US plans to counter China ‘at risk because of allies’ reluctance to host missile systems’

Name: Japan and US deepen military ties in bid to counter China, North Korea
Uploaded: 2022-05-05T21:00:24.000Z
Duration: 2 min 52 s
Description: Japan and US deepen military ties in bid to counter China, North Korea

A report says Washington’s treaty allies in the Indo-Pacific would be reluctant to provoke China by offering permanent bases for intermediate missiles

The best option may be to help Japan develop its own anti-ship missiles, the analysis concludes

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Nuclear-capable DF-26 ballistic missiles in a parade in Beijing. Photo: Reuters

Minnie Chan

Published: 5:00am, 6 May 2022Updated: 5:39am, 6 May 2022

Washington’s strategy to counter China is at serious risk of failure because of the reluctance of its allies in the Indo-Pacific to permanently host missile systems, an analysis by a US think tank has concluded.

The report by the Rand Corporation said that domestic political considerations and their economic ties to China meant it was unlikely that any of the five US allies in the region – Australia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand – would be willing to host ground-based intermediate-range missiles.

The missiles have a range of up to 5,000km (3,5oo miles) and – following the US withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019 – could develop more of the missiles and deploy them in the region to counter China.

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Japan and US deepen military ties in bid to counter China, North Korea

China never signed the treaty, which was agreed by the US and Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War, and has been developing its own intermediate-range missiles, including the DF-21 – dubbed the “carrier killer” – and the nuclear capable DF-26.

Jeffrey W Hornung, who wrote the report, said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also heightened concerns about an attack on Taiwan, which Beijing regards as part of its territory to be reunited by force if necessary.

The report suggested that alternative options for the US included jointly developing or selling the missiles to an ally, which would control its own system; deploying them to the region in times of crisis; or a peacetime rotational deployments.

Another option would be basing them on Guam – a US overseas territory – or one of the small Pacific island nations that has signed the Compact of Association with Washington.