As Washington and Beijing trade barbs over the coronavirus pandemic, a longer-term struggle between the two Pacific powers is at a turning point. specialreports examines the 'range war' in the Asia-Pacific:
FILE PHOTO: A Tomahawk Land Attack Missile is launched from the guided missile cruiser USS Cape St. George in the eastern Mediterranean Sea March 23, 2003. U.S. Navy/Intelligence Specialist 1st Class Kenneth Moll/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
The U.S. moves are aimed at countering China’s overwhelming advantage in land-based cruise and ballistic missiles. The Pentagon also intends to dial back China’s lead in what strategists refer to as the “range war.” The People’s Liberation Army , China’s military, has built up a huge force of missiles that mostly outrange those of the U.S. and its regional allies, according to senior U.S.
The Tomahawk - which first gained fame when launched in massed strikes during the 1991 Gulf War - has been carried on U.S. warships and used to attack land targets in recent decades. The Marines would test fire the cruise missile through 2022 with the aim of making it operational the following year, top Pentagon commanders testified.
China’s foreign ministry accused the United States of sticking “to its cold war mentality” and “constantly increasing military deployment” in the region. In a series last year, Reuters reported that while the U.S. was distracted by almost two decades of war in the Middle East and Afghanistan, the PLA had built a missile force designed to attack the aircraft carriers, other surface warships and network of bases that form the backbone of American power in Asia. Over that period, Chinese shipyards built the world’s biggest navy, which is now capable of dominating the country’s coastal waters and keeping U.S. forces at bay.
But the decision by President Donald Trump last year to exit the INF treaty has given American military planners new leeway. Almost immediately after withdrawing from the pact on August 2, the administration signaled it would respond to China’s missile force. The next day, U.S. Secretary for Defense Mark Esper said he would like to see ground-based missiles deployed in Asia within months, but he acknowledged it would take longer.
Smith said the cruise missile may not ultimately prove to be the most suitable weapon for the Marines. “It may be a little too heavy for us,” he told the Senate Armed Services Committee, but experience gained from the tests could be transferred to the army. China’s foreign ministry drew a distinction between the PLA’s arsenal of missiles and the planned U.S. deployment. It said China’s missiles were “located in its territory, especially short and medium-range missiles, which cannot reach the mainland of the United States. This is fundamentally different from the U.S., which is vigorously pushing forward deployment.
Holmes was referring to the uninhabited group of isles in the East China Sea - known as the Senkaku islands in Japan and the Diaoyu islands in China - that are claimed by both Tokyo and Beijing. The Pentagon is already moving to boost the firepower of its existing strike aircraft in Asia. U.S. Navy Super Hornet jets and Air Force B-1 bombers are now being armed with early deliveries of Lockheed Martin’s new Long Range Anti-Ship Missile, according to the budget request documents. The new missile is being deployed in response to an “urgent operational need” for the U.S. Pacific Command, the documents explain.
Brasil Últimas Notícias, Brasil Manchetes
Similar News:Você também pode ler notícias semelhantes a esta que coletamos de outras fontes de notícias.
US-China political face-off is the 'No. 1' concern for investors, says economistThe coronavirus pandemic might have peaked, but the political fallout from it is just picking up pace and investors are getting very worried, said an economist on Wednesday.
Consulte Mais informação »
China says HK will never be calm unless violent protesters removedChina's Hong Kong affairs office on Wednesday condemned Hong Kong protesters as a 'political virus' who seek independence, warning that the city will never be calm unless what it said were violent black-clad protesters were all removed.
Consulte Mais informação »
Trump's anti-China theory implodesJeffrey Sachs writes that the administration's theory that the virus which causes Covid-19 originated in a lab in Wuhan has been discredited by intelligence agencies and Dr. Anthony Fauci. It's time for the President to back off this tack.
Consulte Mais informação »
Private companies have put down strong roots in ChinaChina has 206 privately held companies valued at $1bn or more, more than any other country
Consulte Mais informação »
China reports two new coronavirus cases, 20 new asymptomatic casesChina reported 2 new coronavirus cases for May 5 and 20 new asymptomatic cases, data from the national health authority showed on Wednesday.
Consulte Mais informação »
Outsourcing America's drug manufacturing to China was a mistake—a lethal one | OpinionThere is growing bipartisan agreement that we need to bring pharmaceutical production back home. But one enormous hurdle remains.
Consulte Mais informação »