World View: China Tests Hypersonic Missile Designed to Defeat American Missile Defenses

This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• China says it is finished building artificial islands in South China Sea
• China tests hypersonic missile designed to defeat American missile defenses
• Greece’s bitter PM Tsipras hurls ultimatums and insults at IMF

China says it’s finished building artificial islands in South China Sea

Numerous Chinese dredging vessels around an artificial island in May 2 photo taken by P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft

For the past year, China has been creating new, artificial islands in the South China Sea in regions which have historically belonged to other countries, particularly Vietnam and the Philippines. China has been using aggressive military tactics to deprive Vietnamese and Philippine fishermen of their historical fishing grounds, and made demands that the U.S. end its surveillance activities in international waters in the South China Sea. Tensions escalated substantially last month when China repeatedly demanded that an American P-8A Poseidon surveillance plane leave the area. ( “26-May-15 World View — China says war with US in South China Sea is inevitable”)

China now says that it has completed its artificial islands project. However, that does not mean that China is becoming less aggressive militarily; to the contrary, it means that China is moving on to the next phase, building military structures on the artificial islands.

According to Chinese media:

The islands and reefs after completion will not serve as China’s military outposts in the Nansha Islands. Apart from satisfying the need of necessary military defense, they will be mainly for civilian use.

These two sentences contradict each other. The first sentence says “no military outposts,” but the second sentence mentions “satisfying the need of military defense,” which means that the islands will be used as military outposts. This is no surprise to anyone, as China prepares for war with its neighbors and with the United States. VOA and Global Times (Beijing)

China tests hypersonic missile designed to defeat American missile defenses

China has confirmed the fourth test, on June 7, of the new Wu-14 hypersonic glide strike missile designed to defeat American missile defenses.

During a war, the hypersonic missile is carried up by an ordinary ballistic missile, but is then released while still in the atmosphere. It can then glide almost horizontally to its target at almost 8,000 miles per hour. It can easily change direction in flight, to evade missile defense. The systems provide enhanced precision, speed, range, maneuverability and multiple-targeting, and are capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. In actual practice, several will be launched at once, making a missile defense almost impossible.

According to Chinese analysts, the missile test was timed to send a threatening message to the American military to stop doing surveillance in the South China Sea. Washington Free Beacon

Greece’s bitter PM Tsipras hurls ultimatums and insults at IMF

The relationship between Greece and its creditors has been getting more and more bitterly acrimonious with every day that passes by, as the “drop dead” date of June 30 approaches. On Tuesday, in a speech to Parliament, Greece’s far left prime minister Alexis Tsipras accused the International Monetary Fund of “criminal responsibility”:

The time has come for the IMF’s proposals to be judged not just by us but especially by Europe.

The IMF has criminal responsibility for today’s situation. …

Right now, what dominates is the IMF’s harsh views on tough measures, and Europe’s on denying any discussion over debt viability.

The fixation on cuts… is most likely part of a political plan… to humiliate an entire people that has suffered in the past five years through no fault of its own.

The time has come for the IMF’s proposals to be judged in public … by Europe,” he told the MPs of his radical left Syriza party.

The IMF has insisted on further cuts to Greece’s pension system, and a rise in value-added taxes.

Jean-Claude Jüncker, the president of the European commission, shot back by essentially accusing Tsipras of lying to the Greek people: “I don’t care about the Greek government, I do care about the Greek people. The debate in Greece and outside Greece would be easier if the Greek government would tell exactly what the Commission… is really proposing.” He indicated that Tsipras was lying about the value-added tax.

A spokesman for Greece’s opposition New Democracy party, the party that governed Greece prior to Tsipras’s victory in January, accused Tsipras of intentionally forcing Greece to leave the euro currency:

The negotiations are not starting now; instead the mocking of the Greek people is reaching its peak. Mr Tsipras is pushing the country toward a dead end, the bill is becoming astronomical. Is it possible this was their secret agenda?

Guardian (London) and Kathimerini and Bloomberg and Kathimerini

KEYS: Generational Dynamics, China, South China Sea, Vietnam, Philippines, Greece, Alexis Tsipras, International Monetary Fund, IMF, Jean-Claude Jüncker
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