China’s Missiles Warn U.S. Aircraft Carriers to Stay Away
- PLA said to have launched four missiles into South China Sea
- Move seen as reminder of high costs of conflict between powers
A DF-21D missile.
Photographer: Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images
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China’s latest volley of missile launches into the world’s most hotly contested body of water served as a warning to two key U.S. targets: aircraft carriers and regional bases.
The missiles launched into the South China Sea on Wednesday included the DF-21D and DF-26B, the South China Morning Post reported, citing a person close to the People’s Liberation Army. Those weapons are central to China’s strategy of deterring any military action off its eastern coast by threatening to destroy the major sources of U.S. power projection in the region.