U.S. plans anti-China missile network

The U.S. is planning a network of long-range, land-based missiles along the First Island Chain – the string of islands enclosing China’s coastal seas – to boost its deterrence against Beijing


Indo-Pacific Command seeking $408m in fiscal 2022 for ground-based weapons for First Island Chain and $2.9bn from 2023-27


Chinese fleet HQ 
U.S. navy base

500km 310 miles

RUSSIA 
N. KOREA
Beijing
Qingdao
Shanghai
Ningbo
CHINA
Zhanjiang
TAIWAN
VIETNAM
South China Sea
MALAYSIA
S. KOREA
East China Sea
Chinhae 
Sasebo
Okinawa
First Island Chain
PHILIPPINES
INDONESIA
JAPAN
Yokosuka: 7th Fleet HQ and base for aircraft carrier strike group
PACIFIC OCEAN
Second Island Chain
Guam


DF-21D
Range: 2,000km

Anti-ship ballistic missile is central to China’s strategy of deterring any military action off eastern coast


Around 132,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Indo-Pacific theatre – including 55,000 in Japan and 28,000 in South Korea

China has more than 1,250 ground-launched missiles with ranges of 500-5,500km. U.S. has none but is free to resume production following withdrawal from Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in 2019


Sources: U.S. Department of Defense, IISS, Stratfor, Nikkei 
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