China's Defense/Military Breaking News Thread

[crobato]

Re: Chinese Military News Thread

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China Military Conference Set to Begin at Carlisle Barracks
By WENDELL MINNICK, TAIPEI


The 18th annual People’s Liberation Army Conference, considered the premier academic and government conference on China’s army, will run Sept. 28-30 at the Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.
The theme for this year’s invitation-only conference is “The ‘People’ in the PLA: Recruitment, Training, and Education in China’s 80-year old Military.” More than 50 academics and specialists will examine trends and developments in recruitment, training, personnel management and education.
Co-hosted by the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) and the Strategic Studies Institute of the Army War College, it is “one of the only conferences where the government lets their people [intelligence analysts] attend,” a regular attendee said. Previous conference themes include how the PLA shapes the global security environment and trends driving PLA force modernization.
The papers are published a year later. The 2006 conference book, the ninth, edited by Roy Kamphausen and Andrew Scobell, “Right Sizing the People’s Liberation Army: Exploring the Contours of China’s Military,” has just been released by the Strategic Studies Institute and is available online.

 

[alopes]

Re: Chinese Military News Thread

Here i found an interesting article that analyse China medium range missile development.

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China Wants To Target US Aircraft Carriers With Ballastic Missiles

Hong Kong (UPI) Sep 21, 2007
In the event of conflict in the Taiwan Strait, if the United States were to send an aircraft carrier to the scene, it would likely remain in an area 800-1,000 kilometers from the spot of engagement. This is what happened in 1999 when China sent a series of air sorties over the island and the United States sent two aircraft carriers to the area as a warning. This distance poses very complicated and difficult challenges for detecting, positioning and tracking the target when aiming to strike the aircraft carrier with ballistic missiles.
China's DF-21 and DF-15 ballistic missiles use inertia plus gyroscope guidance at the middle course, and as a result the flight trajectories are quite inflexible. Even if new optical and radar image guidance technologies are applied at the terminal course, it is still extremely difficult to quickly adjust the direction when attacking a moving target.

Suppose a DF-21M middle-range ballistic missile were to attack a U.S. aircraft carrier from a distance of 1,000 kilometers at an average speed of 7 Mach, or flying at a speed of 2,380 meters per second -- the whole course would take approximately seven minutes. Of course, because the U.S. Navy has developed the naval theater missile defense, or TMD, system, about 10-90 seconds after the DF-21M was launched, the DSP-1 infrared detection satellite would catch the signal and transmit the data through the data link to the ground-based joint tactical centre, or JTAG. The JTAG would transfer the data to the naval-based Aegis TMD system.

Almost all the Aegis Class guided missile destroyers, or DDGs, are equipped with joint tactical terminal receivers specifically designed to receive JTAG and DSP-1 satellite data. Even if no action were taken to intercept the DF-21M, the aircraft carrier could still evade the attack at full navigation speed. All of the U.S. Navy's nuclear-powered aircraft carriers have a maximum speed of 32 knots. In other words, they can move 30.866 meters each minute and 216.06 meters within seven minutes.

In line with the latest trends of the Chinese military forces, the HF sky-wave over-the-horizon backscatter radar is currently under development. The China National Electronics Import and Export Corp. has unveiled some of the technical details of this type of radar system. Documents indicate that the construction of pole-shaped antennae has been completed, and therefore at least one experimental variant of the radar system is in operation.

The transmitting and receiving arrays of the radar are respectively 200 x 100 square meters and 1,100 x 60 square meters, at an elevation of 60 degrees. This transmitting radar array can track 100 different targets simultaneously, and has a detection range of 800-3,000 kilometers. The CEIEC also introduced an HF surface-wave over-the-horizon radar, which was specifically designed to detect stealthy targets and has an effective detection range of 300 kilometers. Of course, digital image reconnaissance satellites, oceanic surveillance satellites and a variety of signal surveillance systems could also determine the approximate position of the USN aircraft carrier.

Even if the Chinese missiles could not accurately hit the aircraft carriers, shooting them in their direction would allow the Chinese military forces to impose "coercive isolation" on the U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups, keeping them out of the Taiwan Strait combat theater.

There has been speculation that China has developed sub-munitions and canister warheads for the DF-15 and DF-21. What progress has the PLA Second Artillery Force made in developing ballistic missile warheads? The answer to this question can be partly found in China's export of P12 ballistic missiles and the development of warheads for the WS-1B and WS-2 multiple-role rocket systems.

Firstly, China's military has invested heavily in developing blasting warheads, blasting cluster warheads for P12, sub-ammunition warheads, cloud blasting warheads and blasting-burn warheads for ballistic missiles and WS-1B and WS-2, all of which are capable of inflicting mass destruction upon designated targets.

Taking the sub-munitions fitted on the WS-1B as an example, the combat part of the warhead weighs only 152 kilograms; it has 475 munitions; the dispersing area of the sub-munitions is 28,000 square meters, and of course this dispersing area can be reset.

If a DF-15 ballistic missile were fitted with a 500-kilogram warhead, the total number of sub-munitions could be 3.2 times those fitted on the WS-1B. In other words, there would be 1,520 sub-munitions or even more depending on the different weights of the sub-munitions. If the dispersing areas of the sub-munitions were the same, that would mean a dramatic increase in unit strike intensity.

If the ballistic missiles used Russian satellite guidance at the middle course plus a certain kind of terminal guidance system, the threat that a DF-15 could pose to an aircraft carrier is very obvious. Psychologically, this would keep the U.S. aircraft carriers 600 kilometers away from the Taiwan Strait combat theater. And if China chose to launch attacks with DF-21M medium-range ballistic missiles, the so-called "coercive isolation" zone would be much broader. Even if these attacks did not seriously damage the aircraft carrier itself, the sub-munitions assault could destroy the radar, command and communications systems of the aircraft carrier battle group and force it to withdraw from the battle.

If a cloud-blasting warhead were used, the 90-kilogram munitions would have a lethal radius of 70 meters and overpressure lethal radius of 50 meters, while the 500-kilogram warhead would have a lethal radius of 388 millimeters and overpressure lethal radius of 277 meters. Using a blasting-burn warhead, the 70-kilogram combat load would have a lethal radius of 70 meters, and an effective radius of dispersing killing greater than 70 meters, whereas the 500-kilogram warhead's lethal radius and effective radius of dispersing killing could be as broad as 500 meters.

(The author if editor in chief of Kanwa Defense Monthly.)

 

[bladerunner]

Re: Chinese Military News Thread

I dont know whether this is the correct thread to place this post, but i was just wondering whether events over the past year lead by the U.S, by this i mean the containment of China policy, will have short circuited Chinas string of pearls policy.

The following article makes me think so, whats yours?
Commentary: China's strategic post in the Persian Gulf
TORONTO, Sep. 26
HARI SUD
Column: Abroad View
If the flow of Middle East oil to China is squeezed, the Chinese economy will come to a grinding halt. Today China imports 32 percent of its oil needs. This need is expected to double by 2012. Of this oil, 58 percent comes from the Middle East -- about 2 million barrels a day. It is expected that by 2012 almost 70 percent of all oil imports -- about 4 million barrels a day -- will come from the Middle East.

Hence it is not difficult to understand why China decided to build a naval base in Gwadar in Bulochistan, a Pakistani province, not far from the Straits of Hormuz.

It took five years and US$300 million to complete the base. To the Pakistani navy, its military value is great. It gives them a second home. Pakistan has always run the risk of a naval blockade at its single seaport of Karachi.

To the Chinese, Gwadar is a vantage point from which to monitor naval activity in the Persian Gulf, a military port of call, a second home for China's naval fleet patrolling the Indian Ocean and, if need be, a forward base for any confrontation with Indian or U.S. naval fleets.

Pakistan has been publicizing the commercial value of this port, but considering the hinterland that surrounds it, with scanty communications and sparsely populated areas, the commercial value is dubious. Also, Bulochistan province is not fully integrated into Pakistan politically or economically. An insurgency against Pakistani rule has been ongoing for the last 40 years. This will prevent any meaningful use of this port.

Consider the other side of the equation: About 13 million barrels of oil per day pass through the Straits of Hormuz. Gwadar, not far from the Straits, could become a major choke point during any confrontation between big powers of the world. A well-equipped Chinese fleet anchored at Gwadar could temporarily threaten this supply and bring the world to its knees.

Then the question is, why did the United States let China get away with this coup d'etat?

It happened because the United States was too pre-occupied in Iraq. In 2002, when the Gwadar naval base and port construction began, it was Iraq that was on the mind of the United States. Also, very cleverly, the Pakistanis had aligned themselves with the U.S. War on Terror. Hence the United States was ready to okay anything the Pakistanis wanted as long as they stayed on the U.S. side. China made it appear that the naval base was a Pakistani initiative. As a matter of fact it was all along a Chinese initiative.

Now this base is fully operational. Its deep-water port is suitable for berthing large naval vessels. In times of conflict, Pakistan's naval fleet can hide there for sneak attacks on Indian shipping vessels. Worse, China can use this base to "mine" the mouth of the Persian Gulf and render it unserviceable for friend or foe.

No wonder the United States has realized that a strategic mistake has been made. Now it is trying to rectify it by encouraging India to build a still mightier navy than it currently has planned. Also, it wants India to integrate operations with the Australian, Japanese, Singaporean and U.S. navies. The recently held naval drill in the Bay of Bengal was to gauge each other's naval capabilities. No wonder Indian naval commentators have called this exercise a huge opportunity for the Indian Navy.

There are a few points we have to remember. China has two retired aircraft carriers from the former Soviet Union, seven nuclear submarines of questionable design and three dozen diesel-powered submarines. Additional aircraft carriers and submarines are under construction. These can be deployed in strength in the Indian Ocean or the Arabian Sea to protect China's interests. What the Chinese lack is long-range maritime surveillance capability, to ensure greater success far from their home ports. Additionally, if the five nations of the recently held Malabar naval exercise were to form a joint front, they could confront the Chinese in the Indian Ocean and then threaten the depleted Chinese fleet left behind for China's homeland defense.

Hence, the advantage China gained in building the Gwadar port and its quiet diplomacy to reach the oil-rich Persian Gulf can be easily neutralized. A joint defensive naval posture, as is envisaged, will do the job. Not only that, a much mightier Indian naval fleet will preempt any Chinese naval plans in the Indian Ocean.

In India, plans are already under way to do just that. A mighty aircraft carrier from the former Soviet Union, the Gorshkov, will join the Indian navy in the next two years. An indigenously built aircraft carrier is already under construction to join the Indian Navy in about four years. Five nuclear-powered submarines, two on lease from Russia and the remainder indigenously built, will join the navy in 10 years.

Six diesel-powered stealth Scorpene submarines from France are on order. An additional Amur class submarine from Russia will give the navy a massive punch. These will be added to 10 Kilo-class Russian submarines already in service. Other submarines in service are two Foxtrots and four German HDWs.

Hence no Chinese effort to act smart in the Indian Ocean or Arabian Sea will be successful. The recent technology validation test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile by India will ultimately become the strategic punch of the Indian nuclear-powered submarine. The latter's nuclear reactor is ready for mating with the submarine hull in the next two years. Then India will have its own naval nuclear arm.

To act aggressively, if need be, a troop ship carrier recently acquired by India from the United States could land 900 battle-ready troops on any shore in the Indian Ocean littoral states. This could neutralize any coup by communist or other forces in the region.

To match this aggressive posture, long-range and short-range surveillance capability is being enhanced. The Russians are upgrading the existing Indian fleet with new radar and new punch. The United States has offered its newest surveillance aircraft.

All these acquisitions in the next 10 years will make the Indian Navy a formidable force. This navy has one task only -- to stay in the Indian Ocean and maintain order from Suez to Singapore. It is a totally different posture than the Chinese navy, which plans to undertake aggressive patrolling of the Indian Ocean far from home, without shore-based surveillance and fighter and bomber support.

How will the Chinese tangle with the Indians far away from their home ports?

Chins has a much larger fleet of submarines and battleships. Their two aircraft carriers, acquired from Russia, are for show and training only. More formidable ones are under construction and will join the navy in about six years. But away from their home ports in high seas and under constant surveillance these will be sitting ducks. They will never risk action against India or the combined capabilities of five nations.

Hence Gwadar may turn out to be only a showcase naval base for the Chinese and Pakistani navies. From time to time it may present strategic headaches for the Indian Ocean powers, but in the overall scheme of things, China will be the big loser if it ever tries to use this base to conduct hostile actions.

The Pakistani Navy may be the big beneficiary of Gwadar's deep-water ports, but since its policies are all India-centric, a naval base far from the Indian coast has less value in the face of the much bigger Indian Navy, except to hide in and threaten Indian commercial shipping.

Alternatively, if the Indian Ocean powers decide to squeeze the oil flow to China through the Indian Ocean, they can do so and China will be able to do nothing about it. China will not pick a naval fight with the combined might of the Indian Ocean naval fleets.

In conclusion, the Chinese naval challenge in the Indian Ocean is minor. India must simply continue with its five-nation naval integration policy.

--

(Hari Sud is a retired vice president of C-I-L Inc., a former investment strategies analyst and international relations manager. A graduate of Punjab University and the University of Missouri, he has lived in Canada for the past 34 years. ©Copyright Hari Sud.)

 

[bladerunner]

Re: Chinese Military News Thread

whoops hope the moderaters dont think im trying 2 start a flame from my last post, by including Hari Suds Opinion,But it like many other analytical commentators that one comes across thinks China has been trumped.

 

[SampanViking]

Re: Chinese Military News Thread

Its an interesting post bladerunner and raises some good questions. The only area you need to be a little shy of is getting to deep into the Politics which is frowned upon in this forum.

I think I would counter simply by saying that whatever the situation today, by having such a facility, China has the ability to develop in the future to utilise it to the maximum. It also poses a potential threat that forces India to maybe relocate precious fiscal resources to counter, whn maybe they would have been better spent elsewhere.

The most important aspect though is to remember that Pakistan is one of the three current candidates for SCO membership (along with Mongolia and Iran), thus any facility should be viewed as a potential SCO naval base, with all that such implies.

 

[bladerunner]

Re: Chinese Military News Thread

Its an interesting post bladerunner and raises some good questions. The only area you need to be a little shy of is getting to deep into the Politics which is frowned upon in this forum.

I think I would counter simply by saying that whatever the situation today, by having such a facility, China has the ability to develop in the future to utilise it to the maximum. It also poses a potential threat that forces India to maybe relocate precious fiscal resources to counter, whn maybe they would have been better spent elsewhere.

The most important aspect though is to remember that Pakistan is one of the three current candidates for SCO membership (along with Mongolia and Iran), thus any facility should be viewed as a potential SCO naval base, with all that such implies.

True, but I was merely looking at it from a military point of view where China lacks the force projection to protect these bases, THe Gwandar base can be isolated by any combined opposing force.and as the above article points out. I see the 'the string of pearls' concept not unlike the Japanese South east Asia and Pacific situation in WW2, where the occupied islands were isolated and taken at will by a superior force.
I also wonder with the situation in Pakistan and perhaps a change of government in Myanmar in due course, things are turning to custard in that area for China.

 

[taijisheng]

Re: Chinese Military News Thread

True, but I was merely looking at it from a military point of view where China lacks the force projection to protect these bases, THe Gwandar base can be isolated by any combined opposing force.and as the above article points out. I see the 'the string of pearls' concept not unlike the Japanese South east Asia and Pacific situation in WW2, where the occupied islands were isolated and taken at will by a superior force.
I also wonder with the situation in Pakistan and perhaps a change of government in Myanmar in due course, things are turning to custard in that area for China.

This article was so full of wishfull thinking, wrong assumptions and simplistic analysis that I didn't bother to react, but as you continue here I will give an reaction.

The argument that the Gwandar base is useless for china because it can be isolated by any combied opposing force is simply invalid, it depends on what is this 'opposing force' made of. If the assumption is that this force is formed by the navy of US, Japan , India, Australia and Singaporean, then yes, China is no match, if fact, no base, no nation in the world today is match for such oppsing force.

But does this mean that China's strategy will faill ? certainly not. China is not Japan in the 2nd world war, the world is not China's enemy, to think that China will get into war with such 5 nations is wishfuling thinking, it will simply not happen. The only nation with which china may get in war with in this area is India, and this base is meant to counter India's navy power in Indian ocean, and protect chinese/pakistan's ships when needed. And for this purpose this port is perfect.

During peace time, this base can provide logistic support, intellegence gathering, seach & rescure operations and act as a strategic counter weight, during conflict this base can act like a permanent air carrier. After it is fully functional, China can face any navy in the world in this region other than US and Russians, India will lose it's option to put a navial blokade on Pakistan. If India ever get into war with China, it will for the first time face threat from the sea as well. This base will not stop US from cutting china's enegy supply, but will stop other nations from doing this.

Also part of string of perl strategy is that these 'perls' are located in friendly nations, which benefit from this strategy and support it, to attack any of the 'perl's meant an attack on the host country as well. To think china will fight alone, in hostile waters against a combied force of superior navies is plain stupid.

About situation in pakistan and Myamar, I don't think it will be any problem. For Pakistan will always remain friendly to china, thanks to India's hostile attitude, and Myanmar's situation will not change much, it will be isolated by the world further more meaning it will depend on China more.

One last thing, I don't want to turn this place into a china vs india mud throwing contest, but this article and your comments are clearly politically heavily loaded, I suggest you stop doing that and base the comments on facts and not on wishes.

 

[Unit88]

Re: Chinese Military News Thread

all of this political bashing will lead to nothing. what i dont understand is why cant the chinese and the americans all get along with other nations in the world. then everybody would live happily ever after. fine ok, i admit there are "threats to national security" as the americans in iraq, so eventually the terriost threat is over. do we think there will be peace after the middle east crisis is over?

 

[alopes]

Re: Chinese Military News Thread

It appears that China has achieved high quality on its air defence radars.

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PLA's air defense radars able to protect all airspace


english.chinamil.com.cn 2007-10-10


　　BEIJING, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- A senior military officer has told Xinhua that a network of air defense radars which is able to provide seamless surveillance to all Chinese territorial airspace has been completed.

　　Fang Lei, of the air force headquarters of the Chinese People's Liberation Army(PLA), said the network could serve in all-weather conditions.

　　Air defense radars have been manufactured and deployed by the PLA since 1950 and relied on as the "first line of air defence".

　　Air defense radar troops are among the high-tech intensive arms of the PLA services, Fang said, revealing that 85 percent of the officers in the arm held bachelor degrees or above.

　　More than 60 percent of air defense radars under human operation were deployed in regions with tough natural environment such as islands and highlands, the officer said.

　　The detection ability and overall capacity of the PLA's air defense radar network were "very close" to those of developed countries, he said.

　　With the PLA's modernization, the air defense radar arm would also provide support to the air force's offensive missions, and to other PLA services, Fang said.

 

[coolieno99]

Re: Chinese Military News Thread

Economic trades between China and India has been increasing rapidly in the last 10 years. Now political relationship between India and China has also been improving in the last several years.

Sino-Indian first ever war games to be held in Kunming
20 Nov, 2007, 1938 hrs IST, PTI

NEW DELHI: Foes for over four decades across the long Himalayan frontier, Indian and Chinese armies will kick off their first ever joint military exercises next month, marking a sign of warm up in relationships.
The first ever Army to Army exercises would be held in the third week of December in the Chinese city of Kunming, the capital town of Yunnan province facing Arunachal Pradesh and Myanmar, according to defence officials here.
Over 100 Indian army personnel and an equal number of Red army soldiers will exercise on anti-terrorism manoeuvres in the Joint war games. Though Indian and Chinese Navies have held joint exercises in the South China Sea, this would be for the first time that Land forces would be interacting.
Prior to exercises, Army officials from both the countries would be meeting in Kolkata, the headquarters of the Army's Eastern Command next week to fix up the dates and tenure of the war games.
The go ahead for the exercises was given in Beijing earlier this month at the first ever annual Defence Dialogue between India and China. Bimal Julka, Joint Secretary in the defence ministry headed the Indian delegation.

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