Free Republic

Chinese media reports that beginning today the People’ Liberation Army (PLA) will hold six days of military exercises in the East China Sea, a message, analysts say, to the U.S. Navy not to steam its carrier battle groups too close to Chinese shores. While a Chinese military official said the drills are routine, observers say the anti-carrier exercise is intended to pressure the U.S. Navy not to hold joint exercises with the carrier USS George Washington and South Korean ships in the Yellow Sea. Respected China analyst Andrew Erickson says the live fire training aims to demonstrate China’s ability to...

Inside the Ring March 7, 2008 By Bill Gertz - China missiles One little-noticed intelligence disclosure contained in the Pentagon's annual report on Chinese military power says China now has ballistic missiles designed to hit U.S. aircraft carriers and ships at sea. The missiles are described in the report as part of China's "anti-access/area denial capabilities" that include "anti-ship ballistic missiles designed to strike ships at sea, including aircraft carriers." Using a ballistic missile to target ships requires a degree of sophistication not shown by Chinese missiles in the past, and indicates China's military has mastered precision missile targeting, no...

China held military drillHIGH ALTITUDE: A local military commentator said the drill, said to target US aircraft carriers, posed no danger since radar could detect a Chinese assaultDPA , TAIPEI Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005,Page 4 China reportedly held an anti-aircraft-carrier drill last month to prepare for blocking US assistance to Taiwan in the event of a cross-strait war, but a Taiwanese military expert yesterday said the drill would not pose a major threat to US aircraft carriers. "In this drill, Chinese warplanes can only descend to 100m above the water's surface, so they can still be easily detected by US...