China continues to secretly develop containerized missile systems that can be carried by merchant ships. Such ships can access any international port, and this poses a great threat to the opponents of the PRC. This is reported by The Sun, citing Rick Fisher, Senior Fellow for Military Affairs in the Asia Region at the International Center for Assessment and Strategy in the United States.
In 2019, China has developed a special YC-18C cruise missile system, which is housed in a container and can be disguised as a commercial cargo. The USA, Great Britain and Russia already have similar systems.
Fischer said the missile systems could be deployed on any ship, transforming China's many merchant ships into a secret navy “to launch surprise missile raids on coastal fortifications to aid assault or airborne invasion forces.”
Containers can also be kept in warehouses within the reach of military facilities, and they can be put on alert as soon as possible. “The adoption of such missiles is very much in line with the current strategic preferences of the Chinese leadership,” – said the military expert.
The missile's electromagnetic pulse warheads could disable any nearby nuclear ballistic missile submarine base, he said. “An explosion of such a missile could disable electronics [on submarines] and throughout the base without the need to launch a nuclear missile from China,” he said.
Earlier it became known that China intends to strengthen its positions in the Atlantic and on the African continent. The PRC has already built a military base in Djibouti and plans to build a logistics center for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Equatorial Guinea.
In November, a Pentagon report on China's military capabilities indicated that Beijing plans to establish military bases and other facilities to deploy its troops to other countries, including Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Seychelles, Tanzania, Angola and Tajikistan.
