US to dispatch new Naval battle group close to Chinese waters

With an ongoing missile build up between Taiwan and Mainland China and stalled Korean nuclear talks, the US has once again raised tension in the Pacific with an announcement that it is to deploy a missile flotilla to patrol the Sea of Japan and unspecified regions of the Pacific.

During a Defense Department briefing on Friday, Gordon England, The US Secretary of the Navy, announced that America would be dispatching a substantial flotilla of missile and tracking vessels to the Pacific and the Sea of Japan, with deployment to be completed by the end of December 2006.

Under the announced plan, the US navy will dispatch 15 Aegis Destroyers and three missile cruisers to the Sea of Japan and the Pacific region between September 2004 and the end of 2006.

Though the flotilla is likely to be designated for an anti missile role in the Sea of Japan, to deter North Korean forces from launching missile attacks against US and Japanese targets in the Pacific, and not as a first strike measure, the presence of 18 missile ship close to Chinese waters is likely to draw protest from Beijing.

With rising tensions over missile deployments in China and the sale of advanced weapons to Taiwan, the presence of 18 long range tactical warships is likely to raise tensions between China and the US because the vessels could quickly be reassigned form part of a rapid response force in the event of open hostilities between China and Taiwan.

It has been a long term fear in Beijing that radar and missile system being sold to Taiwan by the US could be upgraded to form part of a theatre based defense system, and that this system could then be linked to US ground and naval systems in occupied Japan and the Pacific to form a regional defense network that, in the event of a Sino-Taiwanese/US confrontation, would dramatically shift the balance of power away from China.

Beijing has made numerous representations to the US over the deployment of forces in the Pacific, including strong criticism over the timing of Operation Summer Pulse 04 a recent US training exercise under the auspices of the US Fleet Response Plan.

Summer Pulse has been widely viewed as being a preparation for a potential Sino-US conflict over the island of Taiwan.

This Defense Departments latest announcement comes after the US Navy dispatched the Curtis Wilbur, an Aegis Destroyer equipped with advanced long range tracking systems designed to allow missile and aircraft interception, to the Sea of Japan last week, and shortly after North Korea authorities threatened to 'turn Japan into a sea of fire' in the event of a US nuclear strike on Northern targets.

There has been little word as to how much of this flotilla will be drawn from existing forces stationed in occupied Japan or Okinawa, and how much will be drawn from vessels reassigned from other regions, or what the exact offensive and defensive load or mission parameters of this flotilla will be.

The Curtis Wilbur is thought to be a tracking vessel and is not thought to be equipped with the newest model of missile interceptors, the Standard Missile 3 interceptor, but it has advanced radar equipment capable of being tied into a theatre based defense system. Long ranged missiles carried by the Curtis Wilbur, and other US Aegis and missile ships likely to be assigned to the flotilla, are 'potentially' nuclear capable and can be fitted with a 200 Kiloton warhead.

The USS Curtis Wilbur

The USS Curtis Wilbur is an Arleigh Burke class destroyer with a maximum speed of approximately 30 knots. It equipped with an advanced SPY-1D multi-function phased array radar, a long range tactical radar system capable of tracking and targeting 100 simultaneous contacts and of being linked to a theatre based defense system. The USS Curtis Wilbur is of the same type as the USS Cole which was crippled by an improvised explosive in a Yemeni port in October 2000.

Armament

RIM-67 SM-2 A semi-active radar homing Surface to Air missile with a maximum range of 160+ Kilometers (standard version) and 320+ Kilometers (extended version).

BGM-109 Tomahawk A Cruise Missile with a range of 1100 km. Tomahawk versions can strike at land or sea based targets and can be equipped with a nuclear warhead with a typical yield of 200 Kilotons.

RUM-139 VL-Asroc anti submarine parachute rocket with a range of 28 Kilometers.

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