BEIJING (Reuters) - China has bolstered its Olympic security effort by deploying a battery of surface-to-air missile launchers a kilometre south of the showpiece venues for the Beijing Games.
At least two camouflaged Hongqi 7 missile launchers werevisible from a public road close to the stadium built for the1990 Asian Games, which is just across the city's fourth ringroad from the Bird's Nest arena and Water Cube aquatics centre.
Radar dishes and other military vehicles along withuniformed air force personnel were also visible through a fenceon which was posted a notice reading "Military AdministrativeDistrict, No Admittance".
Aircraft are almost never seen in the skies above centralBeijing, which is restricted airspace. Olympic broadcasters,however, will be allowed to use helicopters to cover the August8-24 Games.
Greece installed dozens of Patriot anti-aircraft missilesaround Athens six weeks before the 2004 Olympics, the firstSummer Games after the September 2001 terrorist attacks on theUnited States.
The U.S.-made missiles were part of a huge securityoperation with a significant NATO contribution that cost anunprecedented $1.8 billion (915.6 million pounds).
China has said it hopes to secure the Games for less than athird of the Athens bill by using its own armed forces.
It regards terrorism as the biggest threat and claims tohave foiled bomb plots and plans to kidnap athletes bymilitants from the far-Western region of Xinjiang.
Beijing said last week that a special 100,000-strongsecurity force, including the elite Snow Wolf Commando Unit,was already on alert for terrorists.
Rights groups accuse China of using the potential terroristthreat as an excuse to suppress internal dissent.
(Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
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