Brit aircraft carrier faces threat from swarm of hypersonic Chinese missiles on first mission in South China Sea
BRITAIN’S new aircraft carrier faces a swarm of Chinese missiles as it sails on her first mission to the “volatile” South China Sea, experts have warned.
HMS Queen Elizabeth will be heading on her first deployment as part of an international mission to challenge China’s disputed claim to large parts of the sea.
Beijing has already warned the UK would take "necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty" ahead of the mission.
The £3billion HMS Queen Elizabeth is being deployed to conduct freedom of navigation patrols with the US and Japanese navies.
And as the huge ship prepares to sail, China is reported to have brought its newest carrier-killing missile fully into operation.
The DF-17 can perform “extreme manoeuvers” as it hurtles at Mach 10 - some 7,600mph - towards a target, with carrier unlikely to survive a direct hit.
China has also previously warned any UK or US challenge of sovereignty would be seen a "hostile action", and its forces are ready to "act at any second" amid the tensions.
“At the absolute minimum it would end its mission - but in all probability sink it,” Sidharth Kaushal, from the Royal United Services Institute, told The Sun Online.
Its relatively low cost means the Chinese military can fire scores of them if a first attempt fails, the naval warfare expert said.
South China Sea dispute expert Bill Hayton told The Sun Online that China is expected to ramp up its rhetoric as UK vessels enter the “volatile” disputed waters.
And while its unlikely the mission will cause a direct clash, it was warned there is always the threat of a "misunderstanding" and the voyage will be a "test of discipline" for both sides.
Big Lizzie - as she's been nicknamed - will be accompanied by escort ships and will carry 24 of the latest F-35B fighters.
China’s claim that large parts of the South China Sea are its territorial waters is hotly disputed and several countries sail warships through the area to assert rights of passage.
In recent years, China has attracted international condemnation over its construction of military bases on islands in the disputed waters.
Facing the HMS Queen Elizabeth is the substantial arsenal of anti-ship missiles that China has built up.
At the beginning of January, it was reported the DF-17 - first seen at a parade in Beijing in 2019 - was now in service.
The missile comprises of a rocket with flies to around 25 miles above the earth and then launches a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle (HGV) armed with a warhead at a target.
The HGV uses the Earth’s gravity to descend speeds of up to 7700 mph and can be steered in flight.
According to the US military, it is accurate to within a few yards and is capable of “extreme maneuvers” and “evasive actions”.
A propaganda video released by in 2019 by missile maker the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation offered a glimpse at a missile design using a Hypersonic Glide Vehicle.
Dr Kaushal told The Sun Online the “game changer” hypersonic missiles present a “substantial challenge” to any potential foe.
“If directed properly it could kill a multi-billion pound asset like an aircraft carrier but it only costs in the millions,” he said.
“So the attacker can afford to waste a few missiles, whereas the defender faces the problem that even one hit to a carrier can be catastrophic.
“If an attack fails it’s the loss of a missile costing a few million pounds which is not great but China has been developing a pretty large inventory of missiles.
“With a hypersonic because if can change course quite rapidly in flight it’s difficult for defenders to identify its likely target.”
What is the dispute in the South China Sea about?
The dispute centres around legal claims to ocean areas and two island chains, the Paracels and the Spratlys, which are thought to be abundant in natural resources.
Every year some £3.8 trillion of trade passes through the dispute area and the United States has been joined by Australia, the UK and France in sailing warships through it to assert freedom of navigation
China has engaged in a massive military build-up in the area, creating a network of artificial islands, which it uses to assert its territorial claim.
It claims that these are part of its national coastline but the United States and the Philippines say that doesn't apply to artificial islands.
China's claim to a 12 mile territorial limit around the islands is not internationally recognised.
Warships from the United States and China have been engaged in tense stand-offs which have threatened to escalate into conflict in the disputed seas.
In January 2020, China reacted with fury after the US sent a missile destroyer through the disputed waters in a direct challenge to Beijing.
China responded by scrambling warships and aircraft to intercept the ship, which sailed within a dozen miles of the increasingly-militarised Paracel Island chain.
Experts say both sides will strive to avoid a situation that could end in shooting but there is a possibility – albeit a slim one - the situation could get out of hand.
Bill Hayton said one “likely scenario” would be for the Chinese to send a military vessel disguised as a fishing boat to shadow the carrier to “engineer an embarrassing confrontation”.
“They would say we’ve harassed an innocent fishing boat when in fact it’s a navy ship in a different paint job,” said Mr Hayton, Associate Fellow with the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House.
“It’s definitely volatile and there’s confrontations going on every week which we don’t hear about.
“It will be a test of discipline for the navy, a test of discipline and command and seamanship and will put UK-China relations to the test.”
Robert Clark, Defence Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, said “there is always the threat of a misunderstanding”.
“If that does occur then the danger is quite high,” he said.
“China has already made it public how unsettling they find the deployment which is a challenge to their grotesque claims about the area.
“China will observe and shadow and China will observe and watch but there will be some communication.”
Most read in News
At a monthly press conference in Beijing in January, Chinese defence ministry spokesman Tan Kefei was asked about the plans for Big Lizzie.
“The Chinese side believes that the South China Sea should not become a sea of great power rivalry dominated by weapons and warships", he said.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
He added that the "real source of militarisation in the South China Sea comes from countries outside this region sending their warships thousands of kilometres from home to flex muscles".
“The Chinese military will take necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interest as well as peace and stability in the South China Sea,” he said.