China’s military identifies US and Japanese destroyers as ‘enemy vessels’

The People’s Liberation Army has explicitly identified the US Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and Japan’s Atago-class destroyer as enemy targets in an information display for the navy’s open day. The unprecedented peacetime move coincided with the USS William P. Lawrence – an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer – transiting through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday. It was noticed by a visitor in Taizhou, Jiangsu province who was aboard a Nanjing Type 052D guided-missile destroyer – part of the PLA Navy’s Eastern Theatre Command whose main role is to defend the Taiwan Strait. The visitor posted a photo of the display on social media that has since been widely circulated. “The YJ-18A anti-ship missile is a new vertically launched, long-range cruise missile now deployed by the navy,” the display read. “It can strike large and medium-sized enemy surface vessels such as the US Arleigh Burke-class and Japan’s Atago-class destroyers using supersonic trajectories, possessing a high penetration probability and accuracy, significantly enhancing the PLA Navy’s maritime dominance capabilities.” While displays in previous years have listed generic missile specifications, this year’s named the United States and Japan as the “enemy”. The open day was held as the USS Lawrence sailed through the Taiwan Strait, drawing attention from Beijing at a time of heightened tensions with Washington – and especially since it coincided with the 76th anniversary of the PLA Navy. PLA Eastern Theatre Command spokesman Senior Colonel Shi Yi on Thursday said the US vessel had been closely monitored and “lawful countermeasures” had been taken, without elaborating. The PLA also released footage of the warship, another rare move. The US Indo-Pacific Command told Newsweek that the USS Lawrence’s passage was “routine” and it was exercising “freedom of navigation” under international law. Shi accused the US of “distorting facts, misinterpreting legal principles, confusing the public, and misleading international perceptions”. He urged Washington to stop its “provocative distortions” and cooperate to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. At a separate press briefing on Thursday, defence ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang said: “Encouraging ‘Taiwan independence’ damages peace and stability and will only backfire. We urge the US to stop stoking tensions.” Wang Yanan, editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge and an aviation expert at Beihang University, said the navy information display was unusual since the PLA tended to be conservative about what it communicated to the public. “Naming US and Japanese main warships explicitly indicates internal consensus,” Wang said. “Navy officers clearly have total confidence that their ships and weaponry can defeat the named opponents and achieve ultimate victory in any conflict.” Taiwan is seen by Beijing as the most sensitive issue in its relations with Washington. Beijing views the self-ruled island as a part of China to be reunited – by force, if necessary. Most countries, including the US and Japan, do not recognise Taiwan as independent but oppose any unilateral change to the status quo, and Washington is committed to supplying arms to the island. Japan also has a key role in the “first island chain” that stretches from Okinawa to Taiwan and the Philippines – a US strategy to restrict Chinese military access to the Pacific Ocean. Wang Feng, author and chairman of Taiwan-based newspaper China Times, also said the reference to US and Japanese warships as “enemy vessels” suggested the PLA had confidence in the strength of its anti-ship missile and anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) system. “Advanced missiles such as the YJ-18A with combined subsonic-supersonic profiles, the supersonic YJ-12, ballistic missiles DF-21D and DF-26, and hypersonic missiles DF-17 and YJ-21 represent terminal strike nodes in China’s A2/AD system,” he said. Open-source information suggests the YJ-18A missile has a range exceeding 600km (370 miles), cruising at Mach 0.8 to 0.9 close to sea level – below interception altitudes for many US defences. Terminal strike speed is said to exceed Mach 3, challenging systems like the US Phalanx close-in weapon system and RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile. In contrast, the US Navy’s Cold War-era Harpoon anti-ship missile aboard its Arleigh Burke-class destroyers has a maximum range of 130km – less than a quarter of the YJ-18A – and it stays subsonic throughout. Despite upgrades, it remains a medium-speed, non-stealth missile. “In a one-on-one scenario, a Type 052D destroyer can engage an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer from 600km,” aviation expert Wang Yanan said. “Even if the US ship retaliates within range, its missiles might not penetrate Chinese defences, including the 1130 CIWS and HQ-10 missiles, designed to intercept Harpoons effortlessly.” He said Japan’s Atago-class destroyer – similar to the later Arleigh Burke vessels – offered no significant defensive advantage against the YJ-18A. “Times have changed,” he said. “Previously we benchmarked our ships against Burke and Atago. Today, the PLA is openly targeting these warships, entering a new era symbolised by the advanced Type 055 10,000-tonne guided-missile destroyer.” Japan’s two new Aegis-equipped destroyers, which are expected to be in service by 2027 and 2028, will cost 1.9 trillion yen (US$13.3 billion) each, Kyodo News reported last week. The warships are said to surpass the Chinese and US destroyers in displacement and vertical launch capabilities and their Lockheed Martin advanced radar can simultaneously track 1,000 targets.

China’s military identifies US and Japanese destroyers as ‘enemy vessels’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Navy open day display states that YJ-18A anti-ship missile can strike warships such as America’s Arleigh Burke-class and Japan’s Atago-class

Navy open day display states that YJ-18A anti-ship missile can strike warships such as America’s Arleigh Burke-class and Japan’s Atago-class