China Flies One New, Threatening Missile and Unveils Another: What Other Surprises are in Store for an Undefended America?

(Washington, D.C.): The day after China announced the successful flight of its newest
intercontinental-range ballistic missile — the Deng Feng 31 (DF-31), an article in the Chinese
government-owned Hong Kong newspaper, Wen Wei Po, disclosed the existence of
another,
medium-range missile heretofore unknown to be in the PRC’s arsenal. ¹

What Missile?

The latter, designated the Deng Feng 25 (DF-25), is said in this news item (which must be
assumed to be, given its locus, an officially authorized announcement) to be capable of
delivering a 2,000 kilogram warhead over ranges from 1800 to 2500 kilometers, depending upon
the model. The newspaper notes that the U.S. lacks any missile defense
capable of
intercepting either of these “second-generation” Chinese missiles — or, indeed, three
others
also being developed and/or fielded (the DF-21, DF-41 and the Julang 2, a submarine-launched
version of the DF-31).

The article gives a short description of each of these missiles. That concerning the DF-25
reads
as follows:

The Dongfeng–25 missile has a heavy warhead, which weighs around 2,000 kg. It
can be loaded with multiple nuclear warheads as well as conventional warheads. The
Dongfeng–25, which has a shooting range of 1,800 km, has outstanding functions as a
tactical weapon. Dongfeng–31, which was developed later, inherits the outstanding
functions of the Dongfeng-25 strategic missile.

If an accurate characterization of the DF-25’s capabilities, this missile would
be capable
of holding at risk virtually all of the United States’ Asian allies and forward deployed
forces in the region. The fact that this weapon system was not previously known to be
in the
PRC’s order of battle is particularly troubling insofar as it means that the development and
deployment of a missile — which, according to the Chinese government, has served as the basis
for the country’s newest ballistic missile (i.e., the DF-31) — went undetected by U.S.
intelligence.
Even more sobering is the reality that the Chinese have already simulated missile attacks on
American bases and allied targets in Asia, attacks that might in the future be carried out by an
unknown quantity of DF-25s.

The Bottom Line

This article in the PRC newspaper was a clear message to America, Japan and Taiwan: You
still
don’t know everything about China’s capabilities. It must now be asked, what else has
been
successfully concealed from the American intelligence community? If this missile,
with a
one city-busting nuclear warhead or multiple smaller ones can slip past the United States, what
else has done so? Could the PRC have more ICBMs pointed at this country now than was
previously assessed to be the case? Has China successfully hidden its transfer to rogue nations of
DF-25 missiles or other ballistic missile systems?

The implications of this revelation call to mind one of the findings of the Commission to
Assess
the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States, chaired by former Defense Secretary
Donald
Rumsfeld, when it ominously concluded: “The newer ballistic missile-equipped
nations…would
be able to inflict major destruction on the U.S. within about five years of a decision to acquire
such a capability….During several of those years, the U.S. might not be aware that such
a
decision had been made.” Clearly, the idea of waiting any further to begin deployment
of
effective missile defenses for the United States pending “warning” of an emerging threat must be
seen to be as unacceptable as it is irresponsible.

¹See the Cox Committee report (Vol. 1, p.180).