Chinese missiles target India, Russia, east Asia: US report

WASHINGTON, July 10: China's new medium range missiles `target' India, rUSSIA and all of east Asia, including Japan and Taiwan, according t...

WASHINGTON, July 10: China’s new medium range missiles `target’ India, rUSSIA and all of east Asia, including Japan and Taiwan, according to the US forces’ National Air Intelligence Centre’s (NAIC) report.

The US Air Force has spotted `recent demolition activity’ at the Chinese Datong military site, indicating that the facility is being prepared for the deployment of China’s modern Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile, (IRBM), the CSS-5 Mod 2, says The Washington Times , quoting a secret report of NAIC.

The missiles can be launched from eight Chinese facilities of which `India and Russia are targeted from Kunming and Datong,’ says the daily quoting the report. The report says that the launch facilities include those in Tonghua launch complex, Dengshahe field garrison, Yidu field garrison, Lianxiwang launch complex, Datong field garrison and Haiyan training support.

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The older liquid propelled CSS-2 missiles are being replaced in some areas with `the mobile, solid propellant CSS-5 with a range of about 1,333 miles,’ the report says. Experts say solid fuel missiles can be launched more quickly and modern missiles use that type of propellant.

The NAIC report says that currently China has about 40 CSS-2 refire-capable launchers. Many of these launchers, which were built for firing liquid- fueled missiles, are being converted to handle new, solid-fuel CSS-5 Mod-1 missiles.

Large-scale CSS-2 training was photographed by US spy satellites at the Kunming missile training facility last year. The report says that the US Air force has a videotape of the exercises that involved three launch units practising to use the CSS-2’s.

The report adds that though Beijing has plans to replace CSS-2, with a range of about 1,922 miles, it would remain active in Jianshui region because `its greater range is needed to target most of India’ while the CSS-5 Mod 1 can cover southeast Asia. In interior China, where greater range is needed, CSS-2 activities are relatively high, indicating that the missile could remain in service in those regions until new missiles with a greater range,are deployed, the report says. Richard Fisher, a defence specialist at the Heritage Foundation, said “China’s IRBM force translates into overwhelming strategic leverage in Asia.” He also sees IRBM upgrades in China increasing the danger of sale of CSS-2’s to “rogue states.”