And How to Address It?
Although the United States always argues that its ballistic missile defense (BMD) system is not against Russia and China, these two countries have not been convinced and believe that BMD would undermine strategic stability. This article will discuss the technical and political bases of China’s concerns and how to reach a solution of this dilemma. First, the intercept capability of U.S. BMD against Chinese strategic missiles will be analyzed, including current Ground-based Missile Defense (GMD) system, Obama administration’s new BMD plan, U.S. Asia-Pacific BMD assets, and future potential upgrade. Second, China’s special nuclear philosophy, i.e., certainty of uncertainty, and the impact of U.S. BMD on it, will be explored. In the final section, suggestion and principles for solving this problem will be presented.