I believe XM is referring to the following:
Washington Times - Admiral pursues Chinese answers, ties
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"We are concerned about development of long-range cruise and ballistic missiles. We're concerned about anti-satellite technology, execution thereof. We're concerned about area-denial weapons," Adm. Timothy Keating told reporters.
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Area-denial arms are what the Pentagon calls weapons used to attack U.S. aircraft carriers and ships. They include ballistic and cruise missiles with precision-guided warheads for strikes against carriers and other warships that would defend Taiwan in any conflict, the Pentagon has said.
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Area denial arms are there. As to the capability and effectiveness, nobody knows until tested in real conflicts, which I'm sure will be bad enough for everyone...
As a defence professional my colleagues and I think its a complete joke from the technical standpoint. I would advise you to visit the "defence talk" forum where we had a lengthy discussion about the technical merits of these "area denial" strategies especially that Idiot mxiong's vaunted AshBMs. That said, AD strategies can refer to almost anything-I can park a single SSK off the coast, that too is "area denial".