14 DAY TRIAL // Officials with the Chinese Ministry of National Defense told the China Daily on January 15 that rumors circulating in international media about the Asian nation's latest ultrahigh-speed missile test flight are greatly exaggerated. Many media outlets argued over the past couple of days that China is trying to develop a method of penetrating North American missile defense systems.
The fact that China conducted an experiment in hypersonic (speeds beyond Mach 5) travel is nothing new. The United States has been developing the Hypersonic Test Vehicle (HTV) for several years, which will soon be able to reach any destination on Earth within an hour.
“It is normal for China to conduct scientific experiments within its borders according to its plans. The tests were not aimed at any nation nor any specific target,” the ministry told the newspaper in a statement on Wednesday.
Fan Jishe, who is an expert on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said for the paper that Western media is so worried about China's new hypersonic project on account of the massive lack of mutual strategic trust that exists between the two world powers.
Jishe added that China had over the past few years been fairly transparent with its high-tech projects, a move that should have bolstered strategic trust between the Asian nation and the United States, but did not. I think this is largely due to the extreme levels of paranoia that characterize Washington today.