11.05.2017, China.
The Chinese Defense Ministry issued a brief report on testing a new type of guided missile in the Bohai Bay, Agence France-Presse reported May 9.
The Ministry did not mention technical specifications of the missile, the type of launcher, or the exact dates of the launch, limiting itself to calling it “recent”. The purpose of the tests was defined as “enhancing the operational capabilities of the armed forces, and the effectiveness of the response to national security threats.”
A complicated military and political situation has developed after the United States began deploying a missile defense system to South Korea, starting July 2016, in response to North Korean testing of ballistic missiles in the Yellow Sea area. China sees this as a violation of the military balance, and a threat to its own strategic military capabilities.
Last week, US officials said that the missile defense system has reached its basic level of operations; it is able to intercept North Korean missiles; however, numerical and functional expansion of the system is planned to take place within the upcoming year.
China’s opposition to the US Missile Defense System deployment agreement has moved beyond the diplomatic arena. There are reports of South Korean Lotte Group stores being vandalized, following its owner’s decision to provide its golf course as a deployment site for the Missile System. Additionally, tourists from South Korea have been denied entry into the PRC.
Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency
