Why China's Missile Capabilities Should Terrify the U.S. Military China has conducted several missile tests in the South China Sea in recent years and placed anti-ship missiles in strategic areas which could threaten American interests. Here's What You Need to Remember: In moving a dozen DF-26 launchers to Inner Mongolia, around 2,000 miles from the Paracels, China reportedly aims to protect the rockets from boost-phase interception. The Chinese military lobbed anti-ship ballistic missiles into the South China Sea in tests in early July 2019. The missile trials underscored Beijing’s increasing militarization of resource-rich waters on which several countries have conflicting claims.