China’s Rocket Force is ending the dominance of U.S. aircraft carriers and that is shifting the balance of power in Asia.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping has elevated the country’s missiles forces to a point where many rockets in Beijing’s arsenal now rival or outperform those of the United States.

Many of these missiles are specifically designed to attack the aircraft carriers and forward bases that form the backbone of U.S. military dominance in Asia.

For decades, this U.S. presence in the region has protected allies, including Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

Now, Xi Jinping is challenging American ascendancy.

He has described these missile forces as “a strategic buttress” to his country’s position as a major power and he’s elevated the standing and prestige of the PLA rocket force, the elite unit responsible for China’s conventional and nuclear missiles.

So how did this dramatic shift happen?

While the Pentagon was distracted by almost two decades of costly war in the Middle East and Afghanistan, China exploited budget increases and rapid technical advances to develop and deploy an arsenal of advanced missiles.

It also seized a virtual monopoly in one class of conventional missiles: land-based, intermediate-range ballistic and cruise missiles.

The United States and Russia are banned from developing this class of missiles under a Cold War-era treaty.

China isn’t party to that treaty and has developed these missiles in massive numbers.

President Donald Trump is now clearing the way for the United States to compete on this front.

On February 1, he announced that America would withdraw from the treaty in six months.

But China’s advantage is likely to remain for the foreseeable future as the U.S. plays catch-up.

Former PLA officers in Beijing say China’s enhanced missile arsenal is what will keep American forces from getting too close to Chinese shores.

Military analysts say that sends a clear message: China now has the capacity to resist moves by the U.S. as it expands control over the South China Sea and intensifies naval and air sorties around Taiwan and in its disputes with Japan.

The capabilities of the Chinese missile fleet are yet to be tested in battle but current and former U.S. military officials say they are convinced from close monitoring of China’s numerous test firings, that its missiles are a genuine threat.

This missile gap is a potential game changer.

Some powerful Chinese anti-ship missiles now far outrange the strike aircraft deployed on U.S. carriers, which for decades have ruled the waves.