IMO, missiles are the way to go for future conflicts.
China's missiles don't only depend on 1 source for info, they have multiple, sources (even satellite), and these work all at the same time to provide a net of info. but yeah, the best method to deflect a missile would probably be to jamm it, but it is extremely difficult tho., and considering the "small" size of an Aircraft carrier, or destroyer, if i were on the opposing ship, i wouldn't feel too safe even if i got the missile off course by 1 or 2 degrees in the final terminal stage.
shooting down a screeching missile is even worse. picture this - Boy A and Boy B are playing in the park, they have a game where Boy A throws a stone and boy B tries to hit it whilst it is in mid air.
u get my point?
the fact remains - fast moving objects (especially the size of asm/cruise m.) are hard to hit whilst in incoming flight.
i mean look at gulfwar 2, Iraq fired some scuds and Us patriot got them - but at the cost of (sometimes) 4 missiles to down 1 Iraqi scud. i mean c'mon, scuds really ARTILLERY WITH A ROCKET which move a pre-determined flight path.
when we talk about ASM, we're talking about these fast darting wasps, which are stealthy, accurate, and even able to change direction randomly (to fool intercepts).
ps: THE NEW GENERATION ASM/CRUISE M. ARE EVEN STEALTH!!!