Mark Stokes and Tiffany Ma: “Second Artillery Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile [ASBM] Brigade Facilities Under Construction in Guangdong?”
Mark Stokes and Tiffany Ma, “Second Artillery Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile Brigade Facilities Under Construction in Guangdong?” AsiaEye—The Official Blog of the Project 2049 Institute, 3 August 2010.
As the PRC’s Ministry of National Defense seems to be warming to the notion of discussing a possible withdrawal of missiles opposite Taiwan, the People’s Liberation Army’s primary strategic strike force, the Second Artillery, is continuing to beef up its arsenal despite the cross-Strait political détente following the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement.
Last week, China’s state-run media quietly announced the construction of facilities for a new Second Artillery missile brigade – the 96166 Unit – in the northern Guangdong municipality of Shaoguan [韶关]. Although the province is already home to a Second Artillery short-range ballistic missile brigade (the 96169 unit in Meizhou), initial reports and indicators signal that the new unit could have unique capabilities that could complicate the strategic calculus in Asia, and the South China Sea in particular. …
