12/29/2010

China advances missile program | Hera

Herald Sun
China advances missile program
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China's new missiles could sink American aircraft carriers, such as the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Source: AP CHINA'S military is pushing forward with the deployment of a new anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM). The missile could sink US aircraft carriers, with serious implications for American support for Pacific allies, Japanese media reported on Tuesday. Admiral Robert Willard, commander of the US Pacific Command, disclosed to Asahi Shimbun newspaper that the new ASBM is now in the early stages of deployment after having undergone extensive testing. "The anti-ship ballistic missile system in China has undergone extensive testing. An analogy using a Western term would be 'initial operational capability,' whereby it has - I think China would perceive that it has - an operational capability now, but they continue to develop it. It will continue to undergo testing, I would imagine, for several more years," he said. The Dong Feng 21D, designed to be launched from land, would give China the ability to reach and hit US aircraft carriers well before the US could get close enough to the mainland to hit back. Willard said the missile program was part of a general Chinese strategy to become a "global military [power]" by
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12/29/2010

China advances missile program | Hera

extending its influence beyond its regional waters. "In the capabilities that we're seeing develop, that is fairly obvious," Willard said. "They are focused presently on what they term their 'near seas' - the Bohai, Yellow Sea, South China Sea, East China Sea," he said. "[But] I think they have an interest in being able to influence beyond that point." The US and allies like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan in the Asia-Pacific region are increasingly worried about the speed of China's naval development. The Pentagon is also known to be working on counter technologies.
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