US intelligence agencies have confirmed that China is developing a new nuclear-capable missile designed to keep US forces from intervening in any Asian conflict, a new report warns.
“While these missiles may not be directly aimed at Taiwan, they will be aimed at American forces in the Western Pacific that could be tasked to come to Taiwan’s aid in the event of an attack or an invasion from China,” Rick Fisher, a senior fellow at the Virginia-based International Assessment and Strategy Center, told the Taipei Times.
He said that the intermediate range missile should be of “deep concern” to Taiwan.
Called the Dongfeng-26C (DF-26C), the missile is said to have a range of at least 3,540km and could reach a major US base in Guam, where thousands of US Marines are being moved as part of Washington’s pivot toward Asia.
This may explain why Washington is to install its newest anti-missile system — the Theater High Altitude Area Defense — in Guam later this year.
“When America’s ability to deter China is diminished by new Chinese weapons, that also brings closer the day when Japan, South Korea, Australia, Vietnam and even Taiwan are forced to decide whether to build their own, more powerful deterrent,” Fisher said.
“For some this may mean deciding to build nuclear weapons. For others, non-nuclear systems like ballistic and cruise missiles may do. Either way, stability will be less assured and the people of China will have many more weapons aimed at them,” he said.
A new study on China’s air and space-based combat capabilities over the near seas was released this week by the US Naval War College.
“China’s progressively more potent naval platforms, aircraft and missiles are increasingly capable of holding US Navy platforms and their supporting assets at risk in the near seas and their approaches,” said Andrew Erickson, an associate professor in the college’s strategic research department.
It may also be significant that the Pentagon announced last month that it was deploying the USS Topeka — a fourth nuclear attack submarine — to Guam.
The DF-26C may be capable of firing nuclear or conventional warheads and even maneuverable anti-ship and hypersonic warheads.
News of the DF-26C comes from national security specialist Bill Gertz, writing in the online newspaper the Washington Free Beacon on Monday.
“It was the first official confirmation of China’s new IRBM [intermediate-range ballistic missile], which officials believe is part of the People’s Liberation Army military buildup aimed at controlling the Asia-Pacific waters and preventing the US military entry to the two island chains along China’s coasts,” Gertz wrote.
He said that few details are available about the new missile.
According to Gertz, the new missile may use solid fuel and be built on a chassis that can be driven along roads. This means that it could be hidden in underground bunkers and fired on short notice.
“It would be very difficult to counter in a conflict,” Gertz said.
Pentagon sources refused to discuss the DF-26C with the Taipei Times on Tuesday.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS