Test of New Chinese Missile “Completely Successful”
August 16, 2004 :: Reuters :: News
China today announced that it had tested a new guided missile a few days ago, which was a complete success, said to have hit its target “with extreme precision.” The announcement came in a scientist Feng Dawai’s speech commemorating the centenary of Deng Xiaoping’s birth. No other details about the “new” missile were given except that it was developed by the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: China, Testing - Foreign
Russia Ships S-300P Missiles to China
August 12, 2004 :: Geostrategy-Direct :: News
Russia shipped four batteries of its advanced air and missile defense system, the S-300PMU1, to neighboring China earlier on August 5, notes Geostrategy-direct, citing an Interfax press report. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: China, Chinese Missile Defenses, Russia, Russian Missile Defenses
» Missile system details for: S-300P (SA-10 Grumble)
Taiwan VP: Chinese Missiles Aimed at Taiwan Will Reach 800 by 2005
August 10, 2004 :: Taipei Times :: News
Taiwanese Vice President Annette Lu stated yesterday that China will have 800 ballistic missiles aimed at the tiny island nation by 2005, in response to criticisms of a previous, controversial, statement, that the two nations were in a state of “quasi-war.”
The number 800 represents a significant increase from previous statements, such as that by President Chen last November and U.S. intelligence estimates earlier this year, which put the number of missiles deployed at 500. Lu’s statement, reported by Reuters, was that, “Mainland China has accelerated its missile deployment. By next year, the number of missiles will likely reach 800 and it is growing at a speed faster than we have expected.” U.S. intelligence have put the rate of China’s deployment of additional missiles at 75 per year, but Lu’s claim could represent a significant acceleration. (Article, Link)
» Aug. 6, 2004: PRC lobby gets Taiwanese flag, anthem, advertising banned from Olympics
» More stories on: China, Proliferation, Taiwan
Chinese Officials Lecture, Warn, Senate Delegation
August 4, 2004 :: Taipei Times :: News
Two of the most senior Chinese officials saw fit to lecture a United States Senate delegation on U.S. Taiwan relations, hinting at unpleasant consequences of the U.S. supplying of the island nation with defensive arms. On August 4, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told the eight member Senate delegation to China, which included Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, that America should handle the Taiwan issue “cautiously.” The previous day, Chinese President Hu Jintao admonished Senator Stevens that the US should not send “wrong signals” to Taiwan. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: China, Taiwan
Chinese Ambassador Warns Australia About Missile Defense Cooperation
July 29, 2004 :: News
In a visit to Australia, new Chinese ambassador Fu Ying warned the country about its missile defense ties with the United States. Australia had recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States, on July 7, concerning the use of its missile defense radars—of potential use to track both North Korean and Chinese missile launches. Citing mantras about regional strategic stability, and that missile defenses by themselves would not stem the flow of weapons of mass destruction, the ambassador’s statements illustrate China’s opposition to American defenses, which it worries will impede its own ambitions for Pacific dominance. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Allies, China
China Military Exercise May Have Included Test of DF-31, Other Missiles
July 27, 2004 :: News
Two weeks ago, several reports indicated that China that it would be testing three missiles during its large military exercises preparing for an assault against Taiwan. The missiles included the DF-31 ICBM, as well as the DF-21 and the JL-2. Two Chinese news services, People’s Daily and Xinhau noted on July 22 that China had notified Russia of its intent to conduct the test during its military exercise, which have since taken place, on July 26. A subsequent report by East Asia Intel suggested that the test would not include the DF-21, since that test had apparently already taken place earlier this year.
Since there has been little media coverage of China’s exercises, it remains unclear if the missile tests were carried out as planned. (Link)
» More stories on: China, Testing - Foreign
» Missile details: CSS-5 Mod 2, CSS-5, CSS-9 (DF-31), CSS-NX-5 (JL-2)
Libya Had Chinese Nuclear Warhead Design, Materials to Build
July 22, 2004 :: Inside the Ring (Washington Times) :: News
U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham has stated that Libya had in its possession not only the blueprints for a Chinese nuclear warhead, but all the components to produce it, reports Bill Gertz and Rowan Scarborough. The design had apparently come through the A. Q. Khan Pakistani proliferation network, but Secretary Abraham was unwilling to comment as to its source before then: “As to how things got to who, I can’t tell you the chain,” he said. He also noted that in terms of completing a nuclear warhead, they had both the design and materials: “It would take them time to get it done, but they definitely did not lack for the ingredients.
The Chinese, despite their protests and nominal opposition to nuclear and missile proliferation, are in fact very much behind the proliferation of both. States such as Pakistan and North Korea are, indeed, proxy states in such proliferation. One may speculate that Pakistan would not have delivered the Chinese blueprint to Libya if China did not wish it to do so. (Article, Link)
» Report of Libya’s Chinese nuclear weapon design, from geostrategy-direct.com
» More stories on: China, Libya, Nuclear Weapons, Proliferation
China, U.S. in Strategic Competition in Space
July 21, 2004 :: Defense News :: News
The United States and China have competing designs for space, notes a recent story carried by Defense News. The story references a yet to be released U.S. National Security Space Policy document, which outlines China’s ambitions and possible U.S. responses.
That China is indeed a rising strategic competitor is a fact which must be faced, rather than denied or ignored.
One quote contained in the story is especially worth noting, by Joan Johnson-Freese, the chairwoman of National Security Decision Making at the Naval War College:
On September 10, 2001, what was the No.1 issue?…China was seen as a strategic competitor. Though there has been some cooperation with China on the war on terror and in North Korea, there is an underlying fear that China is the next near-competitor.
But what was true about China on September 10 is also true today. Lest the war on terrorism be waged in the absence of strategic clarity, such strategic competition must not be forgotten. The war on terrorism should not serve as a distraction from the strategic concerns of Russia, China, and other rogue regimes. (Article, Link)
» June 1: DoD releases annual report, The Military Power of the People’s Republic of China
» More stories on: China, Space-Based Systems
China Sees U.S. as “Strategic Target,” Believes Regional Taiwan War “Inevitable”
July 21, 2004 :: East Asia Intel :: News
The July 15 edition of the Hong Kong-based, newspaper Wen Wei Po Communist Chinese party newspaper refers to the United States as a “strategic target,” and that a regional conflict over Taiwan before 2020 is “inevitable,” reports East-Asia-Intel.com. In addition, a report from a Beijing research institute is quoted as saying that, “The Taiwan authorities that promote ‘Taiwan independence’ are our war target, while the United States is our strategic target.” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: China, Taiwan
New Submarine Part of Chinese Buildup
July 16, 2004 :: Washington Times :: News
China has apparently succeeded in producing a completely new form of attack submarine, unbeknownst to U.S. intelligence, reports Bill Gertz in the Washington Times. U.S. officials were apparently surprised when a picture of the new submarine, now designated Yuan-class, appeared several weeks ago, in China’s Wuhan shipyard. Gertz quotes officials speculating that it is diesel rather than nuclear powered, and that it is part of a naval buildup designed for a possible conflict over Taiwan.
Richard Fisher of the Center for Security Policy is quoted as saying that, “One has to marvel at the enormity of the investment by the People’s Liberation Army in submarines”—said to be their best weapon against U.S. carriers. China already has some 57 submarines deployed. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: China
