China's military is developing electromagnetic pulse weapons that Beijing
plans to use against U.S. aircraft carriers in any future conflict over
Taiwan, according to an intelligence report made public on Thursday.

Portions of a National Ground Intelligence Center study on the lethal
effects of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) and high-powered microwave (HPM)
weapons revealed that the arms are part of China's so-called "assassin's
mace" arsenal - weapons that allow a technologically inferior China to
defeat U.S. military forces.

EMP weapons mimic the gamma-ray pulse caused by a nuclear blast that knocks
out all electronics, including computers and automobiles, over wide areas.
The phenomenon was discovered in 1962 after an aboveground nuclear test in
the Pacific disabled electronics in Hawaii.

The declassified intelligence report, obtained by the private National
Security Archive, provides details on China's EMP weapons and plans for
their use. Annual Pentagon reports on China's military in the past made only
passing references to the arms.

"For use against Taiwan, China could detonate at a much lower altitude (30
to 40 kilometers) ... to confine the EMP effects to Taiwan and its immediate
vicinity and minimize damage to electronics on the mainland," the report
said.

The report, produced in 2005 and once labeled "secret," stated that Chinese
military writings have discussed building low-yield EMP warheads, but "it is
not known whether [the Chinese] have actually done so."

The report said that in addition to EMP weapons, "any low-yield strategic
nuclear warhead (or tactical nuclear warheads) could be used with similar
effects."

"The DF-21 medium-range ballistic missile has been mentioned as a platform
for the EMP attack against Taiwan," the report said.

According to the report, China's electronic weapons are part of what are
called "trump card" or "assassin's mace" weapons that "are based on new
technology that has been developed in high secrecy."

"Trump card would be applicable if the Chinese have developed new low-yield,
possibly enhanced, EMP warheads, while assassin's mace would apply if older
warheads are employed," the report said.

According to the report, China conducted EMP tests on mice, rats, rabbits,
dogs and monkeys that produced eye, brain, bone marrow and other organ
injuries. It stated that "it is clear the real purpose of the Chinese
medical experiments is to learn the potential human effects of exposure to
powerful EMP and [high-powered microwave] radiation."

The tests did not appear designed for "anti-personnel [radio frequency]
weapons" because of the limited amounts of radiation used.

However, the report said another explanation is that the Chinese tests may
have been research "intended primarily for torturing prisoners," or the
tests may have been conducted to determine safety or shielding standards for
military personnel or weapons.

The medical research also appeared useful for China's military in making
sure that EMP weapons used against Taiwan and "any vulnerable U.S. [aircraft
carrier] would not push the U.S. across the nuclear-response threshold," the
report said.

"China's [high-altitude] EMP capability could be used in two different ways:
as a surprise measure after China's initial strike against Taiwan and other
U.S. [aircraft carrier strike group] assets have moved into a vulnerable
position, and as a bluff intended to dissuade the United States from
defending Taiwan with a CVBG," the Pentagon acronym for carrier strike
groups.

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