054/A FFG Thread II

[A.Man]

I am eagerly awaiting for more pics from HP and HD to see if we can see some module action so we can establish how many launches we can expect year

19 are in the water and we could see 3 more units this year

asif, FYI only, rumors are flying around:

1) Chinese Navy will add one destroyer squadron or Zhedui to each fleet;

2) elevating the rank of squadron commander from Senior Captain to Rear Admiral;

3) expanding each squadrom from 4 destroyers with 4 frigates to 5 destroyers with 5 frigates;

4) besides 5 destroyer squadrons, each fleet will have 2 or more pratrol frigate squadrons, retiring all submarine chaser squadrons.

There are a lot of navy ships, for a long long time, for China to produce.

 

[Blackstone]

Hum, how close was the Zhonshan to the Diaoyu islands? Hopefully not too close, because grey hulls are more provocative than white ones.

 

[Rutim]

Hum, how close was the Zhonshan to the Diaoyu islands? Hopefully not too close, because grey hulls are more provocative than white ones.

As close as it was to Shanghai at the time.

 

[joshuatree]

Hum, how close was the Zhonshan to the Diaoyu islands? Hopefully not too close, because grey hulls are more provocative than white ones.

I fail to see what is provocative, alarming, or an ominous statement over a naval frigate being sent to rescue a ship in distress. Doesn't this happen all over the world? If the article is correct, the frigate sailed 3.5 hrs to get to the fishing boat in distress. Wikipedia estimates the type 054A at 27 knots. So that's about 94.5 nautical miles away, well within Chinese EEZ waters and nothing out of the norm having a patrol in their zone. I find that article to be a bit sloppy in reporting.

It arrived ahead of three Japanese coastguard patrol ships that responded to an earlier request by China for help,

Kyodo said the Japanese coastguard had sent three patrol ships and one jet to rescue the Chinese fishing crew after it received an SOS signal on Friday.

Which is it? China officially asking for assistance from the JCG or the JCG receiving an SOS signal? The latter sounds more plausible and really makes the issue mundane, another day of CG duty.

 

[siegecrossbow]

Hum, how close was the Zhonshan to the Diaoyu islands? Hopefully not too close, because grey hulls are more provocative than white ones.

I think the ship is called Zhoushan. You gave me a fright when you wrote Zhonshan since it is the name of a Republican era warship that was sunk during the Second Sino-Japanese War. I figured that if a ghost ship showed up that close to Diaoyu, it would've made news by now.

 

[Rutim]

I fail to see what is provocative, alarming, or an ominous statement over a naval frigate being sent to rescue a ship in distress. Doesn't this happen all over the world? If the article is correct, the frigate sailed 3.5 hrs to get to the fishing boat in distress. Wikipedia estimates the type 054A at 27 knots. So that's about 94.5 nautical miles away, well within Chinese EEZ waters and nothing out of the norm having a patrol in their zone. I find that article to be a bit sloppy in reporting.

It was well within Japan EEZ being 280 km NNW off Amaminoshima. Whether it was outside of joint fishery area made by China-Japan fishery agreements or not remains a mystery (probably it was off that area if you look on the maps).

Which is it? China officially asking for assistance from the JCG or the JCG receiving an SOS signal? The latter sounds more plausible and really makes the issue mundane, another day of CG duty.

It was Chinese 救難調整本部 (Rescue Cooridantion Center - RCC) asking Japanese CG to help. The report came in at 2:25 PM JST to the Japanese 10th Regional CG Headquaters. Japanese sent 2 cutters from 10th Regional CG, one cutter and aircraft from 11th to the rescue. Photos taken by Japanese aircraft confirmed the fire aboard Chinese ship has been put out. As a sail from Kagoshima to the point where Chinese ship was would take at least 7 hours (assuming that the squad was making 20 knots) at 9:25 PM Chinese crew reported to Japanese CG that '6 are dead (reported 'uncoscious' at the time of rescue appeal), 1 heavily injured,1 injured' and one of the injured crewman has been rescued by Chinese ship nearby. Japanese CG returned home being 'halfway' after that report assuming that situation has been under control. Sea condition was reported as pretty heavy at the time of accident.

 

[Blitzo]

It was well within Japan EEZ being 280 km NNW off Amaminoshima. Whether it was outside of joint fishery area made by China-Japan fishery agreements or not remains a mystery (probably it was off that area if you look on the maps).

Hmm regardless, the act itself wasn't anything that broke any precedents and certainly not any laws, so the SCMP article saying the rescue was a "statement" really is a tad overwrought, isn't it.

It's definitely a sign of the PLAN's readiness if one wants to see it that way, but it's hardly a "statement".

 

[Rutim]

Surely it wasn't inside of 20 miles of Japanese territory but Japanese fishermen went obviously 'no contact' with Chinese fishermen after what happened to the stabbed by Chinese fisherman Korean CG member in 2011.

 

[joshuatree]

It was well within Japan EEZ being 280 km NNW off Amaminoshima. Whether it was outside of joint fishery area made by China-Japan fishery agreements or not remains a mystery (probably it was off that area if you look on the maps).

So another roughly 90+ nautical miles W, NW, or SW of that position puts the frigate's original position within Chinese EEZ which is what I said. Again, what is alarming about a naval vessel operating within its limits and then responding to a distress call? Doesn't international law on the high seas call for any closest vessel to respond to a distress?

It was Chinese 救難調整本部 (Rescue Cooridantion Center - RCC) asking Japanese CG to help. The report came in at 2:25 PM JST to the Japanese 10th Regional CG Headquaters. Japanese sent 2 cutters from 10th Regional CG, one cutter and aircraft from 11th to the rescue. Photos taken by Japanese aircraft confirmed the fire aboard Chinese ship has been put out. As a sail from Kagoshima to the point where Chinese ship was would take at least 7 hours (assuming that the squad was making 20 knots) at 9:25 PM Chinese crew reported to Japanese CG that '6 are dead (reported 'uncoscious' at the time of rescue appeal), 1 heavily injured,1 injured' and one of the injured crewman has been rescued by Chinese ship nearby. Japanese CG returned home being 'halfway' after that report assuming that situation has been under control. Sea condition was reported as pretty heavy at the time of accident.

Thanks for the info, do you happen to have a link to that article and maybe even the picture?

Surely it wasn't inside of 20 miles of Japanese territory but Japanese fishermen went obviously 'no contact' with Chinese fishermen after what happened to the stabbed by Chinese fisherman Korean CG member in 2011.

They are entitled to their opinion but I don't see what that has to do with the non-issue at hand?

 

[Jeff Head]

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Swift action by PLA Navy - after Japanese had offered to assist burning Zhejiang fishing boat - seen as sign of its readiness in East China Sea

The missile frigate Zhoushan sailed at high speed for 3½ hours to reach the burning boat late on Friday, 280 kilometres west-northwest of Amami-Oshima in Kagoshima Prefecture.

It arrived ahead of three Japanese coastguard patrol ships that responded to an earlier request by China for help.

...

The Japanese coastguard had sent three patrol ships and one jet to rescue the Chinese fishing crew after it received an SOS signal on Friday.

But later the Chinese authorities told the Japanese their ships would take care of the rescue, and the three Japanese vessels turned back halfway.

Professor Ni Lexiong , a Shanghai-based naval expert, said Japan would be wary after the PLA's fast reaction.

"The Japanese coastguard should be aware that it appears the PLA navy treated this rescue as a live drill - and they performed pretty well," he said.

IMHO, this article needlessly interjects political motives and intrigue into a story where none really exists.

Seriously, Professor Ni Lexiong? the PLAN treated a life or death rescue as a "live drill?" Well of course they did Einstein...it wasn't a drill!

The reports also says that the Chinese vessels arrived before Japanese vessels could get there, as if though there was some kind of competition between the two, but then let's us know that the Japanese vessels were actually asked to turn back.

The only race was the one against time. In such scenarios, the crews of the vessels involved in such incidents are focused on saving life, not on chits in a game, or scoring points for politicians or analysts.

A more accurate and non-politicized title could easily have been:

"PLAN vessel rushes to save Chinese crewman on burning Chinese fishing boat as Japanese Coast Guard offers to assist."