(so could a lot of other things... - ed.)
If China truly is building an air base — and Janes says land 3km long and 200 to 300m wide has been reclaimed since August is “large enough to construct a runway and apron” — it even has implications for Australia.
Despite being some 3200km distant, Taiwanese media has pointed out that China’s long range bomber — the Xian H-6K — can deploy with cruise missiles capable of striking “all US military facilities in Australia”.
ASIAN ARMS RACE: Our region’s long weapons shopping list
The H-6K, which is based on the Russian Tu-16 “Badger” design from the 1960s, entered service in 2009. China claims it has a combat radius of 3500km. The heavily reworked design is said to have replaced its bomb bay with extra fuel tanks, while six weapons — such as the nuclear capable CJ-10Acruise missiles — can be slung from pylons beneath the wings.
The CJ-10A cruise missile can reportedly home-in on targets a further 2000km away.
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