NEW DELHI

According to recent satellite photographs, the Chinese military has improved its anti-ship missile training from targeting huge, carrier-sized targets to smaller ships and naval stations.According to a Taipei-based navy analyst, they show a training camp in Xinjiang's remote Taklamakan desert with the layout of a mock-up ship anchored in a naval base that mimics one in northeast Taiwan and other targets in Guam.

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New satellite photographs, according to the US Naval Institute (USNI) news site, show China developing more large-scale target ranges along the rim of the desert, including model destroyers and docks.

The People's Liberation Army of China considers the United States to be a second line of defence east of Japan, with Guam being the most important base in the Marianas Islands chain. The US B-1, B-2, and B-52 strategic bombers are stationed at Guam's Andersen Air Force Base, with the latter two being capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

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China is well aware that the US base on Guam is the greatest obstacle to its goal of reunifying Taiwan. Because China has only a few hundred nuclear bombs compared to the United States' thousands, the Chinese military favours a deterrent stance versus an aggressive nuclear war plan. To limit US mobility, the DF-26 is the most important missile in its arsenal.

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