China's DF missile
The Chinese dragon has landed in the American shop. The American eagle is sputtering. Sino-US rivalry has been simmering for the past many years, as China has replaced Russia in the American scheme of things as its most potent adversary. China has begun to project itself as an equal of the United States. China's public outburst against the recent ("destabilizing") US-South Korea naval exercises and its officials' on-record statement that China had as much reason to be upset about such activities in its backyard as the US was about Soviet manoeuvres during the Cuban missile Crisis is a testimony to Beijing's changed demeanour.
Some of China's recent military moves are worth taking note of. Well aware of the historical fact that only the most powerful seafaring nations have ruled the world for centuries, China is busy giving teeth to its navy. It is working on the 2400-km range DF-21 Anti-ship Ballistic missile (ABSM), a weapon that promises to be Beijing's game-changer in future naval battles as it can decapitate American warships in the region. The weapon poses the gravest threat ever to the US Navy as its space-based maritime surveillance and targeting systems make its interception well nigh impossible.
China's DF missile
China's DF missile
Already the situation is such that the over-stretched American naval forces are no match to China, both in terms of numbers and fire power. It is a fact that the US alone is no longer capable of checking and countering Chinese naval hegemony in Asia; Washington will need the help of Japan, India, Vietnam and South Korea to do that.
China is consciously investing in developing supersonic anti-ship missiles that would skim just meters above the water, something that the Soviets did as they took on the Americans during the Cold War. Such missiles present China with an economical and militarily effective option. A long-range cruise missile costs half a million US dollars, while a typical US aircraft carrier costs over one billion dollars. In other words, one American aircraft carrier can buy ten thousand long-range cruise missiles. And it does not take rocket science to understand that one or two such missiles can disable or sink an aircraft carrier. Therefore, China will not be a push-over for the Americans.(From Eurasiareview)
Does China need only half a million US dollars to sink US carrier? 
No comments:
Post a Comment