>>that sounds like total bullsh*t to me. The Russians still fear the Chinese maybe more than they fear the U.S.<<
Life has a way of surprising us, doesn't it? Here's the complete article - Bill Gertz has a good track record with stories leaked by anonymous "senior military officials":
>> China adding missiles aimed toward Taiwan
By Bill Gertz
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
China is continuing a destabilizing buildup of short-range
missiles opposite Taiwan and now has up to 300 missiles
deployed, according to a senior military official.
The senior official, who spoke
to The Washington Times on the
condition of anonymity, also said
Russia is supplying China with
advanced ballistic-missile
technology and strategic nuclear
warhead know-how.
"The candy store appears to be
open," the official said. "The
Russians will sell anything to the
Chinese that the Chinese want to
buy, and that's what bothers me."
On China's massing of short-range missiles, the official
said Chinese military leaders have refused to draw down the
force, despite U.S. protests that the missiles are increasing
instability and the danger of conflict across the Taiwan Strait.
"They keep on building," the official said.
He noted: "If the Chinese keep on doing what they're
doing, we're going to make theater missile systems available
to the Taiwanese.
Taiwan currently has deployed the most-advanced U.S.
missile defense available, a version of the Patriot system
known as GEM PAC-2. The systems are deployed around
Taipei, the Taiwanese capital.
Other more advanced regional missile defenses will be
fielded with U.S. forces in the next several years.
Asked about growing Russian-Chinese military
cooperation, the official said missile and nuclear warhead
transfers are troubling.
Intelligence reports indicate the Russians have begun
"helping Chinese ballistic missile programs and nuclear
programs, which are of course targeted on Russia," the
official said.
"It's one thing if they want to help [the Chinese] screw the
United States, which is in their common interest right now,
but this just seems to be mindless," the official said. "I think
it's stupidity on the Russians' part; it is going to hurt them in
the long term."
He said Russia's state-owned arms-export company,
Rosvooruzheniye, is becoming China's major supplier.
China also is seeking to purchase an advanced airborne
warning and control (AWAC) jet from Russia, after Israel
canceled a similar deal at U.S. insistence in July.
On the missile buildup, the official said the growing
numbers are only one aspect of the problem. The Chinese
also are deploying highly accurate "precision" weapons in
addition to older, inertially guided missiles.
"They are in the 200 to 300 category," the senior official
said. "And just as important as the number, is the accuracy.
Right now they are mostly inertial [guidance], which give them
[circular error probabilities] in the Scud range. But they are
working on more precision guidance, which will make a big
difference."
Between 600 and 1,000 short-range missiles could be in
place in the next several years.
The official said the United States has informed China it is
considering sales to Taiwan of advanced Aegis-equipped
warships. If the $1 billion warships are sold, they will be
equipped with "fleet air defenses" capable of countering
China's current arsenal of Sunburn anti-ship missiles and
other anti-ship weapons, but they will not be outfitted with the
Navy's two regional missile defense systems, which have not
yet been fielded.
The Aegis-ships "would give the Taiwanese the ability to
survive with their surface ships," he said.
U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and the building of a national
missile defense systems are two issues expected to cloud
U.S.-China ties, the official said.
However, China is not likely to increase the size of its
strategic nuclear missile buildup in response to a U.S. missile
shield, he said. "I see no indication that anything we do really
affects the Chinese building program."
The missile buildup has been tracked by Pentagon
intelligence agencies for the past several years. In 1998,
China had fewer than 50 short-range missiles deployed near
Taiwan, and in 1999 the number had increased to 150.
The senior official identified the missiles as CSS-6s and
CSS-7s —missiles also known by the designations M-9 and
M-11, respectively. China unveiled an advanced CSS-7
Mod 2 in late 1999.
The missiles have enough range to hit targets in Taiwan
with little or no warning. The lack of warning time increases
the risk of conflict, U.S. military officials said.
Last year, the State Department privately protested
Beijing's missile buildup, U.S. officials said. Publicly, the
department has described the buildup as worrying and said it
could lead to future sales of U.S. anti-missile defenses to
Taiwan.
According to the senior military official, China's military
remains backward by American standards but is building up
its forces — both strategic and conventional —through
purchases of high-technology arms, mostly from Russia.
China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) views the United
States as its main threat and is highlighting the perceived
danger to win more funds for military programs.
"It's clear that the PLA, both because they believe it and
because it's a wonderful bureaucratic strategy, continues to
pump up the American threat," he said. "They clearly justify
the requirements for increases in military budgets based on
the Taiwan scenario, keeping the United States out, and
damaging Taiwan. And they're having some success in getting
budget increases."
China appears to be having problems integrating
high-technology weapons, like domestic versions of the
Russian Su-27, he said.
A recent Chinese military exercise in the South China Sea
also revealed training tactics that are 20 to 30 years behind
those carried out by the United States, he said.
The exercise, code-named Invincible Might, came as
nations in Southeast Asia held talks to set up a code of
conduct for regional militaries aimed at avoiding conflicts.
China's most visible recent military deployments include
two Sovremenny-class guided-missile destroyers that are
armed with supersonic SSN-22 Sunburn anti-ship missiles,
and scores of Su-27s that can be equipped with advanced
Russian A-12 guided missiles. They also have Badger
bombers capable of carrying out missile attacks on ships.
China's forces could fight well on their territory but would
be no match for the United States in a conflict over Taiwan,
he said.
Chinese military officials, in talks with U.S. counterparts,
have been urged not to consider a conflict with the United
States because "we know how that one is going to end," the
official said. "There's going to be a lot of bloodshed and there
is going to be no change at the end of the day."
The U.S. strategy has been to try to involve China in
regional forums and exercises as a way to prevent Beijing
from resorting to bullying tactics, the official said.<<
washingtontimes.com |
