The signaling problem in China's anti-ship ballistic missiles

What are the main problems with China's anti-access and anti-ship ballistic-missile approach?

Beyond targeting, launch ambiguity can cause catastrophic escalation if an anti-ship missile is mistaken for a strategic strike.

A ballistic missile's mission may remain unclear early in flight, creating a risk that a conventional anti-ship attack is interpreted as a strategic land attack. The feared consequence is a nuclear response before the launcher can explain its intended target. Distinctive transporter-erector-launchers are described as an effort to identify the maritime weapons clearly. A later strategic launcher derived from the same vehicle family would weaken that visual distinction. The discussion treats this signaling problem as a separate difficulty alongside finding and targeting ships at sea.