Was Chinese ship preparing nuke test?

May 2, 2001

The April 1 incident between a U.S. Navy EP-3 surveillance plane and a pair of aggressive Chinese fighters may have occurred because a Chinese warship was preparing to test a nuclear-capable anti-ship missile, sources have told WorldNetDaily.

According to intelligence and military sources, one of a pair of new Russian-built Sovremenny class destroyers China bought in 1999 was preparing to conduct a sea test of a nuclear device, “probably one that could be carried on an anti-ship missile,” one source, who requested anonymity, said.

One of two Chinese Russian-built Sovremenny class destroyers.

The report, which was confirmed by other well-placed military sources, said the EP-3 surveillance flight may have been in the area to monitor the test. The presence of the U.S. plane is said to have caused substantial unease among Chinese military officials preparing the test, which may explain the aggressiveness of two Chinese F-8 fighters sent up to shadow the American plane.

“We were reading their tactical mail, so they decided to bash the postman,” one source said.

One Chinese fighter clipped the EP-3 in midair while making a high-speed pass. The collision caused enough damage to the Navy plane that it was forced to declare a “Mayday” and land. The Chinese fighter crashed; Beijing has said its pilot was killed.

WND, quoting foreign sources, reported April 4 that the remaining Chinese fighter fired its weapons at the EP-3 following the collision, preventing it from fleeing the area and forcing it to land at China’s Hainan Island airbase, where the plane remains, though a U.S. inspection team arrived there yesterday to examine it.

The aircraft’s 24-member crew was held by Chinese authorities for 11 days. They were released April 12 after the U.S. ambassador to China presented a carefully worded letter to Beijing.

The Pentagon has not confirmed that the Navy plane was fired on, but officials have acknowledged that they were aware of those reports.

Richard Fisher, a China weapons analyst with The Jamestown Foundation, told WND that the SS-N-22 “Sunburn” Moskit anti-ship missiles included in the Sovremenny destroyer deal with Russia are capable of carrying nuclear payloads.

While not able to comment directly on the report that China may have been testing a nuclear device on or about April 1, Fisher said Russia initially designed the Sunburns to carry nuclear warheads.

“When they entered service, the Moskit was assumed to be nuclear-armed, or at least some of them were,” Fisher said. “It is reported that the Moskit was designed to carry a small nuclear warhead.”

Yakhont anti-ship missile in flight.

Fisher said he did not know whether a new Russian-built missile, the Yakhont, which is smaller, was nuclear-capable, but said it was possible it could carry “a smaller nuclear warhead.”

The Yakhont is also a supersonic anti-ship weapon. Russia, which began using it in the mid-1990s, says it is incapable of being destroyed by current shipboard anti-missile defenses, including Aegis systems aboard U.S. warships.

Military officials claim it is impervious to guidance jamming and is a “fire and forget” weapon.

Reports have said that China is interested in buying up to four more Sovremenny-class destroyers to augment the existing warships in its fleet and that they may be equipped with the Yakhont.

“The Sovremennys give the Chinese navy a punch it has been lacking,” noted Robert Karniol, Asia-Pacific editor of Jane’s Defense Weekly.

WND reported April 6 that part of the EP-3’s mission could have been to monitor Chinese submarines also in the area. Many of China’s most modern submarines operate out of bases on Hainan Island.