the Center for Strategic and Budget Assessments in Washington, told Bloomberg that the new missile would support China's "anti-access" strategy to detect and, if necessary, attack US warships "at progressively greater distances."
In September, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said China's "investments in anti-ship weaponry and ballistic missiles could threaten America's primary way to project power and help allies in the Pacific – particularly our forward bases and carrier strike groups."
