According to some reports, China has as been conducting a series of anti-ship ballistic
missile tests in the South China Sea
In a statement, Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dave Eastburn said one anti-ship weapon
was seen in the waters within the last few days.
He said, “Of course the Pentagon was aware of the Chinese missile launch from the man-made
structures in the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands.
He added further, “What’s truly disturbing about this act is that it’s in direct contradiction
to President Xi’s statement in the Rose Garden in 2015 when he pledged to the U.S.,
the Asia-Pacific region and the world that he would not militarize those man-made outposts.
I’m not going to speak on behalf of all the sovereign nations in the region, but I’m
sure they agree that the PRC’s behavior is contrary to its claim to want to bring
peace to the region and obviously actions like this are coercive acts meant to intimidate
other South China Sea claimants."
The latest development will further increase the already heightened tensions over the waters.
In this video Defense Updates analyses Chinese testing of Anti Ship Ballistic missile and
other provocation in the South China Sea.
Let's get into the details
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China claims most of the South China Sea.
It said that it has "indisputable sovereignty" over the area.
Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan have disputed these claims.
The route is significant as about $5 trillion in trade through shipping passes each year.
Countries like the US, Japan and India have no claims in the area and want ‘Freedom
of Navigation’ as per international maritime laws.
China has tried imposing a unilateral decision as per which all ships & aircraft navigating
in the area needs to identify itself to the Chinese Navy.
Viewers may note that The Philippines approached international tribunal for arbitration and
argued that Chinese activity in the region was violating international law.
On July 12 2016, Judges at Hague tribunal completely rejected China’s claims over
the waters and stated that China’s claim that it enjoyed historical rights over the
South China Sea is incorrect.
China had argued that the tribunal had no jurisdiction in the matter and rejected the
decision.
Chinese activities in the region has been getting more & more aggressive.
Though it not clear what missile has been tested, but is most likely to be the DF-21D.
DF-21D is an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) and is capable of targeting a moving aircraft
carrier strike group from long-range It has a maximum range exceeding 1,450 km
or 900 mi and is thought to be operational since 2009.
DF-21D has hypersonic speed and can be launched from land-based launchers.
It can carry a large single conventional or nuclear warhead of 600 kg or about 1320 lbs.
United States Naval Institute in 2009 stated that such a warhead would be large enough
to destroy an aircraft carrier in one hit and that there was "currently ... no defense
against it" if it worked as theorized.
Since then the United States has responded by deploying more SM 6 Anti Ballistic missile
on its Aegis enabled Arleigh Burke class destroyer and Ticonderoga-class cruisers.
SM 6 is a superior weapon when compared to SM 2 & SM 3 missile and is better equipped
to interceptor a missile like DF-21D.
But in any case it DF-21D will pose a significant challenge to American warships.
China has deployed long-distance radars in multiple places in the artificial islands.
These radars will enable them to monitor the region from different points providing them
with a holistic view of the region.
This means that any aircraft or ships entering the region will not be able to evade detection.
Though not confirmed, China claims some of its radars can detect stealth jets.
This means even the 5th fighter jets like F 35s & F 22 Raptors will find it difficult
to penetrate the airspace.
Hence, launching a surprise attack will be hard.
China launched the "Gaofen 3" which has a radar system that captures images from space
with a resolution down to 1 meter (3 feet) and can operate in all weathers.
The satellite has been specifically launched to keep a tab on all activities in the South
China Sea region.
This will provide China with the ability to continuously monitor the region and help it
to scramble combat aircraft & warships in case any foreign ship or aircraft enters the region.
During a state visit to the US in September 2015, President Xi Jinping maintained that
Beijing “does not intend to pursue militarization” in the Spratly Island chain.
The most recent satellite photographs suggest a different plan.
The photos collected and scrutinized by the Center for Strategic & International Studies,
a Washington-based research organization, show the construction of reinforced aircraft
hangars at different parts of the disputed territories.
Reinforced hangers are not used for civilian aircraft but are used for military aircraft.
Summary of the Center's analysis suggests that the hangars on all three islets are meant
for military purpose and have room for any fighter-jet in the Chinese Air Force.
According to Chinese sources, the YJ-12 has a speed of around Mach 2, if launched from
low altitude and up to Mach 3.2, if launched from high altitude.
It has a maximum range of 380 km depending on launch altitude so it can be fired from
far off.
In the terminal phase, the missile can travel at a very low altitude of 15 m, which makes
it hard for the sensors to detect.
When this missile appears over the horizon and gets detected by ship’s sensors, the
ship would only have some 45 seconds to intercept it before impact.
The speed, range, and ability to skim close to the sea surface makes it one of the most
deadly anti-ship missile in the world.
A saturation attack by YJ-12's will be hard to defend against even by sophisticated defenses
of the US military.
The HQ-9 is China’s new generation medium- to long-range, active radar homing surface-to-air missile.
The most basic formation of a HQ-9 batteries consists of multiple radars, command control
center, supporting vehicles and 8 Transporter erector launchers (TELs) each with 4 missiles,
totaling 32 rounds ready to fire.
To maximize the combat effectiveness of HQ-9, dedicated Fire Control Radar is present.
Designated as HT-233 it has a range of 300 km.
Similar to the Russian S-300V, the HQ-9 is a two-stage missile.
The missile has a total mass of almost 2 tons and a length of 6.8m.
The missile is equipped with a 180 kg warhead, has a maximum speed of Mach 4.2 and has a
maximum range of 200 km.
The system could target aircraft, drones and cruise missiles potential making it dangerous
for the US Air force to enter the airspace protected by it.
Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma had raised serious apprehension about Chinese
activities in the South China Sea during a Senate hearing earlier this year.
Inhofe said, “It’s like you’re preparing for World War III.
You’re talking to our allies over there and you wonder whose side they’re going
to be on.”
Keeping in view all the aspect in view, it can be is easily understood that China is
trying to dominate the region and is actively pursuing military options to achieve its goals.
Slowly but surely, the South China Sea has become a major escalation point and one day
could trigger a full-scale military conflict between two nuclear-armed nations.