China tests new land-attack cruise missile
China has test-fired a new land attack cruise missile (LACM) designated Dong Hai-10 (DH-10), or East China Sea-10, writes Wendell Minnick. A US defence source identified the DH-10 as a ground-launched second-generation LACM with a range of more than 1,500km. He said it is likely to be equipped with an integrated inertial navigation system/Global Positioning System, supplemented by a terrain contour mapping system and digital scene-matching terminal-homing system able to provide a circular error probable (CEP) of 10m. [Jane's Missiles & Rockets - first posted to http://jmr.janes.com (You can't read the article on their website unless you subscribe to Jane's - and I'd be amazed - and amused - if anyone reading this blog did.)- 22 September 2004]
See how they've called it the East Sea missile - a nice touch, that, just in case Taiwan can't read between the lines. Also good for Japanese nationalists who would like to rearm. (The Japanese military, for all of its faults, doesn't have missile systems capable of hitting targets in other countries: but there has been some debate about it in the last week...)
Another point to consider is whether this will convince EU leaders who want to lift the arms embargo on China that perhaps there are enough weapons in East Asia already. ... I doubt it too.There was a demonstration on 1st October in Taipei (that is, purposely on China's national day) calling for the EU to keep its sanctions. China already has some 600 missiles aimed at Taiwan, or so Taiwanese sources report. Germany's chancellor Schroeder, the UK's PM Blair, and, particularly, France's president Chirac want to start selling weapons to the Chinese. The US administration is against the lifting of the sanctions.
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