China tests ballistic missile that could sink U.S. aircraft carriers:

Tensions with Washington grow as Beijing boosts military might

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:05 AM on 29th December 2010

• China's Foreign Ministry insists: 'We pose no threat to other countries'

China is stepping up testing on a space missile that could sink American aircraft carriers in the Pacific, a U.S. naval commander warned yesterday.

The news increased tensions between Washington and Beijing as concerns grow that China is boosting its military might.

The DF 21D's uniqueness is in its ability to hit a powerfully defended moving target with pinpoint precision - a capability U.S. naval planners are scrambling to deal with.

Ballistic: China is developing a missile designed to sink an aircraft carrier, jeapordising the U.S.' naval supremacy in Asia

Global military power: U.S. Navy Admiral Robert F. Willard believes China has global aspirations

The Chinese military are also expected to launch their first aircraft carrier next year - a year earlier than anticipated by U.S. experts.

But China's Foreign Ministry insists his military is one of peace, saying: 'We pose no threat to other countries.'

Admiral Robert Willard told Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper he believes the Chinese anti-ship ballistic missile programme has achieved 'initial operational capability.'

This means a workable design has been settled on and is being further developed.

He added that he thinks China has global aspirations, and wants to extend its influence further than their 'near seas'.

China wants to become a 'global military (power)' Willard said. 'In the capabilities that we're seeing develop, that is fairly obvious.'

Known among defence analysts as a 'carrier killer,' the Dong Feng 21D missile would be a game-changer in the Asian security environment, where U.S. Navy aircraft carriers have ruled the waves since the end of World War II.

The system's component parts have likely been designed and tested, but the U.S. has not yet detected an over-water test to see how well it can target a moving ship, Willard said.

Years of tests are probably still needed before the missile can be fully deployed, he said.

Moving target:The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, one of six aircraft carriers in the U.S. Pacific Fleet. In total the U.S. Navy has 200 ships, 2,000 aircraft and 250,000 personnel deployed in Pacific waters

The system requires state-of-the-art guidance systems, and some experts say it will take China a decade or so to field a reliable threat.

The missile is considered a key component of China's strategy of denying U.S. planes and ships access to waters off its coast.

The strategy includes overlapping layers of air defense systems, naval assets such as submarines, and advanced ballistic missile systems - all woven together with a network of satellites.

At its most capable, the DF 21D could be launched from land with enough accuracy to penetrate the defenses of even the most advanced moving aircraft carrier at a distance of more than 900 miles.

That could seriously weaken Washington's ability to intervene in any potential conflict over Taiwan or North Korea, as well as deny U.S. ships safe access to international waters near China's 11,200-mile-long coastline.

Not threatening: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Jiang Yu, insists their military pursues a defensive national policy

Meanwhile, Chinese military and political sources claim their first aircraft carrier could be put in use next year, a year earlier than US military analysts had anticipated, further emphasising the state's growing maritime power and assertiveness.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu today referred questions about Willard's comments to military departments, but reiterated China's insistence that its expanding military threatens no one.

'I can say that China pursues a defensive national policy. ... We pose no threat to other countries. We will always be a force in safeguarding regional peace and stability,' Jiang told reporters at a regularly scheduled news conference.

While China's Defense Ministry never comments on new weapons before they become operational, the DF 21D - which would travel at 10 times the speed of sound and carry conventional payloads - has been much discussed by military buffs online.

China began developing the Dong-Feng (East WInd) 21 in the 1960s, although it was not deployed until 1991. Latest DF-21 models in development are believed to be armed with 300kt nuclear warheads and will be the world's first and only anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM). The DF-21 has also been developed into a space capable anti-satellite/anti-missile weapon carrier.

When launched, the missile follows a sub-orbital ballistic flightpath. The missile is only guided during the relatively brief initial powered phase of flight and its course is subsequently governed by the laws of orbital mechanics and ballistics.