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| DF-21D Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (File Photo) |
By WENDELL MINNICK
TAIPEI — Though everything in China’s military is classified secret, including lunch menus at base canteens, Western analysts have been able to peel away some of the secrecy of several programs geared at defeating a US military campaign in the South China Sea or a Taiwan scenario.
Anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) has become a focal point for China’s military since 1996, when the US sent two aircraft carrier groups as a show of support for Taiwan during Chinese missile tests designed to intimidate voters. The deployment of the aircraft carriers enraged Beijing, leading to efforts to deter US military operations that challenge China in the future.
The most obvious A2/AD program under development is the DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM), which has entered the initial operational capability stage.
The missile is unique in that no other country has successfully developed a conventional ballistic missile capable of hitting a ship. There is a debate within the Western analytical community about whether this missile is capable of performing this task without the proper targeting satellites and electronic countermeasures.
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