loading…
The firing of the two missiles was actually carried out in August during a test. However, it was only revealed for the first time by insiders from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China that it was released South China Morning Post (SCMP), Saturday (11/14/2020). (Read: The Chinese media have tilted Indonesia for opposing China’s claims in the South China Sea)
SCMP actually already reported the launch of the two missiles in August, but the Chinese military was not willing to provide confirmation. Confirmation at that time came from the United States (US) military.
After launch, it was reported that the missiles fell into the South China Sea, but Wang Xiangsui, a former senior colonel who now works as a professor at Beihang University in Beijing, said the two missiles hit a ship, the target they were aiming for.
One of the missiles, the DF-26B, was launched from the northwestern province of Qinghai, while the other, the DF-21D, shot from China’s eastern Zhejiang province. (Read: Trump Lose US Presidential Election, Chinese Communist Party Media: Haha …)
The launch came a day after Beijing said a US U-2 spy plane entered a no-fly zone without permission during a Chinese Navy exercise in the Bohai Sea off the northern coast. The US Navy previously dispatched two carrier battle groups to the South China Sea.
“So a few days later (after the carrier maneuvers), we launched the DF-21 and DF-26, and the missiles hit the ship sailing south of the Paracel Islands,” Wang said at a closed meeting in Zhejiang last month. Details of his speech were published for the first time last Wednesday.
“Shortly after that, an American military attaché in Geneva complained (to us) and said it would have dire consequences if the missile hit the American aircraft carrier. They saw this as a show of strength. But we did this because of their provocation, “said Wang. (Also read: China Fires Aircraft Killer Missile, Warning to US)
His remarks were made during the four-day Moganshan forum to discuss domestic and international issues as well as China’s new five-year plan. The event, organized by the National Development and Reform Commission, was attended by 80 economists, former government officials and businessmen.
“This is a warning to the US, asking it not to take military risks,” said Wang. Such actions mark the bottom line of the Sino-US confrontation.
The missile launch came at a time of high tension between Beijing and Washington over the disputed South China Sea.
The US Navy said on July 4 it had deployed two carrier groups, led by USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan, to conduct tactical air defense exercises in disputed waters “in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific”.
Beijing condemned the maneuvers, describing them as provocative. Meanwhile, the US said China’s missile launches were reckless and made the situation unstable.
Song Zhongping, a former instructor of the People’s Liberation Army’s Second Artillery Corps, said the two-missile carrier strike mission was proof that China could carry out long-range precision strikes against medium to large surface ships.
“Hitting a moving object is not an easy task, especially for ballistic missiles which normally hit a stationary target,” he said. “The mission demonstrates that Chinese missiles are a real deterrent against US warships.”
Michael Raska, assistant professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said China was developing an advanced combat system capable of negating the traditional military superiority of the United States.
“The main problem for the US is maintaining its long-term deterrence, especially in contested areas, while reducing risks,” he said.
According to a report published by the US Department of Defense in September, China may have taken over America in the field of missile development and shipbuilding, and will double its reserves of nuclear warheads over the next decade.
According to the report, the PLA has more than 1,250 ground-launched ballistic missiles and ground-launched cruise missiles with a range of up to 5,500 km (3,400 miles). The US has one type of conventional ground-launched ballistic missile, with a range of 70 km to 300 km.
(min)
– .
