They are likely to have changed it. It is such a ridiculous remark, mistake.delft I can't see the particular quote inside the link you provided
(I used Ctrl-F with several combinations of words you quoted)
They are likely to have changed it. It is such a ridiculous remark, mistake.delft I can't see the particular quote inside the link you provided
(I used Ctrl-F with several combinations of words you quoted)
LOL delft you're right, I realized I had posted the full text of that article Tuesday at 7:53 PMThey are likely to have changed it. It is such a ridiculous remark, mistake.
and Hawaii is in there (I didn't notice while posting, and then was just checking the version you linked Wednesday at 1:01 PMwell I know Guam isn't in the SCS but still
China has practiced bombing runs targeting Guam, US says
13 hours ago
)From
China has practiced bombing runs targeting Guam, US says
13 hours ago
Why did nobody ever told me about Hawaii?
What is the French doing in SCS? They said the Chinese submarine is very active in SCS well it is the worst kept secret. No surprise there but at least confirmation. France is sticking its nose were it does not belong. But the route look like it is "innocent passage"
The unprecedented journey of a FREMM frigate in the South China Sea
The frigate Auvergne , the fifth and most recent FREMM class admitted by the French Navy just seven months ago, carried out an intelligence mission in the South China Sea at the end of October. His career, unpublished, was reported by journalist Nathalie Guibert in .
If the elements revealed in the text are accurate, they allow us not only to trace the path of this last generation anti-submarine frigate in this region of all tensions, but also to deduce the focus of his mission.
Fitted August 18 at the port of Toulon for its first long-term deployment, the FREMM was scheduled to sail to the Indian Ocean for four months. Has the recent discussion between the Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly with India, which promised France's , pushed the ship to change course and to go further than what was planned, to show the Indians the concrete interests of this new Franco-Indian marriage? It is unknown, and in any case it is only "corridor noise", at least for the moment.
Be that as it may, the route of the new frigate FREMM in the South China Sea has been reconstructed, in an approximate way, thanks to the details provided in the article of the World, from its departure from the Malay port Kota Kinabalu on October 20 until at the last known point of the ship's position at the Paracels five days later.
Airbus A320 or Boeing 737, as well as other military installations, both defensive and offensive.
Although China actually controls much fewer atolls and islets than its neighbors in the region, its logistical capacity and permanent military presence in the area is highest thanks to this infrastructure ¹ built at a record speed .
The supposed crossing of the Auvergne and the main Chinese fortified islands in the Spratleys (Picture; East Pendulum)
But the Spratleys do not seem to be the priority for Auvergne , since the frigate would have simply crossed, and not turned on zone, keeping a relatively stable speed, around 10 nautical miles, ideal for the operation of the onboard and airborne sonars , before heading straight for his second waypoint, Scarborough Reef.
China resumed effective control of this reef at the end of 2012, held in the hands of the Philippines since May 1997. Located less than 300 km from Subic Bay, the former second largest military installation abroad of the Chinese Armed Forces. United States, this 12km × 13km atoll is a strategic point to lock the eastern part of the South China Sea. .
The Scarborough Reef is strategic not only because of its geographical location and great potential for civilian and military operations, but also because it allows for the formation of yet another "iron triangle", even larger, with the Spratleys of a side, and the Paracels on the other.
Once fortified, the new artificial "island" would play a role of strategic support on the eastern side for China in the South China Sea, hence the recent recent incidents between the Chinese army and the US Army around that place (see our file " ")
Henri K.
What is the French doing in SCS? They said the Chinese submarine is very active in SCS well it is the worst kept secret. No surprise there but at least confirmation. France is sticking its nose were it does not belong. But the route look like it is "innocent passage"
The unprecedented journey of a FREMM frigate in the South China Sea
The frigate Auvergne , the fifth and most recent FREMM class admitted by the French Navy just seven months ago, carried out an intelligence mission in the South China Sea at the end of October. His career, unpublished, was reported by journalist Nathalie Guibert in .
If the elements revealed in the text are accurate, they allow us not only to trace the path of this last generation anti-submarine frigate in this region of all tensions, but also to deduce the focus of his mission.
Fitted August 18 at the port of Toulon for its first long-term deployment, the FREMM was scheduled to sail to the Indian Ocean for four months. Has the recent discussion between the Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly with India, which promised France's , pushed the ship to change course and to go further than what was planned, to show the Indians the concrete interests of this new Franco-Indian marriage? It is unknown, and in any case it is only "corridor noise", at least for the moment.
Be that as it may, the route of the new frigate FREMM in the South China Sea has been reconstructed, in an approximate way, thanks to the details provided in the article of the World, from its departure from the Malay port Kota Kinabalu on October 20 until at the last known point of the ship's position at the Paracels five days later.
The estimated course of frigate FREMM Auvergne (Image: East Pendulum)
If this first diagram, which shows the French frigate went "to make a grand tour" in the South China Sea, is little talking at first glance, just add a few strategic positions held by the Chinese army to see more clearly .
We note at first that if the text speaks of a "transit without aggressiveness" for the first part of the patrol, with "radars and identification system cut, sonars off, helicopter hangar" approaching the "10th parallel "(10 ° N), and" 12.7 mm machine guns were armed on the flanks of the bridge ", probably because the FREMM was about to grapple with the Chinese" iron triangle "in Spratleys, consisting of three main reefs enlarged and fortified by China south of the South China Sea.
Indeed, the line "10th parallel" crosses from west to east this triangle connecting the reef of Fiery Cross, the reef of Subi and the reef of Mischief. , capable of installing Airbus A320 or Boeing 737, as well as other military installations, both defensive and offensive.
Although China actually controls much fewer atolls and islets than its neighbors in the region, its logistical capacity and permanent military presence in the area is highest thanks to this infrastructure ¹ built at a record speed .
The supposed crossing of the Auvergne and the main Chinese fortified islands in the Spratleys (Picture; East Pendulum)
But the Spratleys do not seem to be the priority for Auvergne , since the frigate would have simply crossed, and not turned on zone, keeping a relatively stable speed, around 10 nautical miles, ideal for the operation of the onboard and airborne sonars , before heading straight for his second waypoint, Scarborough Reef.
China resumed effective control of this reef at the end of 2012, held in the hands of the Philippines since May 1997. Located less than 300 km from Subic Bay, the former second largest military installation abroad of the Chinese Armed Forces. United States, this 12km × 13km atoll is a strategic point to lock the eastern part of the South China Sea. .
The Scarborough Reef is strategic not only because of its geographical location and great potential for civilian and military operations, but also because it allows for the formation of yet another "iron triangle", even larger, with the Spratleys of a side, and the Paracels on the other.
Once fortified, the new artificial "island" would play a role of strategic support on the eastern side for China in the South China Sea, hence the recent recent incidents between the Chinese army and the US Army around that place (see our file " ").
Scarborough Reef and Subic Bay (Image: East Pendulum)
The two Chinese "iron triangles" in the South China Sea (Image: East Pendulum)
And it is precisely at the Paracels, located in the northern part of the South China Sea, close to the Chinese mainland, that the French frigate spent the longest time.
The interpretation of the article of the World suggests that the Auvergne would have remained in the waters of this archipelago for two days, in an area of less than 100 km long. Here, we are mostly within 400 km of the largest naval submarine base of Chinese nuclear submarines, Yalong Port on Hainan Island, where SNA Type 09III and SSBN Type 09IV are stationed.
Is it because the FREMM stayed there too long, to the point that the Chinese navy reacted, finally, by having a maritime patrol aircraft come over the ship, even if the commander of the ship - the captain Xavier Breitel - judged the flight of the Chinese aircraft "very professional", and that "the boat has never felt threatened"?
The presence of frigate FREMM Auvergne in the Paracels (Image: East Pendulum)
We ignore it, again. But the reaction of the French commander is to be compared with the refrain of the American armed forces against their Chinese colleagues, systematically judging them "unprofessional" during the interception or reconnaissance maneuvers.
Does one way or another make it known, as the article indicates, "France wants to be different from the United States"?
Finally, we also note that the Chinese submarine forces seem to be very present in the South China Sea. The FREMM frigate and its Cayman Marine detachment of the 31F have detected at least three times, if not more, possibly underwater contacts. In addition to the Chinese nuclear submarines based in Yalong, the southern Chinese fleet also has a dozen Project 636M diesel submarines of Russian origin and Type 039 indigenous.
But the region is especially conducive for deep-sea submarines, which would explain why we are likely to see come, in three to four years, two new types of Chinese submarine designed almost exclusively for the zone patrol.
To be continued.
Henri K.
LOLJust some empty cheapshot gestures from the French to try and get the Indians to buy more French arms.
France has zero interest to fight and die for Indian vainglorious pride if it provokes a war with China.
Maybe some G7 members should be taught a lesson. Not few of them still think it is either the 1840s or 1900s and their Eight Nation Alliance can simply sail up the Yangtze to burn, loot Chinese cities and massacre Chinese people for fun.
Would be especially nice to start with single unsupported Frigates like above. That arrogance should meet its well deserved punishment. And when the Frogs run crying to America and think that Article 5 is in order, China and Russia should hold an even larger wargame in the Med and the Baltics, as well as ample support for certain european separatists.
President Donald Trump on Sunday offered to mediate in the South China Sea disputes, while his Chinese counterpart played down concerns over Beijing’s military buildup and the prospects of war in the contested waters.
Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke separately about the territorial rifts ahead of an annual summit of Southeast Asian nations that also includes the U.S., China and other global players. The disputes are expected to get the spotlight at the summit, along with the North Korean nuclear threat and terrorism.
The long-simmering disputes are one issue where the two major powers’ influence, focus and military might have been gauged, with the U.S. and China both calling for a peaceful resolution but taking contrasting positions in most other aspects of the conflict.
Unlike China, the U.S. is not a claimant to the potentially oil-rich and busy waters, but it has declared that it has a national interest in ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight and the peaceful resolution of the disputes. Several nations back an active American military presence in the region to serve as a counterweight to China’s increasingly assertive actions, including the construction of seven man-made islands equipped with military installations.
“I’m a very good mediator and arbitrator,” Trump said at a news conference with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang in Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, before flying to Manila for the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Trump’s offer faces major obstacles. For one, China has steadfastly opposed what it calls U.S. meddling in the disputes and has balked at the U.S. Navy’s incursions into what Beijing considers its territorial waters in the South China Sea.
The Philippines, the head of ASEAN’s rotational chairmanship, said member states of the 10-nation regional bloc have to consult each other but thanked Trump for the offer.
“He is the master of the art of the deal but, of course, the claimant countries have to answer as a group or individually ... mediation involves all the claimants and nonclaimants,” Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano told reporters.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Xi, during a meeting in Danang, Vietnam, where they attended the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum this past week, assured him of China’s peaceful intentions in the strategic waterway, where Beijing, the Philippines, Vietnam and three other governments have overlapping claims.
When he raised concerns over China’s increasing military capability in the South China Sea, Duterte said Xi replied, “No, it’s nothing.”
“He acknowledged that war cannot be promoted by anybody, (that) it would only mean destruction for all of us,” Duterte told reporters after flying back to Manila. “He knows that if he goes to war, everything will blow up.”
The Chinese leader, however, would not back down on Beijing’s territorial claim, Duterte said, and justified his decision not to immediately demand Chinese compliance with a ruling by a U.N.-linked tribunal that invalidated China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea on historical grounds.
China has dismissed that ruling as a “sham” and did not participate in the arbitration case that the Philippines filed during the administration of Duterte’s predecessor. Duterte took steps to thaw frosty relations with China after he won the presidency last year.
“If you go to the negotiating table and you start with the statement that I am here to claim validity of our ownership, you’re wasting your time. They will not talk about it,” Duterte said of China.
The ASEAN summit opens Monday under extra-tight security at a theater and convention complex by Manila Bay. Duterte hosted a gala dinner Sunday for leaders including Trump, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who all wore traditional barong shirts.
Riot police used shields and water hoses Sunday to push back hundreds of left-wing activists who tried to hold a protest at the U.S. Embassy and carried placards that read “Ban Trump.” At least 20 protesters were injured in the brief scuffle and one was arrested, according to protest leaders, adding that the demonstrators dispersed after burning a mock U.S. flag.