Voice of America: “China Seen Moving Closer to Deployment of ‘Carrier Killer’ Missile”
William Ide, “China Seen Moving Closer to Deployment of ‘Carrier Killer’ Missile,” Voice of America, 29 December 2010.
***Now updated with 19-minute extended Q&A podcast.***
A senior U.S. commander has recently revealed that China’s development of an anti-ship ballistic missile that is designed to target aircraft carriers is now operational. Defense analysts say that while China has a way to go to perfect the weapon system, the development and deployment of the missile will have a major impact on security in Asia. …
Andrew Erickson, the co-founder of China SignPost, a website that focuses on China analysis and research, explains.
“What’s very significant here is for the first time ever, someone in a position of authority and information access, has stated that the missile is roughly equivalent to a U.S. military development benchmark,” said Erickson. …
In addition to the U.S., there is already growing concern among China’s neighbors about the speed at which China is developing and expanding its naval power. Japan recently decided to shift the focus of its national defense toward China.
Erickson says China’s neighbors are likely to react to the development of the weapon system.
“It still remains to be seen exactly what some of the reactions will be, but I suspect that there may well be some very significant concerns in Japan, in South Korea and in Taiwan for instance,” he said.
He adds that concerns are likely because China has been releasing information or technical “data points” about the anti-ship ballistic missile or other systems that speak more to experts and foreign militaries, but not citizens in the region.
“What they do not do well [the data points], I believe, is speak to the citizen in other nations and societies in East Asia as to what China is actually doing here? How far it intends to go? What China envisions as being the consequences,” asked Erickson.
When a Chinese foreign ministry official was asked about the ballistic missile system earlier this week she did not respond directly, but stressed China was pursuing a defensive military policy and seeks peaceful development.
Still, China’s steps toward deploying the anti-ship ballistic missile and other military trends are having an impact on the ongoing debate in Washington over whether China is a friend or foe. …
Erickson says China’s military trends and aggressive behavior over the past few years is having a broad impact in Washington.
“I think even a lot of people who were previously quite optimistic about U.S. – China relations have become more pessimistic and more concerned, frankly,” he said.
Those who were already pessimistic, Erickson adds, see these latest developments as a sign that there never really were grounds to be optimistic about China and that those who were optimistic were just naive.
For detailed analysis of Admiral Willard’s statement regarding China’s ASBM, see Andrew Erickson and Gabe Collins, “China Deploys World’s First Long-Range, Land-Based ‘Carrier Killer’: DF-21D Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM) Reaches ‘Initial Operational Capability’ (IOC),” China SignPost™ (洞察中国), No. 14 (26 December 2010).
For further background on Chinese ASBM development, see also “China Testing Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM); U.S. Preparing Accordingly–Updated With Latest Analysis & Sources.”
