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Chinese army sends DF-26 ballistic missiles to northwest region
- Long-range missiles can carry nuclear or conventional warheads and strike medium to large vessels up to 4,000km away
- State media says they are being used in plateau and desert areas for training
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The People’s Liberation Army has sent its DF-26 ballistic missiles to China’s northwest region in an apparent bid to beef up training of its missile force.
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State broadcaster CCTV reported on Thursday that the far-reaching anti-ship ballistic missiles were being used in active training in the country’s northwestern plateau and desert areas.
The DF-26 can carry a nuclear or conventional warhead and strike medium to large vessels as far as 4,000km (2,500 miles) away.
On Friday, nationalistic tabloid Global Times highlighted the timing, with the mobilisation coinciding with US warship the USS McCampbell “trespassing” in China’s territorial waters near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea that are claimed by Beijing.
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But Song Zhongping, a Hong Kong-based military commentator, said it would not be necessary to resort to a long-range missile like the DF-26 if China wanted to take action over such “intrusions”.
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