China should move

You know, as much as I would like China to deploy some troops there. I must agree with those who think otherwise. From both a political and logisticaly point of view. It's not going to happen. This really is the sad truth, and I hope all the modernization the military is going through will pay off oneday. The best option right now is still to hire local mercs and equip them well. Another thing you have to keep in mind is that unlike western countries. China have a higher level of casualty acceptance level, this had always been the case in history. So the "shock" level might not be as high as some people migh anticipate. Just my 2 ¢.

PS: first post

China has no problem in sending troops in logistics. It has the biggest commercial fleet and there're 4 million Chinese workers abroad in numerious projects, most the supplies they need are from China.

Chinese ships 1/4 sea route cargo of the world, the military supply to support that troop is nothing. Politics and stragetic think will not allow that happen.

Transferring, operating and sustaining a greater military force far away from home is not done by having a large ship fleet.
I do not doubt that the technical capability is there, but that such an operation could be carried out succesfully/effectively without any previous experiance and on rather short notice.
I also would guess that most of the commercial fleet is on a duty tour somewhere around the world or in maintenance but not readily available, since unused ships along the pier don't make money and are therefore not economical.

This is a great thread with very well thought out replies. Excellent.

In my opinion it is the duty of the host country to protect foriegn nationals. Period. The Ethopians had better beef up security on those oil rigs. If not, if I were the PRC I would base some troops,(with the host country permission) in a defensive position on those rigs manned by Chinese. Obiously that oil is very important to the growing economy that is China.

China has no problem in sending troops in logistics. It has the biggest commercial fleet and there're 4 million Chinese workers abroad in numerious projects, most the supplies they need are from China

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As someone who served in a navy for 20 years I can tell you that supporting civillian and a military force is somewhat diffrent. A military force needs several different types of fuel. They need food, munitions, medical supplies, personell replacements, support equipment i.e. vehicles, aircraft etc..And all the parts to repair that equipment.

The way the PLA operates with conscripts that are mustered out each and every November. I can see a big logistic problem each and every November.

it is the internal affair of that country, China expressly stated it will not meddle with the internal affair of other nations

If it is not already, security measures should be included in construction and oil contracts. Nothing like money to motivate the local security forces.

bd popeye said:

As someone who served in a navy for 20 years I can tell you that supporting civillian and a military force is somewhat diffrent. A military force needs several different types of fuel. They need food, munitions, medical supplies, personell replacements, support equipment i.e. vehicles, aircraft etc..And all the parts to repair that equipment.

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I understand that. But you got to know even for American oversea troops, most supply transportation are outsourced to commercial fleets, same as Iraq war, and same as the WW2.

If Chinese sends out regular army there, it won't be a heavy armor troop, more like a light infantry force. Logistics is really not a big deal, but politics is.

So you are advocating that China should become America II....and this will help China because the US military is getting warm handshakes and roses everywhere it has been?

What you advocate goes against every Chinese diplomatic objective. You are talking about an 1). unilaterial action in land 2). not under the jurisdication of the Chinese government 3). using heavy handed tactics against the locals 4). whom the PLA do not understand very well 5). and doing this without any semblance of proper logistics.

You think the US is getting a lot of good "practice" in Iraq right now? You think it was fun for Clinton to pull out of that place after the death of over a dozen American soldiers? You want China to fully expose itself to the problem of the Islamic terrorism stemming from that region? and divert its limited resources from its key problems?

And what does China really gain?

Getting glory by killing some African tribesman and igniting a wave of hatred against the Chinese in the whole region? Is that good business?

Attracting Jihad on Chinese cities for the sake of killing some African tribesmen, is that good business?

Nullifying the entire concept of a "peaceful rise to power" and disrepecting the national sovereignty of Samolia...and tell others that China exercises sovereignty over Taiwan and therefore no one else has the right to intervene?

It's flat out stupid.

I shall move away from the debate on IF china could provide logistics for my said force as I reasonably believe it can.

I will now look at the OPFOR. It looks like the attack was conducted by around 200 Irregular fighters armed with RPG and heavy machine guns (14.5mm) very nasty weapon. This size and equipped force could not be dealt with by Mercs IE Blackwater and such. This force is rumoured to be backed by eritrea Which has a huge army 200,000+ men and a few hundred MBT and AFV which have to be accounted for. I would also not rule out this force contained Eritrean forces as the operation was very well conducted.

A combined Ethiopian/China/U.S operation to destroy the Eritrean regime would fix most problems on the horn of Africa.

I can tell you that I have heard that a major operation by ethiopia against Eritrea is in the works However there is concern in the ethiopian high command due to the size and spartan nature of the Eritrean army rumored to be directly supported by hard core Arab and Maybe Rev Guard Quds force Terror groups. This is being negated by U.S....advisers and a good supply of thermal imaging sites, Old inventory Dragons/TOW and other nice toys are going to help out in the fight against Eritrea. It would be nice to see the PRC marines and paratroops opening up a southern front against Eritrea as it is going to be a hard fought war but one well worth it when you look at the support by Eritrea to Islamic extremist that have killed many innocent people.

This is a issue that should unite the U.S and PRC in two Goals. 1. stability so the PRC can conduct its oil exploration and 2. The U.S war on Terror as "we" the US military and intelligence agencies are going to hunt and kill these guys to the ends of the earth and we will not stop...trust me.....cheers ute.

***Failing an attempt to become a major US ally in the "war against terror", President Afewerki broke with Washington one month ago, calling the US Eritrea's "historical" enemy. At the same time, Asmara started preparing for a new war against Ethiopia by supporting the radical Islamists in power in the Somali capital Mogadishu despite a UN embargo***