China's Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile -- This is How Wars Start

Real Clear Defense Election 2016: China's "Carrier Killer" Missile Strikes the 2016 Presidential Debate from Peter Navarro on Vimeo.

Can China really hit an American aircraft carrier zigzagging at 30 knots with a missile launched from a thousand miles away? This episode in the Crouching Tiger Project series examines the implications of China's anti-ship ballistic missile for the 2016 Presidential election debate.

Toshi Yoshihara of the US Naval War College and Free Beacon Senior Editor Bill Gertz explain the stark mechanics of the anti-ship ballistic missile -- from initial firing to possible mission kill. Dean Cheng of the Heritage Foundation together with Bernard Cole and T.X. Hammes from National Defense University then illuminate the various difficulties of hitting a carrier at sea -- says Cheng "even at a hundred tons, it's 'big sea, small ship.'"

Richard Fisher of International Assessment and Strategy concludes with a chillingly logical explanation of the strategic challenge the "pernicious" anti-ship ballistic missile poses for any new leader in the White House. Says Fisher: "We are less able to deter attacks from this conventional weapon with our nuclear forces" and therefore "China will be more tempted to use this weapon against our forces because it has less of a fear of American retaliation. This is how wars start. This is how miscalculations take place."

With Permission by Real Clear Defense