Beijing Considers Upgrades To Navy

[USS ALASKA]

Wall Street Journal
December 24, 2008
Pg. 4

Beijing Considers Upgrades To Navy

By Shai Oster

BEIJING -- China's top military spokesman said it is seriously considering adding a first aircraft carrier to its navy fleet, a fresh indication of the country's growing military profile as it prepares for its first major naval deployment abroad.

At a rare news conference Tuesday, Chinese defense-ministry officials played down the importance of Beijing's decision to send warships to the Gulf of Aden to curb piracy -- China's first such deployment in modern history -- saying it doesn't represent a shift in defense policy. The two destroyers and supply ship are to depart Friday for the Middle East.

But officials also made clear that China's navy, which has been investing heavily in ships and aircraft, now has the capability to conduct complex operations far from its coastal waters -- and that Beijing is continuing to expand its reach and capability, perhaps with a carrier.

It's unclear what parts of an aircraft carrier China would build itself and what parts it might need to acquire from abroad. China has bought carriers before, but none ended up in the country's fleet.

In some of the most direct public statements on current thinking behind Beijing's naval policy, defense military spokesman Col. Huang Xueping said Tuesday that "China has vast oceans and it is the sovereign responsibility of China's armed forces to ensure the country's maritime security and uphold the sovereignty of its costal waters as well as its maritime rights and interests."

Col. Huang said China is "seriously considering" adding an aircraft carrier to its fleet, as "the aircraft carrier is a symbol of a country's overall national strength, as well as the competitiveness of the country's naval force."

China has stepped up spending on its navy and the rest of its armed forces in an effort to modernize and strengthen them. Much of the defense push has been driven by China's increasingly global commercial interests. Its economy depends on trade and imported oil and raw materials.

China says its ships in the Gulf of Aden will operate under United Nations rules of engagement, including a U.N. policy on when to engage pirates.

"We are sending our naval force as part of international cooperation, according to a specific situation," Capt. Ma Luping, director of the navy bureau of China's general staff, said at the news conference. However, China doesn't plan to "always send the navy whenever there is the loss of Chinese personnel or Chinese property," he said.

The new mission includes protecting deliveries of humanitarian aid to Somalia. China will cooperate with other navies and commercial ships operating in the area, Capt. Ma said.

Since Aug. 15, countries have dispatched warships and planes to participate in antipiracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean waters of Somalia. But international forces have been stretched too thin to effectively curb the increasingly daring and sophisticated pirates.

Col. Huang's comments on the possibility of adding a carrier indicate renewed interest in an idea whose popularity has waxed and waned in Chinese defense circles for decades.

In 1985, China purchased a decommissioned carrier from Australia. It was scrapped after Chinese technicians studied the ship, but a replica of the flight deck was built for pilot training. China later acquired three former Soviet carriers. Two have been turned into floating military theme parks, while the Pentagon says the third -- unfinished when purchased -- has undergone work; it remains unclear what China plans to do with it.

Carrier operations are extremely complex. Building the hull of an aircraft carrier is relatively easy. Learning to integrate air and surface operations, training air wings, and developing the sophisticated systems required for modern naval aviation could take years. U.S. government and independent analysts say it could be 2015 or 2020 before China could be ready to deploy an operational carrier.

--Gordon Fairclough in Shanghai contributed to this article.
=========================
New York Times
December 24, 2008
Pg. 8

China Signals More Interest In Building Aircraft Carrier

By Edward Wong

BEIJING — In the clearest indication yet that China could soon begin building its first aircraft carrier, a Defense Ministry spokesman said Tuesday that the country was seriously considering “relevant issues” in making its decision about whether to move ahead with the project, according to Xinhua, the state news agency.

The spokesman, Huang Xueping, said at a news conference in Beijing that aircraft carriers were “a reflection of a nation’s comprehensive power,” indicating that Chinese government officials saw value in adding a carrier to the country’s fleet. Mr. Huang said that China would use any aircraft carrier built in the future to safeguard its shores and defend “sovereignty over coastal areas and territorial seas,” Xinhua reported.

If China does decide to build the carrier, it will no doubt increase tensions with the United States, Taiwan and Japan, among other governments. China has been expanding its navy at a fast pace. The government has built at least 60 warships since 2000, and its fleet of 860 vessels includes about 60 submarines.

Last month, a senior Chinese military official hinted in an interview with The Financial Times that China would like to build an aircraft carrier. The official, Maj. Gen. Quan Lihua, said having a carrier was the dream of any great military power and suggested that the United States had nothing to fear if China did build a carrier.

The United States has 11 aircraft carriers, but only a handful of other nations — including Britain, France, Italy and Russia — have carriers, and of those, none have more than a few.

The Ministry of National Defense had called the news conference on Tuesday to give details about the deployment of Chinese naval ships off the coast of Somalia, where an increase in piracy has made the shipping lanes the most dangerous in the world. Three Chinese ships are scheduled to head to the area on Friday.

The buildup of the Chinese military could change the balance of power across the Taiwan Strait. The Communist Party views Taiwan as a rebel province that must be reunited with the mainland, by force if necessary. But the United States government has said it may come to Taiwan’s defense in the event of hostilities with China.

In October, the Pentagon announced the sale of $6 billion of advanced weapons to Taiwan, a move that prompted criticism from China. The United States regularly sells arms to Taiwan, and China has long denounced the sales.
_________________

[Karl Heidenreich]

Munich, 1938...

[José M. Rico]

NO, please Karl. Don't start again!

[RF]

Karl is right to an extent. Taiwan's interests are relevent, like Israel Taiwan has a right to exist as an independent nation.

[Bill]

nothing new here

anyway, Sanya base is almost ready to receive the Carrier Zhilong, former Variag

and what about such news, china Carrier, ???? thailande, Japan, Korea, Spain, Italy, France or US have the right to get a carrier, but not China
Ah yeah, right, them are communist and them's duty for the world is only to spend monnay for save the US treasure bund and for support the world economic collapse

anyway, If you want to badly save Taiwan from the dragon, maybe you will be abble to explain me why nobody's want sales them submarines or latest missiles
Maybe because
1- you affraid China not happy
2- you affraid that Taiwan forward the models or the draw to China
For memory, Taiwan is the first "foreigner " investissor in china, US the second, closely with Japan

I don't know if China's carrier is good or bad news at the end of the day. I just consider is reasonnable them want one, and I don't believe them's strategie against one USN CVN is base on such carrier.

[USS ALASKA]

Los Angeles Times
September 30, 2009
Pg. B1

China To Parade Its New And Improved Arsenal

The display highlights the nation's progress, self-sufficiency

By David Pierson

BEIJING -- For the first time in a decade, Beijing on Thursday will showcase its latest armored vehicles, ballistic missiles and fighter jets in a demonstration of military ambition meant to befit the nation's economic rise.

The display of hardware -- part of the government's 60th anniversary celebrations -- will no doubt stoke national pride. But it's also a chance for China to show an international audience that the world's third-largest economy is investing heavily in military technology, a strategic sector that Beijing believes will strengthen its regional security and global influence.

Expected to be on display is a new generation of missiles that could potentially strike American naval ships and pound Taiwanese soil from the Chinese mainland. It is the product of two decades of enhanced military spending aimed at overhauling a woefully inefficient and technologically challenged fighting force.

"They have been focusing on catching up in areas where the technological disparity has been the greatest, and cultivating pockets of excellence within" the People's Liberation Army, said David Yang, a political scientist at Rand Corp. "That said, the PLA is a massive, even ponderous, organization, and its professionalization and modernization will remain an arduous process for years."

With 2.3 million members, the Chinese army is the largest standing army in the world. Beijing has spent years trying to overcome the army's long-held image as a poorly equipped force consisting mostly of rural enlistees. The army lacks combat experience, having last engaged in a major conflict in 1979 with Vietnam.

Earlier this year, officials announced heavy recruitment of college graduates. More important, Beijing has increased military spending each year by double-digit percentages. China's official military budget was $70.3 billion this year, up sharply from $14.6 billion in 2000, according to Washington-based GlobalSecurity.org.

Chinese state media have trumpeted the fact that almost all the new weaponry to be unveiled at the parade was domestically produced, a major leap from the days when China was almost totally reliant upon the Soviet Union for sophisticated armaments. China's fighting capabilities were not nearly as advanced 10 years ago, the last time the country celebrated its national anniversary with a military parade.

"This year's display should signal a more balanced relationship between military might and economic development with the showing off of a range of new equipment that is at least one to two generations more advanced," said Tai Ming Cheung, a Chinese military expert at UC San Diego.

Regional powers including Japan, South Korea and India are undoubtedly paying attention. China's military policy traditionally has been focused on preventing Taiwan from achieving formal independence. But China has become an active weapons exporter, and watchdogs including Amnesty International have criticized it for supplying arms to countries with poor human rights records such as Sudan and Myanmar.

With its expansion onto the global stage, China feels more empowered to secure its borders and defend its shipping routes carrying oil supplies, analysts said. Beijing has also bristled at American surveillance activity off its coast, resulting in standoffs this year.

"A threat is really two parts: capability and intentions," said Mark Stokes, executive director of the Project 2049 Institute, which promotes international security. "We're learning about China's capability. Intentions are not clear at this point."

Chinese military officials have sought to downplay suggestions that the country is engaging in saber rattling by parading its military arsenal.

"A country's military ability is not a threat to anyone. What is important is its military policy," Gen. Gao Jianguo said.

Part of that growing ability to be showcased will be the Dong Hai 10 cruise missile, a land attack weapon; the Dong Feng 31, an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting Washington with a nuclear warhead; and the Dong Feng 21, designed in part to be able to knock out U.S. ships defending Taiwan.

In total, 108 missiles are scheduled to roll past the rostrum at Tiananmen Square during the 66-minute parade. They will be complemented by 5,000 soldiers and 150 aircraft, including an "early warning and control" aircraft to detect enemy planes, as well as China's latest-generation J-10 fighter jets.

The technology has proved to be a moneymaker, leading some observers to believe the showcase involves an element of marketing. China sold $264 million worth of its military aircraft last year to allies such as Pakistan, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

China was the world's ninth-largest arms exporter last year, with $468 million in sales, according to the institute. That pales in comparison with the $6.1 billion sold by the U.S. in 2008. China's sales could be higher, however, because of unreported sales of arms and military technology.

Over the summer, residents of Beijing were given a preview of this week's parade. Streets were periodically shut down and some pockets of airspace temporarily closed to commercial aircraft to allow tanks, planes and helicopters to rehearse.

On a recent weekday, Zhuang Yu, a 21-year-old tourist from Shaanxi province, was watching video of past military parades at a Chinese Communist Party memorabilia store located at the entrance of a public toilet at the southwest end of Tiananmen Square.

"The news of this year's parade makes you feel like the country is becoming stronger," she said. "Maybe foreigners get nervous when they see so many soldiers and tanks. But I think it makes most Chinese feel safer."

Tommy Yang in The Times' Beijing bureau contributed to this report.

[Bill]

just a thing

since 8 years I stay In China,I NEVER see any armed policement, and only once see a rifle, it was on the front of a army place, the guardians

but I see
SU27
Su33
J-6
J-5
helicopters ZH- 6 Zh-9 Mi -8
one bomber looks like a Vulcan because I stay on a bus drive on a Higway near a airdrom

some trucks sometimes, including a ELINT group (on highway)

ah yes, I see many luxury 4x4 car, painting in green (flashing)

after that... well, you know China buy Hummer

[Bgile]

Oh, the rifles are nearby. And the tanks. Everyone saw lots of those one day in 1989.

[USS ALASKA]

South China Morning Post
October 1, 2009
Pg. 6

Army May Shrink To Release Resources For Navy And Air Force

By Reuters, in Beijing

As China celebrates the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic today with a massive military parade, Beijing plans to cut back its vast army to allocate more resources to the navy and air force, sources with ties to the People’s Liberation Army said.

Beijing aims to cut its army by 700,000 troops over two to three years as part of its drive to modernise the world’s biggest military into a leaner, high-tech force, the two sources said.

The PLA also plans to boost navy and air force personnel over that time, the sources said. Both requested anonymity to avoid repercussions for speaking to foreign reporters without authorisation. Xu Guangyu, a former PLA officer now at the governmentbacked China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, said he had not heard of the 700,000 figure but was sure cuts were coming.

“After several years there will have to be more reductions so we can continue improving weapons and creating crack troops,” Xu said. “The land forces will remain dominant, but the navy and air force will rise as a proportion of the PLA.”

China watchers are monitoring international deployments for signs of China’s rising global status translating into a more assertive foreign presence. Chinese warships steamed to waters off Somalia in December to help in anti-piracy patrols.

Recently, Chinese vessels have become involved in jostling with US surveillance vessels.

And Beijing has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its rule.

Increased Chinese military activity around a series of disputed atolls and rocks in the South China Sea has worried Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines, which have their own territorial claims. Japan urged China this week to cut its nuclear arsenal, illustrating its wariness.

The cuts to land forces and additions to the other arms of the military would mean that PLA troop numbers shrink from 2.3 million, but the final tally is unclear.

Beijing has cut troop numbers in recent years to make more money available for better training and conditions and more advanced weapons. The navy is considering building an aircraft carrier.

Neither source was sure when the planned reduction would be announced. It needs the approval of the Communist Party’s Central Military Commission, which is headed by President Hu Jintao. One of the sources said Beijing planned to retire and replace aged aircraft over the next three to five years. The streamlining will also involve hiving off military hospital personnel and performing troupes, the sources said.

Xu said that under Beijing’s longterm plan for military modernisation, reductions could happen gradually over the coming decade. “Costs are rising, so we have to keep military spending in line with budgetary capacity,” he said.

China’s armed forces are far bigger than the world’s second-most numerous military, that of the United States, whose forces number about 1.5 million.

Today will be marked by a huge show of military force along Changan – meaning “eternal peace” – Avenue, which is expected to feature an array of new and improved weaponry.

Hu has made the navy’s modernisation his personal project, but it has far from erased a technological gap with the US and other big powers. The PLA Navy has about 290,000 personnel, many on aged vessels.

China has become increasingly vocal about its ambition to become a deep-water power, concluding it must master the logistical and technological demands of a navy.

The air force has about 400,000 personnel and 2,000 combat aircraft.

[Bill]

yeah, in Tien an men 1989, the blood was washing by the firemen, because it was to much everywhere, rumors said

shortly after that, China start attire foreign investissor, and lead until the actual situation, with economical jump and confort, higway everywhere, airport with lowcost flight, and increasing fast train line
them do in this way, because, obviously, the perestroika was a disaster for Russia, and them don't want do the same mistake
if you not agree, I support you boycot made-in-china product

if them can stop split and produce less noise, I will be very happy

[USS ALASKA]

Taiwan News
October 1, 2009
Pg. 1

Taiwan Must Adapt Defense Against China: U.S. Official

By Bloomberg News

Taiwan's military must field more mobile weapon systems and incorporate deception into its war plans to counter China's advantages, according to a top Pentagon official.

China's rapid economic growth and military modernization mean "Taiwan will never again have the luxury of relying on quantitative advantages," Wallace Gregson, assistant defense secretary for Asian and Pacific security, said in the text of a speech he delivered yesterday to the U.S.-Taiwan Business Council in Charlottesville, Virginia.

His speech was closed to the public, and the Defense Department released the text today.

"Taiwan cannot outspend the People's Republic of China," Gregson said. "Instead, Taiwan must look to its qualitative advantage through focusing on innovation and asymmetry," he said. "True and lasting security cannot be achieved simply by purchasing the next gleaming piece of advanced hardware."

Taiwan needs to develop its officer corps for implementing its new all-volunteer force, "one of the most obvious areas where a focus on quality versus quantity will pay dividends for defense capabilities," Gregson said. The country also should use more computerized training simulations to compensate for geographic limits on field exercises, he said.

Gregson didn't single out any specific weapons system or disclose any future sale. He suggested that fielding "maneuverable weapons and making use of deception and camouflage will allow Taiwan to marginalize China's ability to target its defenses."

"I can assure you this administration will not waver in its commitment to provide those defense articles and services necessary for Taiwan's self-defense," Gregson said.

President Ma Ying-jeou said during his 2008 campaign he would press for U.S. approval to buy F-16 C/D fighter jets from Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed Martin Corp.

The Obama administration has made no formal statement on the matter.

[Bill]

Great....

will now US sales Submarines and SM3 Plus AEGIS to Taiwan ???

[USS ALASKA]

Financial Times
October 2, 2009

Poor Sino-US Links Are A Risk, Says Admiral

By Tom Mitchell and Demetri Sevastopulo

The senior US military -commander for the Pacific yesterday warned that persistent poor communications between the Chinese and US militaries increased the risk that occasional friction between their two navies could escalate into more serious incidents.

Admiral Timothy Keating, who assumed his position in March 2007, said he still did not have direct phone contacts for his -counterparts in China's People's Liberation Army, increasing the potential for misunderstanding and even conflict.

He said the only time he tended to speak to them was in dealing with disaster relief and humanitarian assistance.

"I don't know that I'd be able to get hold of [them] in the same fashion in a very timely manner if there was some conflict [we] could perhaps address and forestall unpleasantries that might follow," Admiral Keating, who is approaching the end of his 42-year military career, told the Financial Times.

"I don't have their [senior Chinese military officials'] phone number. I can't pick up the phone and wish them happy birthday. I don't mean to be glib about it . . . [But] we don't enjoy the sort of communication that I have with almost every other military leader in Asia."

Admiral Keating was speaking from his headquarters in Hawaii, just before celebrations in Beijing to mark the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

While the US remains the dominant military power in the Pacific, it faces an increasingly assertive PLA navy, especially in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait. The 110-mile strait separates China and Taiwan, the self-governed island which Beijing claims as its own.

The US and China recently resumed an official military dialogue, which Beijing suspended last year after the George W. Bush administration announced arm sales to Taiwan.

The admiral welcomed a recent warming in cross-strait relations after the election of Ma Ying-jeou as Taiwan's president last year, but warned that he had yet to see any relaxation of China's military deployments in the area.

"The Chinese have not made dramatic reductions in their military posture on their side of the strait," he said.

"It has remained an issue for us that we watch carefully. We applaud the decline in tension and hope for more."

Taiwan's premier yesterday reinforced the need for his country's efforts towards more peaceful ties with Beijing to be backed by a strong defence.

"Taiwan needs to ensure it has strong defence [against China], so it is necessary to continue to procure weapons to achieve that goal," Wu Den-yih said. "The mainland also has to acknowledge the fact that the two sides are governed separately to allow bilateral ties to progress peacefully."

The most serious recent Sino-US military encounter occurred in April 2001, when a Chinese fighter jet collided with a US navy surveillance aircraft over the South China Sea. More recently, Chinese ships harassed a navy surveillance vessel, the USNS Impeccable, in waters off Hainan in March.

"Whether we do [reduce surveillance activities] or not will be our decision . . [and] not due to any pressure from China," said Admiral Keating."

================================================================================

Sydney Morning Herald
October 2, 2009

China Sets Its Sights On US Navy, Admiral Warns

By Peter Hartcher, International Editor

AS CHINA celebrated 60 years of communist rule with a parade of military hardware, a senior US commander expressed concern that it was shaping to challenge the US militarily.

The commander of the Seventh Fleet, Vice-Admiral John Bird, said in Sydney yesterday that China's naval capability "has grown much faster than any of our predictions''.

Of China's new capabilities, "many are intended to counter a navy such as the US Navy," with weapons systems "targeted to our carriers and larger ships."

He suggested that China aimed ultimately to displace the US in the Pacific: "I think the Chinese would like to see less of the Seventh Fleet in this part of the world.

"I think their track record is pretty clear - the Chinese will continue to expand their maritime area of operations further in the future," he told reporters aboard his command vessel, the USS Blue Ridge.

And with at least four US Navy vessels steaming to provide help after this week's earthquakes, Admiral Bird said that "it would be good to see the Chinese deploying some of their strength in disaster relief". He pointed out that China had not offered any such help after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

The purpose of the Chinese build-up was clouded: "Their intentions are unclear. I would like to see more transparency."

Admiral Bird commands two aircraft carriers, a flotilla of about 50 other vessels, 200 aircraft and 40,000 personnel.

He said the incident in March where Chinese vessels had jostled a US ship in the South China Sea had been followed by other, lesser incidents but had not been repeated with the same intensity.

"I would like to believe China learnt from that but, to be truthful, at any time they could do that again … They have made it clear they consider the South China Sea to be more or less theirs."

Admiral Bird said China's progress in developing an anti-ship ballistic missile could force the US to adapt: "Challenged with that threat you might adjust your approach, but that's a far cry from making carriers obsolete."

And China's capability, without yet any operating aircraft carriers, remained "a far cry" from America's 11 nuclear-powered carriers, he said.

==================================================================================================

South China Morning Post
October 2, 2009
Pg. 6

PLA Shows Off Slimmer, Hi-Tech Fighting Force

By Minnie Chan

Beijing unveiled a slimmer but, it says, more capable fighting force yesterday – an indication of the future direction of the world’s largest army.

More than 8,000 soldiers marched on foot and rode in armed vehicles on Changan Avenue in front of current and former state leaders and foreign dignitaries, while 12 air echelons flew overhead. The number of soldiers was 2,000 fewer than took part in the parade in 1999, but the number of mechanised phalanxes and air echelons was noticeably higher.

Observers of the army say the new display is in line with the development strategy of the People’s Liberation Army as it seeks to become a sleek, modern and diversified force capable of rapid deployment and long-distance projection.

“Today’s parade showed us that the PLA has turned into an efficient modern army after nearly two decades,” said Professor Alexander Huang Chieh-cheng, from the Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University in Taipei. “It was a very comprehensive parade as it covered every aspect, from the smartly cut new military uniforms to the weapons systems they presented. Even the armed police and logistics units are completely re-equipped.”

In the past two decades, the PLA has abandoned the Maoist war approach that relied on sheer troop numbers and turned to mobility, technology and training.

Another PLA watcher pointed out that while yesterday’s military parade was impressive, it could not be used to gauge the military’s real strength. The mainland had held back some of its most advanced weapons, such as the JuLang 2 submarine-launched ballistic missile and the Zhi-10 armed helicopters.

“We can make no conclusions about the tactical abilities of the troops or the capabilities of the equipment,” Dennis Blasko, a former US military attaché to China, said. “The fact that nothing broke down en route and all marchers completed the parade is admirable, but does not speak of tactical capabilities.”

The variety of weapons platforms featured in the parade did show that the PLA is now more capable of conducting a co-ordinated operation.

New weapons such as the KJ-2000 early warning aircraft, long-distance cruise missiles, unmanned reconnaissance aircraft and the new generation of jet fighters mean the PLA now has greater power projection than 10 years ago. Most of these weapons systems are domestic designs.

“We also saw modern logistical and engineering equipment in the parade. It means the PLA’s mobility has improved a lot,” Huang said.

Andrei Chang, editor-in-chief of the Canadian-based Kanwa Defence Review, said it was impossible for outsiders to know whether the PLA had shown its full capabilities. “But the 52 types of weapons systems [showcased in the parade] prove its military strength is superior to those of the surrounding countries. It tells us that as a global power, Beijing is more capable of safeguarding its ‘interest frontier’ around the world.

Professor Ni Lexiong, a Shanghai-based PLA specialist at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, agreed that the PLA had not revealed its full arsenal.

“ The PLA would keep its most powerful weapons in the dark,” Ni said.

He said one of the objectives of the parade was to deter the “three forces” of separatism, terrorism and extremism at home and abroad.

“I think the challenge of the three forces in Xinjiang and Tibet is the biggest headache for Beijing,” Ni said. “Territorial disputes come only second.”

[RF]

Note while Tibet may be a ''headache'' for the Chinese it is not in itself the source of any military threat.

Any concentrated arms build up would be designed against Taiwan and to counter balance the US in that region.

[Bill]

to counter Balance US power, yeah, for sure

anyway, recent history show that US easily attacks unarmed and unequiped (or at least supposed unarmed) country, example, Irak, Viet Nam
and is not the reasonable advice give by United nation will stop them, evens if some reasonnable (for once ) president like the French Jacque Chirac and the Russian Poutine Vetoed the UN support

then, if you are a more or less developped country (such as Iran or China) you will put monney on weapons. because, for sure, if you haven't, then the cow-boy may to come with them camel cigarettes, the horse, the colt and no more brain than a cow

Agains Taiwan ???
but is allready a part of china