Tom Waldwyn: China’s surface-to-air missiles in the South China Sea
Date: 29 February 2016
By Tom Waldwyn, Research Analyst for Defence and Military Analysis
China’s construction activity on features it occupies in the South China Sea has in recent years attracted increasing scrutiny internationally. In a briefing to the United States Congress in late February 2016, Admiral Harry B. Harris Jr, commander of US Pacific Command, said that China is engaged in ’destabilizing militarization of the South China Sea’. Beijing’s activity there has so far consisted of testing new facilities and a gradual deployment of assets to Chinese-occupied features.
Earlier this month, satellite imagery was released reportedly showing two surface-to-air missile (SAM) batteries deployed to the northwest corner of Chinese-controlled Woody Island, part of the Paracel Islands chain, on 14 February. It is believed that the deployment consists of long-range Hongqi-9 (HQ-9) missiles, which are operated by the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). Deployment of this kind of weaponry has aroused concern not least because of the view in Washington that China is pursuing anti-access/area-denial capabilities with a view to its territorial claims in the area. However, in a statement Beijing refuted the threat posed by the missile systems.
The HQ-9 is believed to have a maximum engagement range of 200 kilometres, but the missile would only be able to engage medium- or high-altitude non-manoeuvring targets at that range. The ability to accurately identify and target aircraft is dictated by fire-control radar. The HQ-9 system is known to be able to deploy with a variety of different radars, but it is not yet possible to determine which has been deployed to Woody Island.
It is also unclear whether the batteries are part of an existing PLAAF unit or an entirely new formation, or whether they are a permanent deployment or part of an exercise. Previous Chinese military deployments in the South China Sea, including to new features and air strips, have almost exclusively been the preserve of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and its air-force arm, the PLANAF. However, the HQ-9 deployment raises the possibility that PLAAF aircraft could begin to regularly operate from these islands.
Before the news of the HQ-9 deployment, defences on Chinese-occupied Paracel and Spratly islands had been minimal. The majority had anti-aircraft guns and marine detachments, but this began to change in 2015 as the PLAN began testing a number of capabilities. For example, in May, according to US officials, China deployed two motorised artillery pieces to the South China Sea.
More significant has been the testing of new and improved airfields. In October 2015, the PLANAF demonstrated the ability to deploy two J-11 combat aircraft to the refurbished and expanded airfield on Woody Island as part of an exercise. This ability appeared to be tested again in February 2016 with the reported deployment of around ten J-11 and JH-7 combat aircraft, again to Woody Island. It is not yet clear whether this latter deployment is permanent and questions remain as to how quickly it was carried out and for how long such a deployment could be sustained for.
Significantly, in January 2016 two Chinese civilian airliners flew to Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands and landed on its new 3km-long runway. The ability to use this runway – which is over twice as long as the next largest in the Spratlys – for larger aircraft gives Beijing a number of possibilities for the future supply of and deployments to Fiery Cross Reef.
However, this period still saw PLAN and China Coast Guard vessels make regular calls to the Paracels and Spratlys. Moreover, the HQ-9 has long been a feature of China’s military presence in the region. The new Type-052D destroyer and its predecessor the Type-052C are armed with the missile. Of the former class, the first three have entered the South Sea Fleet and each destroyer has 64 vertical launch tubes each capable of holding the HHQ-9 naval variant of the missile (although it would be unlikely that a fully fitted-out Type-052D would be armed solely with SAMs). In contrast, a land deployment of two HQ-9 batteries would consist of at most 32 launch tubes. This all indicates that China’s defensive and offensive capabilities in the South China Sea are currently derived from maritime-based platforms as opposed to land- and air-based ones.
The Military Balance 2016 features analysis of China’s military capabilities, displaying key forces by role, equipment inventories and defence economics.
The Military Balance is The International Institute for Strategic Studies’ annual assessment of the military capabilities and defence economics of 171 countries worldwide. It is an essential resource for those involved in security policy-making, analysis and research. The Military Balance 2016 was released on 9 February. Print copies are available to order.
No comments:
Post a Comment