Two-thirds of Australia could be at risk from Beijing’s land-based missiles, according to a submission to the national Defence Strategic Review.
The 33-page submission, prepared by former analysts at Defence Department and the U.S.-based Rand Corporation, includes a map showing Australia’s vulnerability to potential strikes from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), The Daily Telegraph reported.
The militarization of artificial reefs and atolls in the disputed South China Sea will give the Chinese army the potential capability to launch “land-based DF-26 intermediate-range ballistic missile strikes.”
The CCP’s militarized Mischief Reef atoll, which is 3000km northwest of Darwin, is of particular concern as it creates a “ring range” over key Australian Defence Force (ADF) installations in the Northern Territory, Townsville in Queensland, and northern Western Australia, especially the joint Australian-U.S. Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt….