South China Sea and China (2011-2017)

[AdamG]

“The South China Sea, as the name indicated, is a sea area. It belongs to China,” said Vice Adm. Yuan Yubai, who commands the North Sea Fleet for the People’s Liberation Army Navy.

http://www.defenseone.com/threats/20...-china/120989/

[AdamG]

China said on Friday it would not stand for violations of its territorial waters in the name of freedom of navigation, as the United States considers sailing warships close to China's artificial islands in the South China Sea.

A U.S. defense official told Reuters on Thursday the United States was considering sending ships to waters inside the 12-nautical-mile zones that China claims as territory around islands it has built in the Spratly chain.

Western media reports quoted U.S. officials as saying the action could take place within a matter of days, but awaited a decision by U.S. President Barack Obama.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/...0S30ND20151009

[AdamG]

China’s military is getting its ducks in a row for what many experts see as a realistic competence at destroying US aircraft carriers during a confrontation scenario over Taiwan.

In a recent issue of the Chinese-language state-run China Youth Daily newspaper, a report claims that the Gaofen-4 geostationary earth observation satellite will be launched by the end of this year with the express purpose of hunting US aircraft carriers. The satellite is equipped with a visible light imager at 50 meters and infrared staring optical imager at 400 meters.

http://www.defensenews.com/story/def...ation%20Report

[AdamG]

China's first landing of a plane on one of its new island runways in the South China Sea shows Beijing's facilities in the disputed region are being completed on schedule and military flights will inevitably follow, foreign officials and analysts said.

China's increasing military presence in the disputed sea could effectively lead to a Beijing-controlled air defence zone, they said, ratcheting up tensions with other claimants and with the United States in one of the world's most volatile areas.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/...cid=spartandhp

[AdamG]

(CNN)—The U.S. Navy sent a ship near a contested island in the South China Sea on Saturday to challenge "excessive maritime claims that restrict the rights and freedoms of the United States and others," a U.S. Defense Department spokesman told CNN.

"This operation challenged attempts by the three claimants, China, Taiwan and Vietnam, to restrict navigation rights and freedoms around the features they claim by policies that require prior permission or notification of transit within territorial seas," Cmdr. Bill Urban said.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/30/asia/u...uth-china-sea/

[AdamG]

Chinese media calls for government to 'fire shots and ram U.S. warships to teach them a lesson' over disputed South China Sea islands
Chinese media have urged their military to fire warning shots at the U.S.
Satellite images show missile systems on Chinese-controlled islands
But China maintains U.S. presence in the region is threatening peace


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...a-islands.html

[davidbfpo]

Hat tip to WoTR:http://warontherocks.com/2016/02/is-...-sea-solvable/

[AdamG]

This article first appeared March 3 at 4:15 p.m. and has been updated

The U.S. Navy has dispatched a small armada to the South China Sea.

The carrier John C. Stennis, two destroyers, two cruisers and the 7th Fleet flagship have sailed into the disputed waters in recent days, according to military officials. The carrier strike group is the latest show of force in the tense region, with the U.S. asserting that China is militarizing the region to guard its excessive territorial claims.

Stennis is joined in the region by the cruisers Antietam and Mobile Bay, and the destroyers Chung-Hoon and Stockdale. The command ship Blue Ridge, the floating headquarters of the Japan-based 7th Fleet, is also in the area, en route to a port visit in the Philippines. Stennis deployed from Washington state on Jan. 15.

http://www.navytimes.com/story/milit...-sea/81270736/

[AdamG]

And so for the moment, the Obama administration is sending Navy patrols through the Spratlys and other disputed island chains in the region, to drive home the message that the sea is free to all. Some 700 American patrols have gone through in the past year, Navy officials say. Three weeks ago the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis and four other American warships sailed into the South China Sea for routine exercises, meant to convey the message, Pentagon officials said, that the United States is the dominant military power in the region.

Aboard the Chancellorsville last week, the minutes — and the tension — stretched out as the Chinese helicopter pilot refused to answer. The helicopter kept circling and eventually flew back to the Chinese frigate, which then continued toward the American warship. At the helm, Capt. Curt A. Renshaw, who had skipped his morning shower to race up to the bridge when the Chinese helicopter approached, huddled with his officers.

The day before, Captain Renshaw had warned the entire ship over the intercom that the Chancellorsville would be transiting through the Spratlys, and he told the crew members to be on their toes and alert to trouble. He had been expecting the Chinese to show up — Beijing, in recent months, has taken to shadowing American warships that have dared to enter the South China Sea.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/...cid=spartandhp

[AdamG]

Introducing China's Type 055 battle cruiser
As reported in The National Interest magazine in late March, China is hard at work developing a new "Type 055 cruiser" for its navy. This new weapons system, which TNI dubs a "dreadnought," is believed to displace 11,500 tons, putting it somewhere between the size of an American Arleigh Burke destroyer and a Zumwalt. And the Type 055's size may be only its least impressive attribute.

http://www.fool.com/investing/genera...satellite.aspx

[AdamG]

The U.S. military’s top commander in the Pacific is arguing behind closed doors for a more confrontational approach to counter and reverse China’s strategic gains in the South China Sea, appeals that have met resistance from the White House at nearly every turn.

Adm. Harry Harris is proposing a muscular U.S. response to China's island-building that may include launching aircraft and conducting military operations within 12 miles of these man-made islands, as part of an effort to stop what he has called the "Great Wall of Sand" before it extends within 140 miles from the Philippines' capital, sources say.

http://www.navytimes.com/story/milit...fast/82472290/

[AdamG]

The Obama administration and a four-star admiral have denied that the White House issued a “gag order” on senior U.S. military officials discussing the disputed South China Sea, a politically charged region that is dogging the administration in its last months in office.

The denials came after the independent Navy Times reported Wednesday that National Security Adviser Susan Rice decided to “muzzle” Adm. Harry Harris, the chief of U.S. Pacific Command, and other senior military officials as the Obama administration prepared to host a nuclear summit in Washington last week that included China’s president, Xi Jinping. Rice’s request was designed to give President Obama room to maneuver politically as he met with the Chinese president, the newspaper reported, citing anonymous officials

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...al-say-no-way/

[Azor]

From the Asia Times:

Another troubling sign appeared in an official Chinese publication last month. A military researcher, Wang Hongliang, identified as an official at the National Strategic Research Center in Shanghai, published an article outlining how the United States would respond to the shootdown of a US aircraft over the South China Sea.

Wang stated Washington would respond in one of three ways: rapid military retaliation followed with diplomatic and military deterrence; an increase in diplomatic pressure through military deterrence without the use of armed force; and the launching of lighting attacks against Chinese military and strategic targets in the South China Sea and then quickly deescalating to prevent a full-blown war.

The Chinese researcher concluded that since China has not imposed an ADIZ, “the PLA lacks any safe flight regulations in so-called “contested airspace which it can declare to foreign parties.”

“If US planes enter this airspace, Beijing will naturally have the right to shoot them down, according to its own understanding of the ownership of the islands,” he wrote. “This does not violate international law, though the United States and some [South China Sea] countries will not see things this way. This is actually the greatest risk of an accident happening in the airspace of the SCS.

Harris, the PACOM commander, has made clear that militarily the disputed Chinese military facilities in the South China Sea, currently airfields, HQ-9 air defense missiles and YJ-62 anti-ship cruise missiles, could be easily destroyed by superior US military forces with precision strike capabilities in a conflict. But he said the problem is the incremental way China is moving to take control.

Thus China is seeking to avoid an head-on military confrontation with the United States and instead is using legal, psychological and media warfare to achieve its objective of turning the sea into a Chinese lake.

The provocative article discussing the shoot down of a US military aircraft is clearly is part of China’s war of nerves with the United States and its efforts to solidify control over the South China Sea.

Things could come to a head soon. “The Chinese could declare an ADIZ at any time,” said one Pentagon official in the know."

[SWJ Blog]

Defense Chief Ash Carter Postpones Visit to China

Entry Excerpt:



--------
Read the full post and make any comments at the SWJ Blog.
This forum is a feed only and is closed to user comments.

[SWJ Blog]

U.S. Announces Joint Patrols With Philippines in South China Sea

Entry Excerpt:



--------
Read the full post and make any comments at the SWJ Blog.
This forum is a feed only and is closed to user comments.

[AdamG]

China successfully flight tested its new high-speed maneuvering warhead last week, days after Russia carried out its own hypersonic glider test, according to Pentagon officials.

The test of the developmental DF-ZF hypersonic glide vehicle was monitored after launch Friday atop a ballistic missile fired from the Wuzhai missile launch center in central China, said officials familiar with reports of the test.

The maneuvering glider, traveling at several thousand miles per hour, was tracked by satellites as it flew west along the edge of the atmosphere to an impact area in the western part of the country.

It was the seventh successful flight test of the revolutionary glider, which travels at speeds between 4,000 and 7,000 miles per hour.

U.S. intelligence officials have assessed that China plans to use the glider to deliver nuclear weapons through increasingly sophisticated missile defenses. The DF-ZF also could be used as part of a conventional strategic strike weapon capable of hitting targets around the world within an hour.

http://freebeacon.com/national-secur...sonic-missile/

[AdamG]

China has denied the US aircraft carrier USS Stennis and accompanying naval vessels permission to make a port call in Hong Kong, a Pentagon spokesman said Friday.

It was not immediately known what prompted the Chinese action, but it comes amid growing tension between the two countries over Beijing's moves to assert its claims to much of the South China Sea.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/...cid=spartandhp

[SWJ Blog]

A US Admiral’s Bluntness Rattles China, and Washington

Entry Excerpt:



--------
Read the full post and make any comments at the SWJ Blog.
This forum is a feed only and is closed to user comments.

[Bill Moore]

Tensions in the South China Sea continue at a slow boil, but most likely will ratchet up quickly after the international tribunal rules.

http://www.voanews.com/content/beiji...e/3318147.html

Beijing Warns Critics Over South China Sea Dispute

As China awaits an international arbitration ruling over its claims to almost all of the South China Sea, Beijing issued a warning Friday to its critics, stating that the more they challenge its position regarding disputed territories in one of the world’s busiest waterways, the more it will push back.

This remains to be seen,

"I think the U.K., Australia, and other Western countries are willing to stand firm on their principles on this matter. I am doubtful they will back China or even remain silent," Glaser said, adding that "China needs the U.K., Australia and other nations just as much as they need China."

The increasing military tension is well documented in the media and on this thread, less well know are the social movements pushing back against China's coercion, to include one in the South China Sea.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1...ilebasic?pli=1

Peace Fleet: A Social Movement Approach to the South China Sea Dispute

KAI is part of the registered nonprofit group called Pilipino, and recently started a new international group called Sea Access by International Law (SAIL). KAI activists hope that SAIL will encourage students from Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, and Japan, as well as other international supporters, to join.

Given China’s disputes with South Korea, India, and the United States, these countries could provide activist recruits as well. China has occupied part of India in the Himalayas called Arunachal Pradesh, and provides political, diplomatic, and military support to North Korea, which regularly threatens South Korea, Japan, and the United States. China also threatens Japan’s Senkaku Islands.

A number of China-focused nonprofits are likely to enter into mutual support with KAI/SAIL, including Scholarism in Hong Kong, the Sunflower Movement in Taiwan, Human Rights in China, Liberty in North Korea, Students for a Free Tibet, Uyghur Human Rights Project, Arunachal Civil Society in India, and Crossing Borders.

As for China pushing back as they have promised to "continue" doing, we're now seeing more reporting, perhaps boosting, in the media on their fishing fleet militia.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-so...-idUSKCN0XS0RS

The training and support includes exercises at sea and requests to fishermen to gather information on foreign vessels, provincial government officials, regional diplomats and fishing company executives said in recent interviews.

"The maritime militia is expanding because of the country's need for it, and because of the desire of the fishermen to engage in national service, protecting our country's interests," said an advisor to the Hainan government who did not want to be named.

China continues to demonstrate that it is a bully that is unwilling to operate within international law and norms. It is clear that China's economic rise is not accompanied by political maturity or a willingness to contribute to regional stability. China doesn't provide credible support to nations in the region when there is a natural disaster, although they have the means to do. China is destroying the environment, and it is probably impossible to estimate the impact of destroying the reef in the South China Sea, and the associated loss of viable fishing areas in the most populous area in the world on food security. This doesn't even address their use of economic, paramilitary, and military coercion in the region, and no doubt they will behave this way beyond the region if the global community doesn't push back.

We can make hard choices now, or harder choices later.

[AdamG]

Beijing is in a somewhat bipolar position; they want to 'be' America but they're not strong enough to fill the vacuum if Pax Americana fumbles on the five yard line (or gets clotheslined by her enemies) and the global economy gets knocked into a tailspin.

If they let this game in the Spratlys go too far, they either get hammered by the US (not good for their investments) or they prevail (also not good for their investments, since that'd be killing the golden goose).

So between this thread and the China-as-a-superpower thread, Beijing is balancing their international image projection versus a mad scramble to harden their internal economy (in case the US self-implodes), all while doing damage control on the growing social stress fractures.

Let's see how that works out for them, Cotton.

Meanwhile,

China scrambled fighter jets on Tuesday as a U.S. navy ship sailed close to a disputed reef in the South China Sea, a patrol China denounced as an illegal threat to peace which only went to show its defense installations in the area were necessary.

Guided missile destroyer the USS William P. Lawrence traveled within 12 nautical miles (22 km) of Chinese-occupied Fiery Cross Reef, U.S. Defense Department spokesman Bill Urban said.

The so-called freedom of navigation operation was undertaken to "challenge excessive maritime claims" by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam which were seeking to restrict navigation rights in the South China Sea, Urban said.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-so...-idUSKCN0Y10DM

Also, oops.

A navy spokesperson, Liang Yang, said in a statement that the jet, belonging to the East Sea Fleet, crashed into a sewing machine factory while conducting a night training session at about 7.30pm.

The pilot ejected from the aircraft safely and nobody was injured in the incident, according to Liang.

http://www.scmp.com/news/china/socie...-eastern-china

We can make hard choices now, or harder choices later.

I think that die is already cast.