The Washington Times yesterday confirmed reports that Russia will deliver the first of two cruise missile destroyers to China this week.
The ships will not only give China a new capability to sink US warships, but increase Bei-jing's ability to force unification on Taiwan, the report said.
A Sovremenny-class guided missile destroyer will be delivered to the Chinese navy at a shipyard in St Petersburg tomorrow -- Christmas Day -- and will depart for its home port in China two days later, Russia's official ITAR-TASS news agency reported on Monday.
The Pentagon's main worry is that the destroyers will be equipped with advanced anti-ship cruise missiles, defense officials and private analysts told the Times.
The supersonic SS-N-22 Sunburn anti-ship missiles that the ship will be equipped with will increase China's ability to launch an amphibious attack on Taiwan, defense officials said on condition of anonymity.
The Sunburn anti-ship missile skims the surface of the water at supersonic speed and then when it nears its target flies upwards and then straight down on the ship.
Asked yesterday about the ship sale, a senior defense official told the Times that the destroyer's missiles represent a strategic threat to the region.
"This is one of an expected two destroyers," the official said. "And while the destroyer itself isn't an issue, we are concerned about the SS-N-22 Sunburns being deployed because this will be a new capability for the Chinese."
Pentagon officials told the Times that the ship deal was part of an US$8 billion to US$9 billion arms package with China in September 1997, that came in response to the US protection of Taiwan during the 1996 missile crisis.
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