China’s missiles that can damage aircraft carriers could pose threat to US in Taiwan conflict

China is expanding and diversifying its anti-ship missile arsenal, strengthening its ability to keep US and allied naval forces at a distance in the western Pacific, analysts say. The growing range of launch platforms and the introduction of hypersonic weapons could complicate US and allied operations in a potential conflict over Taiwan. The latest demonstration came last week, when Chinese state broadcaster CCTV released footage showing a Type 052D destroyer launching a YJ-20 hypersonic anti-ship missile from its vertical launch system. The weapon is among the first sea-based hypersonic anti-ship missiles to enter mass production in China. The development is part of a broader military modernization effort focused on anti-access/area denial, or A2/AD, capabilities designed to make it harder for adversaries to operate close to China’s coast and throughout the first island chain. Growing network of anti-ship weapons The first island chain stretches from Japan through Taiwan and toward the Philippines and Borneo, forming a key geographic barrier across the western Pacific. China has increasingly focused on deploying anti-ship missiles from multiple platforms, including surface ships and submarines. Analysts say this creates a layered defensive network capable of attacking naval forces from different directions and at varying distances. James Holmes, professor of strategy at the US Naval War College, said China’s objective is to keep US forces at a distance while allowing the People’s Liberation Army to concentrate its forces on a conflict closer to China’s territory, the South China Morning Post reported. If US forces based farther away cannot quickly combine with the Seventh Fleet and other forward-deployed units, Holmes argued, China could potentially concentrate a larger share of its military power against a smaller portion of the opposing force. Liselotte Odgaard, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, said deploying anti-ship missiles on both surface vessels and submarines gives China multiple attack vectors and makes its maritime strike capabilities more resilient. Hypersonic weapons add another challenge The YJ-20 is not the only hypersonic anti-ship missile China has introduced – during a military parade in Beijing last September, China also unveiled the YJ-19, a weapon powered by an air-breathing scramjet engine that can reportedly travel at speeds above Mach 5. The missile can be launched from submarine torpedo tubes. In February, the Chinese navy announced that the YJ-19 had entered service aboard its Type 039B diesel-electric submarine. That would make the submarine the only non-nuclear submarine currently known to carry such a weapon, according to the report. Collin Koh, a senior fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said China has made significant progress in developing different platforms capable of launching anti-ship missiles. Unlike conventional ballistic trajectories, hypersonic weapons can maneuver during flight, potentially complicating efforts to predict their path and engage them before they reach a target. Aircraft carriers are particularly important in this context because they serve as mobile platforms for air power and are central to US naval operations. The growing Chinese arsenal could therefore force US and allied navies to devote greater resources to defending major surface ships, potentially changing how they deploy during a Taiwan contingency. Recommended ArticlesGet the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Bojan Stojkovski is a freelance journalist based in Skopje, North Macedonia, covering foreign policy and technology for more than a decade. His work has appeared in Foreign Policy, ZDNet, and Nature.