PLAN SCS Bases/Islands/Vessels (Not a Strategy Page)
- Thread starter lilzz
- Start date
Equation
Lieutenant General
Finding fresh water source will be a real challenge too. So the resupply makes it even more critical.
Geographer
Junior Member
Has anyone heard of Bach Long Vi island in the Gulf of Tonkin? It's equidistant between Hainan Island and Vietnam. I read on Wikipedia that China controlled it until 1887 when the French forced China to hand to their Indochina colony. China got the island back in 1945 from Japan, then the Communists took the island in 1955. Amazingly, China returned the island to Vietnam! Was it a gift? Why did Vietnam want or claim the island? The Wikipedia page appears to say it was in Chinese possession before 1887.
Handing over the island is another example of China making territorial concessions. You can't say China is expansionist if it's giving islands away.
Handing over the island is another example of China making territorial concessions. You can't say China is expansionist if it's giving islands away.
Don't worry, ALL these islands are not going anywhere. China is rising very fast and has plenty of time to take back those islands under Chinese control when China is strong enough.
Everyone knows this, that's why they are so worried about China.
By 2030 even the US will be powerless to do anything to China in China's own backyard.
By 2030, China will be a full economic power (manufacturing, industry, trade, market, GDP, fiscal revenues), financial power, technological power and military power. With money, talent (engineers and scientists), know-how and technology, it will be near on impossible to fight China in the South China Sea and East China Sea.
Then all these islands will come under full Chinese control without firing a shot. Remember Sun Tzu?
This is pretty much the goal of the CPC, that's why economic development is the main priority for China right now. Because everyone knows time favours China. The more time goes by, the more things favour China due the gap between China and the developed world closing all the time and you add 1.3 billion people, and you get the picture.
Right now Paracel Islands (Xisha islands) are closer to China and are under Chinese control. Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island) is also under Chinese control. Now as Chinese capabilities increase, it can challenge the Diaoyu islands.
Spratly Islands (Nansha islands) are too far away right now. When the time is right, it will come under Chinese control too.
This is why many Chinese experts say we need 20 more years to reach full potential. Once China reaches its full potential, it's game over for everyone else. China is already very powerful right now but as powerful as it is now its nowhere near its full potential. Once China reaches full potential no one will be talking about island disputes.
This is why China is known to play the long game.
asif iqbal
Lieutenant General
Beautiful reefs turned into forts, a loss indeed but the reality of disputes
To the northeast of the spratly's is the Scarborough Shoal; does China also have a claim to this territory?
I see no constructions on these reefs on my google maps.
Any other site with accurate maps or foto's available that I don't know of ???
As to the 056 type corvette; its low weight would make it suitable for patrolling the shallow South China sea indeed, but for eventual outright combat you would want something larger, able to defend itself and handout as well as take some punishment = 054A type frigate. Those Viet corvettes should not be underestimated certainly if they team-up with the Viet su-27's.
Anyway, just phantasysing becourse PRC is smart enough not to get caught up in an expensive and inpredictable conflict.
make love not war (it's more economical)!
asif iqbal
Lieutenant General
The thing I don't understand is why Veitnam has beef with China, did China not support to the Vietnamese during Vietnam war? Where did it go wrong
Bailongwei Island was first leased and then handed over to the Vietnamese during its independence war with the French, it's used as a way point for resupplying from China. I believe it was once used to stage torpedo boats. This is indeed a gift from China and China currently has no claims against it, it's not part of any disputes between the two countries.
Huangyan Island right now is only exposed during high tides, and China has only started controlling it since last year. Since effective control has been established I wouldn't be surprised if infrastructure construction will start in the near future, possibly in the form of shelters for the fishing boats. The only structure there right now is some form of barrier set up by FLEC to control the entrance of its tide lake.
Regarding 056 the ship is much more survivable than the Jianghus patrolling SCS right now, it's much better than anything belong to the Philippine Navy, and better than the vast majority of Vietnamese surface combatants except the few latest ships from Russia. If the tension escalates to a level that a 056 may be in danger of being hit then the situation should have already gone bad days ago, and much larger PLAN fleet shouldn't be far away. In that sense both 056 and the current Jianghus are almost like baits there, if anything happens to them then PLAN and PLAAF will have the perfect excuse to unleash a full scale retaliation against Vietnamese military targets.
Perfect example of Chinese diplomatic behavior that prioritize face over interest. That's why the tactic Philippine uses that starts with threatening and shaming would get them nowhere with China. On the contrary, what Vietnam did was silently moved on to those islands and doing their "claim by factual control" scheme.