Read this:
The analysis and the simulation results suggest that China has in place an operational ASBM system that can identify, locate, track and destroy an Aircraft Carrier in the Pacific Ocean
http://isssp.in/tag/china-asbm-capabilities/
Again, it does not say it's ability to track real time.
In fact, at the same article, it said
Yaogan 23, Yaogan 10, Yaogan 18, Yaogan 14 and Yaogan 21 are the current operational satellites carrying a SAR sensor. With Local times of crossing of 02 00, 06 00, 10 00, 14 00 hours and 1730 hours, they provide all weather as well as day and night imaging capabilities over the regions of interest.
and
Assuming that any three of the ELINT clusters are operational at any given point in time the ELINT satellites typically make 18 contacts in a day with the moving target. The maximum period for which the target remains outside the reach of the ELINT satellites is about 90 minutes in a day.
it suggested the satellite is not covering the area between 2130 - 0200 at 4 hours interval, so how are you going to track an target "in real time" when your coverage itself have time gap?
It suggest that they can identify, locate, track and destroy, it does not mean this is what they could actually do.
I have yet to see any evidence suggest the Chinese can track an target in real time using SAR or any other apparatus, and by definition, if you cannot track an item in real time, YOU CANNOT GUIDE THE MISSILE ON TARGET.
I can say my machine gun can have the ability to have a MOA of 1.0 and 100% hit rate, does that mean they do hit target 100% all the time? it can, statistically possible to have a 100% accuracy in an event if I shoot 100 rounds and all 100 rounds hit the target, does that mean my machine gun can achieve 100% accuracy?
I know English may not be your first language, but still...
The MAD doctrine with it's rationale is embraced by both USA and China.
The MAD rationale is something you dont understand here.
No, you don't understand, you just think it is like that, the reality tho, is nothing like it.
MAD is not the final effort (which you have suggested) it is the first weapon you use, so no one would have fire the missile at the first place.
Exactly!
That is the reason with MAD doctrine, to give deterance to enemy so that they wont recklesly launch / attack with nuclear; with that deterance both USA or China will be carefully and would think twice on using nuclear warhead. Thats the reason why China should not use nuclear to attack Guam nor USA to suddenly retaliate with nuclear for conventional attack.
MAD means Mutually Assured Destruction, means that you have to ensure the enemy is in total destruction as we are also in the same destruction. To do MAD, you will need do salvo with many nuclear ICBM at once, not by single or several regional missile. MAD is embraced by nuclear superpower like USA, China, Rusia. If you attack USA/China/Rusia with nuclear, ensure that you attack with salvo, not by single or double to ensure destruction.
If I am China and you ask this question, my answer is clear: if USA attack me, I will use any conventional weapon to defeat US, including anti access weapon such as DF-21 or DF-26 to sink US carriers.
I know US wont be that reckless to retaliate non nuclear attack with nuclear attack on China/Rusia.
I would know that US know the attacking Guam with DF-26 will not send any signal of Nuclear attack on US, why? because both China and US embrace the same MAD doctrine.
In MAD doctrine, if you want to attack your enemy with nuclear, you wont attack with single nuclear attack but will salvo them with hundreds of nuclear missile to assure that your enemy is really destructed and paralyzed at all so that they wont have any chance to occupy us as we are also has been destructed as well.
So if China intend to attack USA with nuclear, she will send hundreds of ICBM at the same time heading to Nevada, California, New York, Miami, Philladelphia, Boston and other hundred locations in US soil. From here US can determine that those hundred of missile heading to US soil as a gesture of Nuclear War, and will instantly retaliate by also sending hundreds minutemans at the same time to Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzen, and other hundred location in China.
China will be stupid if she start nuclear war only by sending single or 2 ICBM to Guam, and later on get totally destructed by salvo of hundreds of USA' ICBM.
This is not guessing, this is the rationale behind the MAD Doctrine that you dont understand yet.
Sending 1 or 2 DF-26 to Guam will be a clear sign that China IS not starting nuclear war with USA (according to MAD doctrine), therefore USA doesn't need in such a hurry retaliate with nuclear attack.
But sending hundreds of ICBM headed to US mainland at once will be read as sign that China has just started nuclear war with USA, then USA will abruptly retaliate with hundreds of minuteman or sort of.
If I were China i dont wont risk having nuclear war with US, but I dont wont risk myself attacked, defeated, and occupied by US either. So the best way to self defend against US attack is not by nuclear weapon, but by conventional weapon that is effective enough against USA where DF-21 or DF-26 are among consideration.
And I know US as advanced and civilized country wont be that reckless use nuclear against China, therefore sending several DF-26 not headed to US soil wont give any sign to US as nuclear attack (according to MAD doctrine, that is embraced by US either).
I hope you start to understand from here
Nope. It is you who doesn't understand how ballistic missile work that wrong here.
We can know where the missile is heading to and estimate where it will fall terminally from its ballistic trajectory that is shaped enough during the midcourse.
This is what you want to believe, what make you think sending 1 missile will not be nuclear? Do remember in WW2, the B-29 were send alone on its mission, they drop a single bomb and exfil the area. Sending 1 missile and sending 100 missile in effect is the same, the purpose is IT COULD STILL BE NUCLEAR.
How about I send 1 missile today, 1 missile tomorrow, then 1 missile a day after tomorrow and do so in 10 days? Will you think, Oh, they are all should be conventional warhead, so It should not bother me? What you don't understand is that, even for a single missile, it would bother the US nuclear defence, it can never be a clear sign for anything, as you know what 1 nuclear missile can do if they were fired tactically? At best it will killed hundred of thousand of people, at worse, it will destroy the whole chain of command if you hit it at the right spot.
Again, what you think of is a pre-set scenario for China and try to guess what the US is going to do knowing what you have in China, however, in reality, for the American, it does not matter what you think, it matter is what they know, and as long as they don't know if that is a nuclear missile or conventional missile, telling the US government to sit on it is stupid, hence your point is invalid in this case. you are thinking of something you know before hand, against an action one would take if he know nothing on the situation. Then you further entrenched your through by giving out a hypothetical scenario.
That is what you don't understand.
The Principal of MAD in the US case is this, we will follow thru MAD to ensure NO MISSILE will EVER be launch, it's not about recklessness, or anything else, but about deterrence itself. If I go back on my word and wait for it, then it basically said everyone can fire missile on US and wait for it to see if they are nuclear. That make sense,
ONLY IF YOU KNOW BEFORE HAND WHAT KIND OF BALLISTIC MISSILE YOU FIRED.
In a way, if I allow everyone just to lob missile at me and I will just sit and wait for the real one, Where is the deterrence?
Again, you keep saying this is not the case, and that is not the case, but the important thing for the US is, They don't know whether or not is it the case, you may think "If I want to nuke you, I would fire 300 missile to Washington, NY or whatever" So it does not make sense to just launch one. But for the American, how do they know what you are up to? All they know is that you fire a nuclear tipped missile, they don't care if they have training warhead, conventional warhead in it, for them they have to expect the worse case scenario. Simply, they don't know, all they know is this, even 1 nuclear missile will deal a great lot of damage to C&C and troop deposition, And you are firing 1 missile that are nuclear capable.
and if you do not want to get to this stage, then don't use a ballistic missile, if you use it, you will have to take the consequence, and that is what deterrence mean.
You can still believe US won't do that, I am not gonna stop you, but people high up in PLA knows this WILL BE THE CASE, even the Russian know, that is the only reason why we and the Russian never develop ASBM, we have ASBM test in 1970s, this, the risk of triggering a MAD is the reason why we abandon the ASBM program. Or you really think ASBM is something so advance that only China can make? lol
I am not going to discuss whether or not US will launch nuclear missile at China with you anymore, you can believe what you want, but in the end, you have no power to alter whatever US may or may not do, hence making this discussion pointless. You would still be saying it won't happen when US start lobbing Nuke at China in this case. Because you are trying to dictate what US should do, where you neither know what's going on in US, nor have any power to change it.