Insight: China ups the ante by firing missiles into troubled waters
Despite muddled details from official sources, it is believed that China’s Southern Theatre Command recently fired multiple anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM) into the disputed South China Sea.
This is hugely significant since it is the first time that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has done so. It would reflect an even more vigorous escalation in Chinas claims and ambitions to keep foreign powers at bay in the maritime area.
Bates Gill, professor of Asia-Pacific security studies at the Department of Security Studies and Criminology at Macquarie University in Australia, told Shephard: ‘This is a very big deal. It
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