PLAN SCS Bases/Islands/Vessels (Not a Strategy Page)

From Henri K blog
The Chinese army is inaugurating its first supermarket in Spratleys, with more than 400 different products, for the garrison of the Fiery Cross block. The military does not manage the operation of the brand, payments are made directly via WeChat Pay or AliPay to merchants.

Via Tai Hai Chen fro m Bloomberg
And here is the report the article was based on Very interesting


A new report by the U.S. Naval War College pulls together what is known about one of the world’s oddest cities. Sansha City was founded by China in 2012 and is the world’s largest city by area, covering 800,000 square miles of the South China Sea within the “nine-dash line” that China claims for itself. That makes it 1,700 times the size of New York City. Most of Sansha City is salt water, although it includes the Paracel Islands, which Vietnam and Taiwan claim, and the Spratly Islands, various of which are claimed by Vietnam, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei.

City Hall, so to speak, is on Woody Island, one of the Paracels. “Once a remote outpost, Woody Island has become a bustling hub of activity,” says the 57-page, heavily footnoted , which was written by China expert Zachary Haver for the War College’s China Maritime Studies Institute. “The island now boasts expanded port infrastructure, seawater desalination and sewage treatment facilities, new public housing, a functioning judicial system, 5G network coverage, a school, and regular charter flights to and from the mainland.”

Beyond Woody Island, Sansha City is “developing tourism in the Paracel Islands, attracting hundreds of newly registered companies, cultivating aquaculture, and encouraging long-term residency,” the report says. There are jails and a courthouse, where two people were tried and sentenced for buying and transporting endangered wildlife in the Spratly Islands.





The obvious question is why China is going to such lengths to build a civilian infrastructure in a watery region that is effectively under control of the People’s Liberation Army Navy and China’s semi-militarized coast guard. Haver’s nuanced answer is that China’s system of “military-civil fusion” is “a mechanism to govern contested areas as if they were Chinese territory,” like any mainland city. Sansha City is effectively an extension of the Chinese Communist Party. “The expansion of the city’s party-state institutions allows municipal authorities to directly govern contested areas of the South China Sea and ensures the primacy of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) interests in local decision-making,” the report says.

Sansha City is what China calls a prefecture-level city, which on the mainland is an administrative unit that includes a central city as well as surrounding cities, towns, villages, and rural areas. In other words, geographically large—but not this large.

The “normalized administrative control” exercised by Sansha City is strongest in the Paracels, but “elements of this system also exist in the Spratly Islands and show signs of expanding,” writes Haver, who is a fellow at the Center for Advanced China Research, lived in China for three years, and is proficient in Mandarin Chinese.

Sansha City, just nine years old, is evidence that China is settling in for a long stay. “In entrusting these responsibilities to the municipal party-state and supporting the city’s development, Beijing has revealed that its ambitions extend beyond dominating the South China Sea via CCG [Chinese Coast Guard] and PLA Navy operations,” Haver concludes. “Through Sansha’s system of normalized administrative control, China is gradually transforming contested areas of the South China Sea into de facto Chinese territory.”

And here is the report the article was based on Very interesting

Construction continue on Mischief reef click the link

Feb 2021: New Construction on Mischief Reef​

Now that they ensconced in SCS they have all the time todo research on SCS environment which will add situation awareness for the Sub​

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Chinese Navy Harvests Data From South China Sea​

2021-03-24

Chinese Navy meteorologists carry out observations on Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands in a file photo.
State Media
China’s new militarized outposts in the Spratly Islands and its expanded bases in the Paracel chain are helping harvest one of the South China Sea’s most valuable but least visible resources: data.
Research by the Chinese military and other documentation show that the collected data informs ongoing construction activities, helps improve naval weapons and underwater communications in the unique local environment, and could support amphibious landing operations in the future – among other uses.

This data is valuable because it allows the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) to understand the elements that constitute the “ocean battlespace environment,” according to Ryan Martinson, a professor at the U.S. Naval War College’s China Maritime Studies Institute.

“China needs to collect this information because it is used to build and improve models for how these elements of the ocean battlespace environment change under particular circumstances,” Martinson said.
Civilian government scientists and PLAN personnel stationed on these features collect different kinds of information, including hydrological, meteorological, bathymetric and tidal data.

In addition, scientific survey ships operated by state-run research organizations probe the depths of the South China Sea, gathering biological samples, mapping the seafloor and scooping up sediments.
Continuing construction
This data has many uses, including facilitating ongoing Chinese construction activities in the South China Sea, where Beijing is locked in maritime and territorial disputes with Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.
In January, BenarNews that China was reclaiming additional land on the northern side of Woody Island, its main base in the Paracel Islands, and fortifying the island’s coast against erosion.(cont)

It has been awhile since we get update on Mischief islet Here is one via Xinhui seem almost done but there are still building acitvity



On the smaller islet they install container vegetable factory again via Xinhui post
This is the Google translation of Xinhui's Reply #124, above:

Comfortable! "Vegetable factory" settled on remote islands
Source: China Military Online - Liberation Army Daily Author: Liao Chi-huang country had Editor: Wang Yun
2021-02-08 06:550

A certain coastal defense brigade of the Southern Theater Army used technology to enrich the "vegetable basket" of officers and soldiers——

Comfortable! "Vegetable factory" settled on remote islands

Shuo wind is bitter and cold. In the deep winter season, the "vegetable factory" of a certain company of a battalion of a coastal defense brigade of an army in the southern theater is full of spring: lettuce, rapeseed and other vegetables are green and lovable.

"The days of'watching the sky and eating vegetables' have become history!" Sergeant Qin Zhenpeng, who entered the "vegetable factory" and was adjusting environmental parameters in front of the operating desk, told the author that the containerized "vegetable factory" issued by the brigade can The temperature, humidity, and light in the box are precisely controlled. No matter how bad the weather is, officers and soldiers can eat fresh vegetables.

It is reported that the detachment stationed on the island is far away from the mainland, and daily supplies of supplies can only be transported by ship. Many fresh vegetables and fruits have passed the best eating period when they are delivered to the officers and soldiers. In the harsh weather, the security of the officers and soldiers has become more difficult. Although many companies have opened vegetable fields and orchards, the poor soil and the occasional typhoon and thunderstorm made logistics production quite difficult.

"Ensure continuous combat effectiveness!" Zhang Tongxun, Chief of the Military Supplies Barracks Section of the brigade, introduced that in order to solve the "vegetable basket" problem of officers and soldiers, they invested funds to improve agricultural and sideline production infrastructure according to the actual conditions of the independent garrison units, and built greenhouses with different distribution The "vegetable factory" of the module. A company was stationed on an isolated island with no residents and no electricity, and they distributed photovoltaic-powered "vegetable factories" according to local conditions; a company was located in an island valley, and the agency coordinated to install an unattended constant temperature vegetable greenhouse, which not only solved the supply problem The supporting wind and solar power generation equipment also supplements the company’s daily electricity consumption and improves the quality of life of officers and soldiers.

"Without soil, fresh vegetables can be grown only by nutrient solution and light. This is something I would never have imagined before." The officers and soldiers couldn't agree to pick the fresh fruits and vegetables of the day in the "vegetable factory". mouth.

Maybe the container veggie factory is like this

New update on Fiery Cross aka Yongshu A lot more greener with vegetation and tree


The latest snoop video from Philippine air force maritime patrol Houbei was spotted anchor at Mischief harbor

Fascinating report - good find!

Well a giant "island builder" pass the test via JSch
Science and Technology Daily
Today at 12:56 from Weibo

A new generation of super-large self-propelled cutter suction vessel independently researched and developed by China completed sea trial

On April 30, the 7800KW super-large intelligent self-propelled cutter suction dredger "Hao Hailong" built by CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Ship Co., Ltd. ended its three-day trial voyage and returned in triumph. Throughout the sea trial, the ship’s various equipment operated normally, and the overall performance indicators met the design requirements.

"Hao Hailong" is a new generation of super large self-propelled cutter suction vessel independently researched and developed by China. It is equipped with dual-engines, dual-propellers, dual-rotating ducted rudders, and full electric drive. "Hao Hailong" has a total length of 148 meters, width is 29 meters, height is 9.2 meters, and the total installed power is 25,260KW. The ship has a maximum reamer power of 7,800KW, a maximum digging depth of 38 meters, and a maximum row distance of 15 kilometers. It is equipped with three different types of reamers for rock, clay and sand digging. It can realize a five-speed flexible spud carrier as well as heavy-duty bridge, it can excavate the weak weathered rock with the compressive strength of within 50 MPa, which is one of the essential tools for overcoming difficulties in dredging projects. For details, please click: O "Hao Hailong" Triumphant Triumph! (Science and Technology Daily reporter Long Yuemei)

Now this Y5 UAV would make an ideal transporter to supply the outlying island in SCS. All you need is short grass field 250 m should do it. And for the small islet they can do precision drop. The range is 900km I guess a bit short flying from Hainan to spratly. I guess you can do relay flight from Hainan
Under typical conditions, the take-off is complete within 170 m (560 ft) while the landing run requires 215 m (705 ft); these figures will vary dependent upon various factors, such as the aircraft's take-off/landing weight, the external air temperature, surface roughness, and .

China's largest general-purpose drone makes successful maiden flight​

July 20, 2021
China's largest general-purpose drone made a successful maiden flight, CAAC News reported Tuesday.
The Yun-5 general-purpose UAV, developed by Aviation Industry Tongfei, took to the blue sky at 8:02 a.m. on July 20 at Moqi Airport in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and successfully completed its flight plan, the report said.
During the flight, the aircraft had a stable attitude and was in good condition, with all systems and equipment working normally, CAAC News quoted the aircraft crew as saying.
The Yun-5 general-purpose UAV has reliable flight, good low-altitude and low-speed performance, high payload and large cabin space volume, the report said.
It can take off and land short distances on dirt runways, grass runways and airstrips, and has low maintenance costs, making it an ideal large-tonnage multipurpose UAV, the report said.

As China's largest general-purpose UAV in development, the Yun-5 UAV is equipped with an advanced telemetry maneuvering system, information transmission system and ground command and control system.
With a mission payload that includes an intelligent air-drop and air-delivery system and an advanced photoelectric turret, it can undertake a variety of integrated security and emergency rescue missions, including material delivery, express transport and disaster monitoring and rescue.