Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
International

Trump Impact? China Tests Missile With 10 Nuclear Warheads: Report

Darpan News Desk IANS, 02 Feb, 2017 12:50 PM
  • Trump Impact? China Tests Missile With 10 Nuclear Warheads: Report
BEIJING:  China has reportedly tested a new version of a missile that can carry up to 10 nuclear warheads, signalling a major shift in its nuclear capability as Beijing gears up for a possible military showdown with the US under the leadership of President Donald Trump.
 
The flight test of the DF-5C missile was carried out last month using 10 multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles, or MIRVs, the Washington Free Beacon reported. The test of the inert warheads was monitored closely by US intelligence agencies, said two officials familiar with reports of the missile test.
 
The Dongfeng-5C missile, carrying 10 dummy warheads, was launched from the Taiyuan Space Launch Centre in Shanxi province, and flew to a desert in western China, the report said.
 
The missile is a new variant of the DF-5, an intercontinental ballistic missile that first went into service in the early 1980's.
 
"The [Defence Department] routinely monitors Chinese military developments and accounts for PLA capabilities in our defence plans," Pentagon spokesman Commander Gary Ross was quoted as saying by the report.
 
For decades, the US has put the estimated number of warheads in China's nuclear arsenal at about 250. But the report suggested that the latest test with 10 warheads meant the actual number could be larger.
 
China also began adding warheads to older DF-5 missiles in February last year, according to US intelligence agencies. US defence officials have previously warned that China's rapid development of long-range ballistic missiles, coupled with a lack of transparency about its nuclear capabilities, could bring uncertainty to stability in the region.
 
 
The timing of the test coincided with the election of Donald Trump as US President who signalled a tougher stance against China over a range of issues, from the trade deficit to Beijing's military build-up in the disputed South China Sea.
 
Chinese military expert from an institute affiliated with the People's Liberation Army, (PLA) said a new test would not have been aimed at Trump.
 
"The test of a nuclear missile requires permission from the highest level - the Central Military Commission. It takes at least one year for the military to get the approval and to prepare for it," the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoted unnamed expert as saying.
 
 
"It is not a random decision to be made just because Trump is now in office," the expert said.
 
Although China had made steady progress in nuclear arms development in recent years, the government had no plans to drastically adjust its nuclear policy, the expert said.
 
Also recent commentaries in the official media here said China is stepping up preparedness for a possible military conflict with US after Trump election.
 
A commentary in the official website of People's Liberation Army's (PLA) said on January 20 the day Trump assumed Presidency that the chances of war have become "more real" amid a more complex security situation in Asia Pacific.
 
The commentary written by an official at the national defence mobilisation department in the Central Military Commission, China's overall military high command said the call for a US rebalancing of its strategy in Asia, military deployments in the East and South China Seas and the instillation of a missile defence system in South Korea were hot spots getting closer to ignition.
 
"A war within the President's term or war breaking out tonight are not just slogans, they are becoming a practical reality," the commentary said.
 
Recent images purporting to show China's Dongfeng-41 missile have surfaced on Chinese websites with reports suggesting that Beijing has deployed them in Heilongjiang province, which borders Russia.
 
The missile, with a range of 14,000 km and a payload of 10-12 nuclear warheads, is considered one of the military's most powerful. 
 
Global Times, a state-run tabloid in a recent commentary said the deployment of the DF-41 was a "strategic deterrence tool" and Beijing would "ready itself for pressures imposed by the new US government". 

MORE International ARTICLES

Indian-Orgin Man Charged With Impersonating US Tax Official

Indian-Orgin Man Charged With Impersonating US Tax Official
A 29-year-old Indian-origin man and another person have been charged for allegedly impersonating US tax officials and falsely representing victims from the department to send payments to their bank accounts and debit cards.

Indian-Orgin Man Charged With Impersonating US Tax Official

Indian-Origin Vijaygiri Anandgiri Goswami Linked To Pak-Afghan Drug Trade: US Prosecutor Preet Bhara

Indian-Origin Vijaygiri Anandgiri Goswami Linked To Pak-Afghan Drug Trade: US Prosecutor Preet Bhara
Vijaygiri Anandgiri Goswami and three others "ran a Kenyan drug trafficking organisation with global ambitions," Bharara said on Tuesday. 

Indian-Origin Vijaygiri Anandgiri Goswami Linked To Pak-Afghan Drug Trade: US Prosecutor Preet Bhara

Indian American Realtor Subba Rao Kolla To Run For Virigina Assembly

Indian American Realtor Subba Rao Kolla To Run For Virigina Assembly
Kolla, a real estate businessman and a community activist, if elected, will become the first Indian-origin member of the Virginia House of Delegates,

Indian American Realtor Subba Rao Kolla To Run For Virigina Assembly

Why UK's Rekha Patel Sold Her Dream Home For 2 Pounds

Why UK's Rekha Patel Sold Her Dream Home For 2 Pounds
A 43-year-old Indian-origin teacher in the UK has sold her home, which has a market value of 250,000 pounds, for a token of mere 2 pounds to ensure that she cannot be evicted from the property.

Why UK's Rekha Patel Sold Her Dream Home For 2 Pounds

White House Uses Quebec Killings To Defend Own Policies On Muslim-Country Travel

In the face of protests, lawsuits, internal grumbling, an international backlash and a partial climb-down, the Trump administration invoked Quebec City's mosque attack to defend its travel ban on seven majority-Muslim countries.

White House Uses Quebec Killings To Defend Own Policies On Muslim-Country Travel

Murdered Infosys Staffer's Father Alleges Harassment By Senior

Murdered Infosys Staffer's Father Alleges Harassment By Senior
A former army officer, Raju O. told media persons that she had complained to her family about the alleged pestering by a superior and she was very disturbed about it, compelling her to seek a transfer to Bengaluru.

Murdered Infosys Staffer's Father Alleges Harassment By Senior