China is Stirring: Why Now?

[Avvakum]

PLA could be defeated in an hour in nuclear war with US: report

• Staff Reporter
• 2014-01-22
• 12:28 (GMT+8)

DF-31A mobile launchers on display in a 2009 military parade in Beijing. (Internet photo)

The People's Liberation Army could be defeated in a potential nuclear war between China and the United States in just one hour, according to the Moscow-based Expert magazine.

Military experts around the world have claimed that the United States should not underestimate the nuclear capability of the Second Artillery Corps, China's strategic missile force. The magazine said however that many of the technologies used by the PLA today come from the former Soviet Union. The report added that China's most advanced technology still comes from nuclear experts from Russia and Ukraine who defected after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

China has yet to build a three-pronged nuclear capability that could challenge the United States, consisting of strategic bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles. The Second Artillery Corps is also unable to compete against the US in the number of nuclear warheads it has, the report said, adding that China would likely lose a full scale nuclear war in less than an hour.

Vasily Kashin from the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies said that the DF-5 missiles currently equipped by the Second Artillery Corps are capable of striking continental United States.

However, it will take the PLA at least two hours to fire this fragile liquid-fueled missile, which means that it can be easily wiped out by the enemy even before its launch. China's DF-4 missile, meanwhile, has a range of 5,500 kilometers but cannot reach the United States, Kashin said.

The magazine reported that China is developing the DF-31A — a road-mobile, solid propellant ICBM with a range of 11,000 kilometers. It will be able to target key cities on the West Coast of the United States, including Los Angeles. However, the United States has at least 2,000 advanced ICBMs with similar capabilities to the DF-31A. In addition, both the DF-31 and DF-31A are limited to one nuclear warhead.

Sources claim that China is now devoting resources to the development of the DF-41, which will have a range of 14,000 kilometers. A single DF-41 is capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads, the Expert said, adding that the new missile will not begin service with the PLA in the foreseeable future. It takes between 20 and 30 years for China to deploy its ICBMs to the frontline after the first test launch of the missile, according to the magazine.

As for China's new Type 094 Jin-class ballistic missile submarine, the Expert stated that it is equipped with a JL-2 missile with a range of 8,000 kilometers. Analysts from the Pentagon said that the capability of Type 094 is only comparable to the submarines of the Soviet Union in 1970s, however. In addition, it will take another five years for the first Jin-class submarine to begin service with the PLA Navy.

Meanwhile, China also has a regiment of H-6K strategic bombers based on the design of the Soviet Union's Tupolev Tu-16 jet bomber, which was first produced in the 1950s. The H-6K has been upgraded with D-30KP engines and CJ-10 cruise missiles, but the country is still unable to develop a smaller nuclear warhead to be loaded aboard the strategic bomber, the magazine said.

China is not ready for war, unless in alliance with other nations and by deception and asymmetrical warfare.

[vector7]

US admiral warns of no China hotline in times of crisis

Admiral Samuel Locklear concerned that no direct means of communication exists between the United States and China in the event of a crisis

PUBLISHED : Friday, 24 January, 2014, 9:31am
UPDATED : Friday, 24 January, 2014, 9:32am

Agence France-Presse in Washington

• 

Admiral Samuel Locklear, commander of US Pacific Command, at the Pentagon in Washington on Thursday. Photo: AFP

The top US commander in the Pacific expressed concern on Thursday that he has no direct line to his counterpart in China in the case of a crisis in the region.

Amid tensions between China and Japan in the East China Sea, Admiral Samuel Locklear said he wanted a hotline to officers from the People’s Liberation Army to defuse potential conflict.

“I don’t have the ability to pick up a phone and talk directly to a PLA navy admiral or general at the time of a crisis. And we need to work on that,” Locklear told a news conference.

The issue has been discussed between the two governments, he said, “but things take time”.

The head of US Pacific Command said Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel and the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, occasionally consult their counterparts by phone.

“Would that work in the time of a crisis? We hope it would work,” the Locklear said.

“I don’t have the ability to pick up a phone and talk directly to a PLA navy admiral or general at the time of a crisis.”

Admiral Samuel Locklear

The United States and China agreed to set up a direct telephone link between the two countries’ defence ministries in 2008 – but it has yet to be tested in an emergency.

Analysts say top officers do not have a channel to confer with their counterparts in an urgent situation, unlike in the days of the famed “red phone” with Moscow during the Cold War.

In December, a US guided missile warship, the Cowpens, had to make a sharp turn to avoid colliding with a Chinese naval ship that cut in front of it, according to the Pentagon.

US naval officers said the incident showed why Chinese and American military leaders need a working hotline.

Locklear, who oversees US forces across the Asia-Pacific, said regular communication with China was vital and warned misunderstandings could trigger a conflict in the East China Sea, where Japan and China are locked in a bitter territorial dispute.

Asked about the dispute, Locklear said: “I am concerned, any time you have two large powers, two large economic powers, two large military powers, that have a disagreement that they’re not talking to each other about, that has no clear diplomatic end state in sight, that the risk of miscalculation can grow.”

He said stand-offs over contested islands in the area often involve “young naval officers, young civilian mariners” from China or Japan who are inexperienced.

The admiral urged both sides to reach a diplomatic solution over the islands, which Japan calls Senkaku and China refers to as the Diaoyus.

“We have to continue to encourage restraint, we have to continue to encourage professionalism, we have to continue to hope that there will be diplomatic dialogue,” he said.

The dispute is “not productive for the region and it needs to be ultimately resolved,” he added.

The feud over the islands has come perilously close to erupting into armed clashes in recent years.

Japan has called on China to help arrange a communication channel between the two countries’ armed forces.

[vector7]

China expands its reach by playing chicken with the US military

War by other means: As China attempts to wrest control of the South China Sea, the US is forced to flinch or crash.


China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) naval frigate 'Mianyang' steams through the swell as it approaches Sydney Harbour on September 20, 2010. China is increasingly deploying risky confrontations as a means to expand its reach in the disputed South China Sea. (Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty Images)

HONG KONG — As anyone who has seen “Rebel Without a Cause” knows, playing chicken is dangerous for California teenagers in hot-rods.
But playing chicken with warships, cruisers, and fighter jets — well, that’s just another level of crazy.

Unfortunately, vessels from the US military and from other countries increasingly find themselves in such high-stakes confrontations on the East Asian seas, where China has adopted a strategy of making rivals flinch or risk collision.

Just this week, Chinese sailors parked three ships on a disputed reef 50 miles from the Malaysian coast and performed a ceremony in which they swore an oath “to safeguard [China’s] sovereignty and territorial interests.” Malaysia also claims the reef, and is building a naval base nearby to protect it against China’s claim.

That’s just the latest in an escalating series of incidents.

In November, China declared its right to patrol and regulate a large swath of airspace, including a zone controlled by Japan and areas regularly used by the US military. Since then, China says it has repeatedly dispatched surveillance planes to tail, monitor, and identify foreign fighters.

In December, a Chinese ship halted in the path of the USS Cowpens, in international waters, forcing it to change course or risk a crash. The American cruiser complied.

Then in January, China’s southernmost province of Hainan announced that police vessels had begun enforcing a law requiring “all foreigners or foreign ships” to get approval before they could fish in 2 million square kilometers of sea — an area five times the size of California. The claimed territory encompasses waters long plied by fisherman from Vietnam and the Philippines.

While none of those incidents has yet led to bloodshed or to any formal cession of territory, they have yielded de-facto results. And collectively, they show the genius and risks in China’s plan to wrest control of the South China Sea, one provocation at a time.

“The latest examples of Chinese assertiveness are part of China's strategy of ‘legal warfare,” says Carlyle Thayer, emeritus professor at Australia Defence Force Academy.

“China's strategy works best against weak states who do not have the means to respond. [And] it presents an asymmetric challenge to the US because if the US Navy uses warships it will be seen as escalating the dispute.”

The strategy has already reaped dividends.

Since a 2012 showdown between Beijing and Manila, armed Chinese ships have successfully occupied a reef 125 miles off the coast of the Philippines, blocking access to Filipino ships and confronting boats that approach the shoal. The occupation of this reef, which lies more than 500 miles from the nearest Chinese province, has become a textbook example to Chinese strategists looking to expand China’s reach.

To understand the strategy’s longterm goal, look at the map below. It shows the so-called “Nine Dash Line” or “Cow Tongue” that appears on all Chinese maps, outlining the extent of Beijing’s maritime claims. In all, the Cow Tongue covers 80 percent of the South China Sea.

Although the Pacific contest may seem remote to Americans, the stakes are high.

A large portion of global trade passes through international waters claimed by China, and the US has five treaty allies with interests in the region — Thailand, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines and Australia.

What can the US do?

Short of a military confrontation, the options are limited, particularly when it comes to cooling down the confrontation between Japan and China.

“It’s tragic and it is difficult to see how both sides can back down while saving face,” says Victor Teo, expert on Sino-Japanese relations at the University of Hong Kong.

That’s perhaps why some US strategists recently called for the American military to, in effect, stop being the first to flinch when provoked by Chinese vessels.

In a recent article for Foreign Affairs, Elbridge Colby and Ely Ratner of the Center for a New American Security argued that the US should raise the stakes for China, putting the onus on them to be the peacemaker who backs down.

“China is taking advantage of Washington’s risk aversion by rocking the boat,” the authors write, “seeing what it can extract in the process and letting the United States worry about righting it.”

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/n...na-sea-chicken

[American Patriot]

Pentagon: USA Has No Counter to Chinese Hypersonic Missile

Posted: January 31, 2014 | Author: Pundit from another Planet | Filed under: Asia, China, War Room | Tags: Air Force Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance Agency, China, DF-21, Multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle, Pentagon, People's Liberation Army, Washington Free Beacon |1 Comment »
Pentagon intelligence official says Chinese hypersonic weapon poses major challenge

Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) sailor / AP

Bill Gertz reports: China’s testing of a new ultra-high-speed maneuvering warhead represents a major threat to U.S. military forces, a Pentagon intelligence official said on Thursday.
Lee Fuell, a technical intelligence specialist with the Air Force National Air and Space Intelligence Center, said during a congressional China commission hearing that the recent test of what the Pentagon has called the WU-14 hypersonic glide vehicle “represents a considerable challenge.
“It is very difficult to defend against,” Fuell told the U.S. China Economic and Security Review Commission during a hearing on China’s military buildup. He noted that the weapon is “an area of great concern.”

The Washington Free Beacon first disclosed the test of an experimental hypersonic glide vehicle on Jan. 9. The vehicle appears to be an unpowered maneuvering vehicle that is lofted to near space and then is guided to its target at speeds of up to Mach 10 or nearly 8,000 miles per hour.
Chinese military commentators said the vehicle is planned for use in potential attacks against aircraft carriers at sea.
Fuell’s comments expressing concerns about the hypersonic threat contrast with those of Adm. Samuel Locklear, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, who said last week that he was not particularly concerned by the Chinese hypersonic weapon. Locklear later acknowledged to reporters that the high-speed weapon would be a factor in “the calculation of how we’re going to maintain a peaceful security environment in the future.”
Commission member Larry Wortzel, who asked Fuell about the hypersonic weapon, said China is developing the high-speed vehicle as an outgrowth of its anti-ship ballistic missile, the DF-21D.


“It’s a big deal,” Wortzel said in an interview.


Wortzel said that unless the U.S. military develops directed energy weapons, including lasers and pulsed rail guns “we don’t have a counter” to the hypersonic missile threat.
“It really forces us further away from China’s coasts,” he said.





In a prepared statement for the hearing, Fuell said China is developing a range of systems designed to counter ballistic missile defenses, including maneuverable reentry vehicles, or MaRVs, and multiple independently-targetable reentry vehicles, or MIRVs. The hypersonic glide vehicle is considered a maneuvering re-entry vehicle.


Other anti-anti-missile systems include decoys, chaff, jamming, thermal shielding, and anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons, he said.


“Together with the increased mobility and survivability of the new generation of missiles, these technologies and training enhancements strengthen China’s nuclear force and enhance its strategic strike capabilities,” Fuell said.


New long-range mobile missiles and China’s beginning of strategic missile submarine patrols are expected to give the Chinese military more sophisticated command and control systems.


On China’s multiple warhead missiles, Fuell said the additional warheads will bolster the capability of its strategic nuclear forces.


“MIRVs provide operational flexibility that a single warhead does not,” he said. “Specifically, they enable more efficient targeting, allowing more targets to be hit with fewer missiles, more missiles to be employed per target, or a larger reserve of weapons held against contingency.”


China is expected to use its MIRVs to be able to hit more targets and allow a greater number of weapons to be held in reserve.


He did not say whether China has deployed multiple warheads only that it appears to be preparing to do so in the future.


The use of multiple warheads is likely to renew debate within U.S. intelligence circles about the number of China’s nuclear warheads. U.S. intelligence agencies claim China has around 200 to 300 warheads.


However, outside analysts insist that, based on the number of strategic missiles and the estimated large amount of fissile material produced by China, Beijing’s strategic warhead stockpile is far larger, perhaps between 600 and 1,000 warheads.


Fuell testified that China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is steadily building up both ballistic and cruise missiles that are increasing in range and precision…
Read more…
Washington Free Beacon
Related articles

• China’s new hypersonic weapon system draws international attention (dailycaller.com)
• Missile defense buster: China tests new hypersonic glide vehicle (space-travel.com)
• China’s New Hypersonic Missile Can Scream Past US Air Defences (gizmodo.co.uk)
• China Confirms Hypersonic Missile Delivery Test (voatibetanenglish.com)
• While Obama Disarms America’s Military, Red China Quietly Building Game-Changing Hypersonic Missiles (directorblue.blogspot.com)
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• China Conducts First Test of New Ultra-High Speed Missile Vehicle (freebeacon.com)
• Speed Is The New Stealth: The Role Of Hypersonic Systems – Analysis (eurasiareview.com)

[vector7]

China reveals 'ace' against U.S. military

Report confirms weapon usable for 'surprise attack or an intimidation factor'

Published: 21 hours ago
author-image F. Michael Maloof About | Email | Archive



F. Michael Maloof, staff writer for WND and G2Bulletin, is a former senior security policy analyst in the office of the secretary of defense.

WASHINGTON – Members of the Chinese military are looking to use an electromagnetic pulse as part of a “one-two punch” to knock out – literally within seconds – all defensive electronics not only on Taiwan but also on U.S. warships that could defend the island.

This revelation comes in an article by Lou Xiaoqing who says the People’s Liberation Army sees an EMP weapon as the primary means of incapacitating Taiwan and disabling American defenders nearby.

Given that such a strategy was made public in an article entitled “Electromagnetic pulse bombs are Chinese ace,” it is seen as reflecting the official Chinese government position.

Xaoqing said that if the Chinese were to use a high-altitude nuclear device which would create the destructive EMP impact on Taiwan’s electronics, it would be exploded at an attitude of 18 miles to avoid damaging civilian and military equipment on the Chinese mainland, which might happen if the bomb exploded at a higher altitude.

“China is attracted to the fight against the U.S. military after the effective range, using them as a means of surprise attack or an intimidation factor,” Xaoqing said. “The United States will abandon the use of aircraft carrier battle groups to defend Taiwan.”

Xaoqing said that the Chinese military has calculated that the U.S. military is too fragmented and, coupled with the downturn in the economy, would be less likely to come to Taiwan’s assistance, forcing Taiwan to defend itself.

Contrary to popular belief, the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act does not require the United States to intervene militarily if the Chinese mainland attacks Taiwan. Instead, it has adopted what is called a policy of “strategic ambiguity” in which the U.S. neither will confirm nor deny that it would intervene on Taiwan’s behalf.

The legislation, however, does require the U.S. to “provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character” and “to maintain the capacity of the United States to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or the social or economic system, of the people of Taiwan.”

Read the documentation that’s sparking the worry about the EMP threat, in “A Nation Forsaken.”

As WND previously has reported, China is giving a priority to developing EMP weapons that could be used against U.S. aircraft carriers, which increasingly are arriving in the South and East China Seas as part of the new U.S. “pivot” policy toward Asia.

That policy is to challenge China’s claims over all of the East and South China Seas and the increasing assertiveness by Beijing, which is trying to gain exclusive control over vital minerals and energy in the region.

There already have been instances of military confrontations between China and neighbors such as Vietnam, the Philippines and Japan.

With a history of animosity, China and Japan now have conflicting claims of ownership over two South China Sea islands.

China calls the islands Diaoyu while Japan refers to them as Senkaku. The Japanese have evidence of their claim – in having purchased them from private citizens years ago – and the U.S. supports Japan’s claim.

A 2005 U.S. National Ground Intelligence Center study that was classified secret but released two years ago said China’s development of high-powered microwave weapons is part of its “assassin’s mace” arsenal – weapons that allow a technologically inferior country such as China and even North Korea to defeat U.S. military forces.

Microwaves and the gamma rays from a nuclear blast are forms of electromagnetic energy. The bombs are designed to be exploded at a high altitude to knock out all unprotected electronics, including electrical grids, computers and automobiles over a wide geographical area.

Even the declassified NGIC report pointed out that the use of an EMP against Taiwan at an altitude of 30 to 40 kilometers would “confine the EMP effects to Taiwan and its immediate vicinity and minimize damage to electronics on the mainland.”

The report particularly said that China’s DF-21 medium-range ballistic missile could be the platform to be used to launch an EMP attack on Taiwan.

In outlining China’s one-two punch, Xaoqing said that in the first punch the Chinese military would disable non-hardened electronics and command and control centers.

He said that an EMP would be especially attractive because it acts with the speed of light in any kind of weather, would hit multiple targets over a wide area and minimize damage in politically sensitive environments.

Given the relatively low altitude of 18 miles at which a Chinese EMP would be detonated over Taiwan, Xaoqing said the second punch would create certain health effects from exposure to an EMP.

He said that based on Chinese research in 2005 that assessed the effects of an EMP on heart cells, it would make peoples’ hearts unable to function as well as they should, with possible death or serious damage of the heart and, by extension, death to those exposed to an EMP.

If exposed to explosions at higher altitudes, the effects of an EMP would be less damaging to peoples’ health, he said.

While there wouldn’t be a 100 percent kill rate, Xaoqing said, he said it could lead to long term disability to those most susceptible to an EMP, such as the elderly, young and unborn.

Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2014/01/chinas-re...kMKYXMcGYI0.99

[vector7]

China Insights from DIA Director LtGen Flynn’s SASC Testimony

Blog Posts
Michael T. Flynn, Lieutenant General, U.S. Army, Director, Defense Intelligence Agency, “Annual Threat Assessment,” Statement Before the Senate Armed Services Committee, United States Senate, Washington, DC, 11 February 2014.

Here are the China-relevant excerpts from Lt. Gen. Flynn’s recent testimony. I’ve bolded and underlined the ones I believe to be most interesting and important. These include:

• details on China’s growing foreign military sales

• confirmation that negotiations remain ongoing for Su-35 sale (I think China is especially interested in the Saturn 117S/AL-41F1A turbofan engines aeroengines that come with the aircraft)
• anticipation that PLAN will execute first nuclear deterrence patrols this year (a point that ONI China SIO Jesse Karotkin also made in his recent USCC testimony)
• revelation that China has deployed its first SSN to the Indian Ocean (truly a landmark event, but one that should be analyzed in measured fashion; I’m surprised this hasn’t received more Indian media coverage)

• documentation that Chinese and Russian counterparts are negotiating the joint design and production of a new advanced conventional submarine based on Russia’s Lada class (will be interesting to watch what happens here)
• confirmation of continued deployment of DF-21D ASBM (readers know that I have long anticipated this and regard it as something that must be taken very seriously)

Now for the related portions of original text:
… WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION (WMD), DELIVERY SYSTEMS, PROLIFERATION, AND ADVANCED CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS
China is expanding as a supplier of advanced conventional weapons, supplementing its traditional exports of basic battlefield equipment such as small arms, artillery and armored vehicles to include more advanced examples of long-range multiple launch rocket artillery, improved surface to air missile systems and anti-ship cruise missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles, several of which are armed variants. China’s rapid development of new products, aggressive marketing, and relatively low pricing will allow more countries with limited access to advanced weapons to acquire some of these capabilities. …

THEATER BALLISTIC MISSILES
… China, Iran, and North Korea, for example, exercise near simultaneous salvo firings from multiple locations to saturate missile defenses. …

SPACE AND COUNTERSPACE
China: Beijing is pursuing space efforts for military, economic and political objectives. China’s military operates satellites for communications, navigation, earth resources, weather, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance purposes, in addition to manned space and space exploration missions. Typically, China has emphasized the domestic and international benefits of its space program. Internationally, China views the success of these capabilities as a contributor to its growing status and influence, but refrains from highlighting any specific military applicability.

Regarding its counterspace activities, China’s test of a ground-based anti-satellite missile in 2007 and the resulting debris generation in the atmosphere has been well publicized. If deployed, such a capability and the resultant orbital debris is a threat to all countries’ military, civilian, and commercial space assets to the peaceful usage of outer space. Non-kinetic counterspace solutions in development also include jammers. …

HARD, DEEP, BURIED TARGETS/UNDERGROUND FACILITIES
The use of underground facilities (UGFs) to conceal and protect critical military and other assets and functions is widespread and expanding.

UGFs conceal and increase the survivability of weapons of mass destruction, strategic command and control, leadership protection and relocation, military research and development, military production and strategic military assets. A significant trend of concern is the basing of ballistic and cruise missiles and other systems designed for anti-access/area denial weapons directly within UGFs. In addition, Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea operate national-level military denial and deception programs. These four states are devoting increased resources, and particular attention, to improving the denial and deception tactics, techniques, and procedures, for their road-mobile missile and cruise missile forces.

REGIONAL THREATS
… EAST ASIA
China: The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is building a modern military capable of achieving success on a 21st century battlefield. The PLA is developing capabilities to protect China’s defined territorial integrity, which includes Taiwan and other land and maritime claims along around China’s periphery, preserve China’s political system and ensure sustainable economic and social development.

Preparation for a Taiwan conflict with U.S. intervention remains the primary driver of the PLA’s evolving force structure, weapons development, operational planning and training.

China has spent as much as $240 billion on military–related goods and services in 2013, in contrast to the $119.5 billion Beijing reported in its official military budget. This budget omits major categories, but it does show spending increases for domestic military production and programs to improve professionalism and the quality of life for military personnel.

Disputed territorial claims in the East and South China Seas remain potential flashpoints. The Chinese announcement in November 2013 that it was establishing an air identification zone (ADIZ) over portions of the East China Sea has increased tensions since this ADIZ overlaps with other preexisting ADIZ’s and covers territory administrated by Japan and the Republic of Korea. China’s announcement raised tensions and increased the risk of incidents that could undermine peace, security, and prosperity in the region.

China’s ground force is seeking to restructure itself into a mechanized, modular force that can conduct joint operations anywhere along China’s borders. This effort is currently taking shape with an emphasis on building and outfitting brigades as the main operational unit and creating flexible special operations forces, improved army aviation units, and C2 capabilities with improved networks providing real‐time data transmissions within and between units

China’s air force is transforming from a force oriented solely on territorial defense into one capable of both offshore offensive and defensive roles – including strike, air and missile defense, early warning, and reconnaissance. It is also seeking to improve its strategic projection by increasing its long‐range transport and logistical capabilities. Modernization efforts include investing in stealth technology.

China also continues negotiations with Russia for Su‐35 fighter aircraft; however, a contract is unlikely to be signed until later this year, at the earliest.

The PLA navy is developing the JIN‐class nuclear‐powered ballistic missile submarine and JL‐2 submarine‐launched ballistic missile. We expect the navy will make their first nuclear deterrence patrols in 2014.

It has also recently deployed for the first time a nuclear‐powered attack submarine to the Indian Ocean.

China is also continuing negotiations for the joint‐design and production for a new advanced conventional submarine based on the Russian LADA‐class.

China’s investment in naval weapons primarily focuses on anti‐air and anti‐surface capabilities to achieve periodic and local sea and air superiority within the first island chain. China’s first aircraft carrier, commissioned in late 2012, will not reach its full potential until it acquires an operational fixed‐wing air regiment over the next several years.

To modernize its nuclear missile force, China is also adding more survivable road‐mobile systems and enhancing its silo‐based systems. This new generation of missiles is intended to ensure the viability of China’s strategic deterrent by ensuring a second strike capability.

The military is also augmenting the over 1,200 conventional short‐range ballistic missiles deployed opposite Taiwan with a limited but growing number of conventionally armed, medium‐range ballistic missiles, including the DF‐16, which will improve China’s ability to strike regional targets. China also continues to deploy growing numbers of the DF‐21D anti‐ship ballistic missile. …

[vector7]

PLA orders discussion of combat readiness

• Xinhua
• 2014-03-19
• 16:58 (GMT+8)

PLA delegates to the National People's COngress leave the Great Hall of the People in Beijing after the closing of the second meeting of the 12th NPC, March 13. (Photo/Xinhua)

The People's Liberation Army's General Political Department has ordered the army and armed police across the nation to discuss combat readiness and effectiveness, the army's media outlet PLA Daily reported on Tuesday.

The PLA Daily said the across-the-board discussions are aimed at instilling the concept of combat readiness, adding that the discussion will be the army's prime political task this year.

The PLA General Political Department has required military officers to learn about modern military technology and IT systems and to analyze what it takes to win a modern war.

The discussions will entail weeding out military practices that run counter to the "combat-readiness standard" and studying the Communist Party of China Central Military Commission chairman Xi Jinping's remarks on national defense and army building, according to the PLA Daily.

Xi, who leads the country's reform on national defense and the armed forces, said that military reform should be guided by the objective of building a strong army at a key military reform meeting on Saturday.

With "being able to win battles" as the focus, Xi said at the meeting, the reform should target key problems in strengthening combat preparedness and weak links in honing combat effectiveness.

[Avvakum]

For you Vector7, in light of some of what i've said and PM'd you;

Chinese president meets Dutch king English.news.cn | 2014-03-23 09:51:27 | Editor: Yang Yi

Chinese President Xi Jinping (2nd L) meets with Dutch King Willem-Alexander (2nd R) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, March 22, 2014. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) AMSTERDAM, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Dutch King Willem-Alexander here on Saturday, vowing to further develop ties between the two countries. Xi arrived here early Saturday for a state visit to the Netherlands, the first one ever made by a Chinese president to the western European country since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two nations. King Willem-Alexander spoke highly of the relations between the Netherlands and China. He said the Dutch royal family had friendly exchanges with China over a long period and his mother Beatrix had paid multiple visits to China when she was the queen. He said the Netherlands is willing to be a good partner of China, and expects bilateral practical cooperation and cultural exchanges to be strengthened. The King believed Xi's visit will further boost Netherlands-China relations. For his part, Xi said the Netherlands is one of the first western countries to recognize the People's Republic of China and the two countries' cooperation has been at the forefront among China's cooperation with European countries. The Netherlands has been China's second biggest trading partner in the European Union (EU) for 11 years. It is also China's third largest source of foreign direct investment in the EU. Meanwhile, China is the biggest trading partner and second largest source of investment for the Netherlands outside the EU. Xi attributed the cooperation achievements to the diligence, pragmatism and innovation of both the Chinese and Dutch people. China is deepening its reforms and opening wider to the outside world, which will bring significant opportunities for the Netherlands and the world, Xi said, adding China welcomes the Netherlands to play a role in the process and share development opportunities for common prosperity. China is willing to learn from the Netherlands in the aspects of technology and governance, Xi said, adding he would like to work with the Dutch leadership in planning the future development of bilateral relations during his visit, so as to bring the ties to a higher level and make new contributions to China-Europe relations. 1 2

Page 2;

Chinese president meets Dutch king English.news.cn | 2014-03-23 09:51:27 | Editor: Yang Yi

Chinese President Xi Jinping (2nd L), his wife Peng Liyuan (L), Dutch King Willem-Alexander (C), Queen Maxima (2nd R) and former Queen Beatrix (R) pose for photos in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, March 22, 2014. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

Xi appreciated the King's contribution to China-Netherlands friendship, especially his contribution to the water resources cooperation by using his own knowledge in the area.
The two leaders also exchanged views on financial services and anti-terrorism, agreeing to strengthen China-Netherlands cooperation to jointly cope with global challenges.
At a state banquet on Saturday evening, King Willem-Alexander said China's development is crucial to world peace and prosperity. The Netherlands cherishes its friendship with China, and is willing to cooperate with China as both countries endeavor to realize their dreams.
Xi said the exchanges between China and the Netherlands are exemplary in the mutual learning between the East and the West.
"As soon as we step on the soil of the Netherlands, we feel the Dutch people's friendship toward the Chinese people," Xi said.
China attaches strategic importance to its relations with Europe and is ready to step up all-round cooperation, Xi said, hoping the Netherlands will make further contribution to the development of China-Europe relations.

[vector7]

Top US Official: China Will Soon Place Long-Range Nuclear Missiles On Submarines

China for the first time will likely have subs equipped with long-range nuclear missiles later this year, part of an increasingly potent submarine fleet, a top US officer said Tuesday.

The head of US Pacific Command, Admiral Samuel Locklear, said the latest class of Chinese subs would be armed with a new ballistic missile with an estimated range of 4,000 nautical miles (7,500 kilometers).

“This will give China its first credible sea-based nuclear deterrent, probably before the end of 2014,” Locklear told the Senate Armed Services Committee.


Locklear was referring to the production of China's JIN-class nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine and the new JL-2 missile on board the vessel.


"China’s advance in submarine capabilities is significant. They possess a large and increasingly capable submarine force," the admiral said.


In October, Chinese state media for the first time showed images of the country's nuclear-powered submarines, touting it as a "credible second-strike nuclear capability."


Locklear said China's submarine modernization effort was impressive.


"I think they'll have in the next decade or so a fairly well modernized force of probably 60 to 70 submarines which is a lot of submarines for a regional power," he said.


China now has five nuclear attack submarines, four nuclear ballistic missile submarines, and 53 diesel attack submarines, according to Jess Karotkin of the Office of Naval Intelligence.


China's production of submarines has moved at a quick annual pace. Between 1995 and 2012, Beijing produced 2.9 submarines a year, according to the Congressional Research Service.


Locklear, repeating the Pentagon's view of China's military profile, said Beijing is investing in new weapons and naval power in part "to deny US access to the Western Pacific during a time of crisis or conflict and to provide the means by which China can bolster its broad maritime claims in the region."


He added that Chinese military operations were "expanding in size, complexity, duration and geographic location."
Copyright (2014) AFP. All rights reserved.

[Ryan Ruck]

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[vector7]

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