The Ministry of National Defense confirmed yesterday that China had
test-fired Julang-2 (JL-2) submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM)
before the New Year.
Chinese military bulletin boards recently lit
up with reports that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy might have
test fired as many as six JL-2 SLBMs near Dalian in Liaoning Province,
China.
At least two Type 094, or Jin-class, submarines in China’s
Northern Fleet are known to operate out of Xiaopingdao Submarine Base
close to Dalian.
China plans to introduce up to five Type 094
second-generation nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN)
armed with JL-2 missiles. Each Type 094 submarine can carry as many as
12 missiles.
The JL-2, designed by China Aerospace Science and
Industry Corp’s 4th Academy, is a solid-propellant derivative of the
Dong Feng 31 (DF-31) intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
The
JL-2, one of China’s three long-range strategic missiles, has a maximum
range estimated at 8,000km and can carry a thermonuclear warhead with a
yield ranging from 25 kilotons to 1,000 kilotons, or about 80 times the
force of the nuclear device dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.
Contacted
for comment yesterday, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Colonel
David Lo (羅紹和) said the military was aware that China had tested the
JL-2 and would pay close attention to further development of the
missile.
Lo’s comments were the first official confirmation by
Taiwan’s military that the PLA Navy had carried out the missile test,
less than three weeks before Taiwanese head for the polls on Saturday.
So
far official Chinese media and the Chinese military have not confirmed
rumors of the exercise. Missile tests carried out by the PLA in March
1996 to pressure Taiwanese as they headed into their first direct
presidential election in the nation’s history are generally believed to
have backfired on China and boosted support for then-president Lee
Teng-hui (李登輝).
However, the state-owned Chinese-language Global Times reported
yesterday that a Chinese fisherman in Shandong Province had retrieved
cylindrical wreckage from what appeared to be a missile booster, which
could provide confirmation of the SLBM test.
Rick Fisher, a senior
fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center in
Washington, told the Washington Times last week that the tests would
clearly demonstrate that after several years of development and delays,
the PLA Navy is now able to launch submarine-based ballistic missiles
“at a near wartime frequency.”
“If these reports are true, then
the [Type] 094 submarine is ready for the PLA version of deterrence
patrols, which could commence this year,” he said.
“This number of
successful tests would also indicate that the PLA has, at long last,
resolved whatever issues were preventing this missile from achieving
‘operational’ status,” the paper quoted him as saying.
The US
Department of Defense’s annual report on the PLA stated that once it is
deployed, the Type 094/JL-2 combination would constitute China’s first
real sea-based deterrent, a capability that could give Beijing the means
to discourage the US from intervening on behalf of Taiwan.
* Notícia publicada al Taipei Times. Creiem important compartir-la pels progressos de les armes estratègiques xineses.
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