China, Pakistan, Central-Asia Military Watch

[Arun_S]

[url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6324105.cms?prtpage=1#ixzz0wswiW9s1"]China deploys new CSS-5 missiles on border with India[/url]

PTI, Aug 17, 2010, 12.27pm IST WASHINGTON: [url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/China"]China[/url] has moved new advanced longer range CSS-5 missiles close to the borders with India and developed contingency plans to shift airborne forces at short notice to the region, according to Pentagon.



Despite increased political and economic relationship between India and China, the [url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Pentagon"]Pentagon[/url] in a report to the US [url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Congress"]Congress[/url] said, tensions remain along the Sino-India borders with rising instances of border violation and aggressive border patrolling by Chinese soldiers.



However, a senior [url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=Defense%20Department"]Defense Department[/url]official told reporters that the US has not observed any anomalous increase in military capabilities along the Sino-India border.



Noting that China continues to maintain its position on what its territorial claim is, the official said, the two capitals - [url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Beijing"]Beijing[/url] and [url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/New-Delhi"]New Delhi[/url] - have been able to manage this dispute, in a way, using confidence-building measures and diplomatic mechanisms to be able to maintain relative stability in that border area.



"But it's something that China continues to watch; but I wouldn't say that there's anything in this report that demonstrates a spike or an anomalous increase in military capabilities along the border.



"It's something that China's paying very careful attention to. It's obviously something that India is paying careful attention to as well," the Senior Defense Department official said.



In its annual report, the [url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=US%20Defence"]US Defence[/url] department said, to improve regional deterrence, the [url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/search?q=PLA"]PLA[/url] has replaced older liquid-fueled, nuclear capable CCS-3 intermediate range missiles with more advanced and survivable fueled CSS-5 MRBMs.



"China is currently engaged in massive road and rail infrastructure development along the Sino-India border primarily to facilitate economic development in western China: improved roads also support PLA operations," the Pentagon said.



The report presented to the Congress said despite increased political and economic relations over the years between China and India, tensions remain along their shared 4,057 km border, most notably over Arunachal Pradesh, which China asserts as part of Tibet and therefore of China, and over the Aksai Chin region at the western end of the Tibetan Plateau.



"Both countries, in 2009, stepped up efforts to assert their claims. China tried to block a USD 2.9 billion loan to India from the Asian Development Bank, claiming part of the loan would have been used for water projects in Arunachal Pradesh. This represented the first time China sought to influence this dispute through a multilateral institution," the Pentagon said.

Wiki reports the missile (The Dong-Feng 21 (DF-21; [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO"]NATO[/url] reporting name CSS-5 -) range to be ~ 2700 km.

DF-21A (CSS-5 Mod-2) The DF-21A was operational by 1996 and has improved accuracy with an estimated CEP of 100~300m, with both [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPS"]GPS[/url] and a radar-based terminal [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guidance_system"]guidance system[/url] in a redesigned nose. It is thought to have a lower yield, around 90[url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kt"]kt[/url], but longer range (up to 2700 km).[sup][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DF-21#cite_note-sinodefence.com-7"][8][/url][/sup]

Same missile configured in Anti Ship mode "

DF-21D (CSS-5 Mod-4) Anti-ship ballistic missile

The US Department of Defense has stated that China is developing a conventionally-armed[sup][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DF-21#cite_note-8"][9][/url][/sup] [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypersonic#Classification"]high hypersonic[/url][sup][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DF-21#cite_note-usni.org-0"][1][/url][/sup] land-based [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-ship_ballistic_missile"]anti-ship ballistic missile[/url] (ASBM) based on the DF-21,[sup][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DF-21#cite_note-9"][10][/url][/sup] with a range of up to 3,000 km (1,900 mi). This would be the world's first and only ASBM and the world's first weapons system capable of targeting a moving [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_carrier"]aircraft carrier[/url] strike group from long-range, land-based mobile launchers.[sup][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DF-21#cite_note-10"][11][/url][/sup][sup][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DF-21#cite_note-11"][12][/url][/sup] These would combine [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maneuverable_reentry_vehicle"]maneuverable reentry vehicles[/url] (MaRVs) with some kind of terminal guidance system. Such a missile may have been tested in 2005-6, and the launch of the Jianbing-5/YaoGan-1 and Jianbing-6/YaoGan-2 satellites would give the Chinese targeting information from [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_aperture_radar"]SAR[/url] (Synthetic Aperture Radar) and visual imaging respectively. The upgrades would greatly enhance China's ability to conduct sea-denial operations to prevent US carriers from intervention in the Taiwan Strait.[sup][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DF-21#cite_note-12"][13][/url][/sup] A professor at the [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Naval_War_College"]U.S. Naval War College[/url] states that DF-21D highlights the fact that the U.S. can no longer assume [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_supremacy"]naval supremacy[/url] as it has since the end of [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II"]World War II[/url].[sup][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DF-21#cite_note-ap_2010-08-05-13"][14][/url][/sup]