China poses a rising ballistic missile threat that the United States should counter with improved systems including missile defense capabilities, a draft version of a State Department study concludes, according to The Washington Times.
The International Security Advisory Board (ISAB) said China is embarked upon a military buildup that is much too vast to be merely for defensive purposes, or for invading and conquering nearby Taiwan.
Rather, China clearly intends to attain cutting-edge capabilities that will permit it to confront and frustrate U.S. armed forces, the ISAB warned.
In response, the United States must obtain technologically advanced weapon systems, including missile defense assets and technology in space, the report continued.
It urges American armed forces to obtain weapon platforms, sensors, communications systems and more so that China won’t be able to overwhelm U.S. forces even temporarily, according to the news story by Bill Gertz.
China has procured new, long-range nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles that can strike targets throughout the United States from mobile launchers within China; Jin Class submarines with nuclear-tipped missiles that have a range of almost 5,000 miles; long-range bombers; Sovremenny Russian destroyers; cutting-edge fighter aircraft; 1,400 missiles aimed at the Strait of Taiwan, and more. The report estimates China may have 100 or more ICBMs by 2015.
And a super-quiet Chinese submarine, while submerged, also shadowed a U.S. aircraft carrier group in the Pacific, then surfaced abruptly within torpedo range of the Navy group.
Further, China used a ground-based missile to destroy one of its own aging weather satellites, proving that it can demolish any U.S. satellite in low Earth orbit, and used a ground-based laser to disable a U.S. military satellite.
China also has a space program with plans for a permanent orbiting space station, and also for a manned mission to the moon.
Even the most toned-down, everything-is-fine view of this stupendous buildup has to conclude that China is becoming a major concern for the United States militarily, the report warned.
President Bush and both civilian and uniformed Pentagon leaders have asked Chinese officials, repeatedly, to explain why Beijing has rushed to buy gigantic amounts of advanced, high-technology arms with global reach. But the Chinese respond merely that they wish to guard the Chinese coastline, or to invade Taiwan, or to guard and keep open global sea lanes that already are guarded by the U.S. Navy. Taiwan is about 100 miles from the mainland.
If China conquers Taiwan, it would gain a huge geo-strategic advantage in the region, and have an ability to project power from there far across the globe.
The enormous Chinese arms buying spree and lavish space program are paid for courtesy of U.S. consumers, who buy far greater than $200 billion more Chinese goods each year than China buys from the United States.
While the United States military has been concerned about rogue nations launching attacks with nuclear-tipped missiles, forming a multi-layered U.S. missile defense shield, the United States hasn’t openly launched a campaign to procure systems needed to counter Chinese might.
But the United States should make a point of proving to China that it cannot hope to counter or defeat U.S. forces, even temporarily, the draft report continued.
China also has formed an army of cyber warriors, hackers who could cause devastation to U.S. and global computer systems, causing chaos in commercial and financial networks.
The report says the United States must form a missile defense shield, including making full use of space. That might refer to having space-based sensors to detect when China launches any missile.