Chinese leaders and strategists have been thinking of using land-based missiles to hit threatening sea targets for more than three decades. Indeed, the mere perception that China might have an antiship ballistic missile (ASBM) capability could be a game-changer, with profound consequences for deterrence, military operations, and the balance of power in the Western Pacific.

John Arquilla, a professor of defense analysis at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, argues that aircraft carriers and the flotilla of destroyers, frigates, and cruisers are an unnecessary expense in the age of assymetric warfare and should be phased out of the U.S. defense budget.