January 25, 2024 – CHINA NEWS

January 2024
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

Defense & Aerospace

China adds powerful new ship to maritime patrol fleet

2 years ago China News

China has added a new powerful ship to its fleet of maritime patrol vessels in the South China Sea, state...

Bagram Airfield base after all U.S. and NATO forces evacuated

Defense & Aerospace

China weighing occupation of former U.S. air base at Bagram in Afghanistan

2 years ago China News

China is considering deploying military personnel and economic development officials to Bagram airfield, perhaps the single-most prominent symbol of the 20-year...

China is using the Arctic and seas only miles away from Alaska as a staging area to undermine U.S. national security, top lawmakers and experts say. Newly released images reveal a fleet of Chinese warships conducting operations in American waters off the coast of Alaska, prompting Coast Guard vessels to track and communicate with the ships. Defense hawks in Congress fear that the maneuvers are a test case. Beijing’s saber rattling in Taiwan and contested control of the South China Sea has prompted concern from national security officials, but China’s military could soon join with Russia to pose a threat closer to U.S. territory, according to Alex Gray, the former chief of staff for the Trump administration’s national security council and a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council. “What really became apparent under President Trump was just how ambitious and challenging Beijing’s aims in the Arctic are,” Gray told the Washington Free Beacon. “There is a significant strategic challenge in the Arctic. … It is on the verge of becoming an access-denied environment.” China has declared itself a “near-Arctic nation” and has put force behind that claim to back it up. Beijing is building polar icecutters—heavy-duty ships needed to traverse the Arctic’s waters—at a clip outpacing the United States. China also harbors a scientific base on the Norwegian possession of Svalbard, which Gray warns could soon become a site for military purposes, while also targeting Greenland as a location for other installations. The region also comes with trade benefits: The country has developed a “polar silk road,” not unlike its notorious belt-and-road system, to extend its shipping routes to unsuspecting countries in the Arctic. Pentagon spokesman John Supple told the Free Beacon that the department is aware of Chinese operations off Alaska and that it “remains committed to upholding “a rules-based international order that preserves freedom of the seas, freedom of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded commerce, and freedom of economic opportunity for all nations.” “While we will continue to monitor the activities of these ships with interest, the Department of Defense has no objection to foreign vessels—to include warships from the People’s Republic of China—operating in international waters, even those adjacent to the United States,” Supple said. “It is worth noting that the People’s Republic of China routinely objects to the military and survey operations of the United States and other nations in the PRC’s exclusive economic zone, even as it deploys its own ships to the exclusive economic zones of the United States, Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Australia, and other maritime nations. As the People’s Republic of China chooses to exercise maritime rights and freedoms as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, we call on them to respect the maritime rights and freedoms of other nations operating in the PRC’s exclusive economic zone.” The importance of the region is not lost on lawmakers. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R., Alaska), a member of the Armed Services Committee, told the Free Beacon China’s looming challenges near his state require urgent action from the Biden administration. A massive defense buildup—such as the recent discovery of hundreds of Chinese nuclear missiles—make the future of the region of great concern, Sullivan said. “The Arctic is an area of competition, not just because of natural resources and open sea lanes, but it is also increasingly being viewed as an avenue of approach toward the continental United States through nuclear missiles, ballistic missiles, and hypersonic missiles. … They would come through Alaska,” Sullivan said. “We need a firm approach as it relates to this new cold war.” Military officials have taken notice of the potential threat to the north. The Department of the Air Force released an Arctic defense strategy singling out Chinese and Russian activity in the region as a major challenge. Sullivan led an effort to create the Arctic Security Initiative—a detailed framework for how to defend Alaska and other American interests in the region—which will go into this year’s annual defense bill. He also called for additional investment in the Coast Guard, which only has two active icecutter ships, one of which is in critical condition, compared with Russia’s 54. The Biden administration has offered a different approach. When Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Alaska in July he touted the Arctic as a “strategic hotspot” for competition with China and Russia—the conflict, in his telling, came down to climate change. Climate czar John Kerry also continues to flirt with the Chinese about climate change cooperation, which could come at the expense of the defense buildup. “The fact that John Kerry was in Beijing two weeks ago is the ultimate signal of weakness for the Biden administration,” Sullivan said. “The more Kerry has a point-man position for China policy in the Biden administration, the less support he’ll get from Republicans. He already sold our national interest out once in the South China Sea. I have no idea what he’s trying to sell out this time as it relates to climate change.” While he has long sounded the alarm on threats to his home state, Sullivan is now finding increasing support among lawmakers from the lower 48 states. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R., Wis.) told the Free Beacon the Arctic is becoming an “increasingly strategic” area requiring American attention. “The Arctic occupies increasingly strategic geography that connects the United States to both Northeast Asia and Northern Europe,” Gallagher said. “As China and Russia expand their military presence in the region, we must ensure American forces have the infrastructure, logistics, and training needed to safeguard our interests in the High North.” Source: Tiananmen’s Tremendous Achievements

Defense & Aerospace

Chinese Arctic incursion spooks US lawmakers

2 years ago China News

China is using the Arctic and seas only miles away from Alaska as a staging area to undermine U.S. national...

The Chinese Communist Party has unintentionally revealed weaknesses of the country’s military. One indication came with the building of facilities for launching new intercontinental ballistic missiles in an inland desert region. The other was a series of further attempts to increase childbirths, including measures to help reduce the costly burden of educating children. Behind these moves lurks evidence that the country is addressing concerns regarding troop morale and the military’s ability to fight a sustained war. For nearly a decade, China has been busy in the South China Sea, first building artificial islands, then deploying radar equipment and missiles to deter foreign military aircraft and vessels from approaching the area, and finally deploying strategic nuclear submarines capable of launching ballistic missiles in the now-protected sea. Submarine-launched ballistic missiles, known as SLBMs, are the ultimate weapon. They allow nations to avoid being put in disadvantageous positions since the subs that carry them can remain in deep waters, keeping the enemy at bay, until the very end. So why is China rushing to build new ICBM bases in inland desert areas? Experts believe the reason lies in the fact that although China has militarized some waters in the South China Sea and deployed SLBMs, it no longer has confidence it can defend the area should conflict arise. In January 2018, a Chinese submarine humiliatingly revealed its lack of high-level performance. The submarine, traveling undersea in a contiguous zone of Japan’s Senkaku Islands, in the East China Sea, was quickly detected by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces. It was quick to surface and unhesitatingly raise the Chinese flag, which might as well have been a white flag of surrender; the crew presumably feared their vessel could be attacked with depth charges. Under international law, the Maritime Self-Defense Force could have regarded the vessel as an “unidentified submarine” that had intruded into Japanese territorial waters while submerged. Many Japanese and U.S. officials believe the incident symbolizes the low morale of Chinese troops. A Chinese submarine raises what might as well be a flag of surrender after being forced to surface near Japan’s Senkaku Islands in January 2018. (Photo provided by the Ministry of Defense) Chinese Communist Party governments have spent the past quarter-century increasing military spending and staging military parades and naval reviews. But visible might like missiles and tanks is only one component of military power. There are also invisible inputs, like troop morale. The Chinese navy has been working on an aircraft carrier program, but a former Japanese Ministry of Defense official predicts Chinese aircraft carriers will not leave their military ports in conflicts out of fear they might be attacked and sunk. Some believe that Chinese soldiers’ low morale is attributable to the country’s long-standing one-child policy, which has made the military one of the world’s leading “one-child armies.” “Over 70% of Chinese soldiers are ‘only children,’ and the rest are the second or later children whose parents had to pay fines to bear them,” said Kinichi Nishimura, a former Ground Self-Defense Force officer who for many years has analyzed East Asia’s military balance at the Ministry of Defense’s Defense Intelligence Headquarters and elsewhere. The Confucianist view that children must respect and take good care of their parents and ancestors remains deep-rooted in China. As a result, parents are particularly reluctant to see their children die earlier than they do. Parents of one-child households must feel even more strongly about their only son or daughter becoming nothing more than a proverbial “nail.” In China, where people tend to have little respect for soldiers, there is a saying: “Good steel does not become nails,” meaning respectable individuals do not become soldiers. In order to ensure it can secure sufficient numbers of troops, the party has been working to improve salaries and pensions. On Aug. 1, the government enacted a law to protect the status, rights and interests of military personnel. This desperate effort to improve the patina of a military career might be a sign that the People’s Liberation Army has not been able to turn around its recruitment efforts, especially in the face of the country’s ebbing fertility rate. “The Chinese military has increased the deployment of battleships and fighter planes since a few years ago,” Nishimura said, “but their operating rates are not exactly high. It seems they are unable to sufficiently train enough soldiers to properly maintain and repair” the high-tech hardware. This is partly why the Chinese military in recent years has come to rely more on unmanned aircraft and ballistic missiles. The number of ballistic missiles China deploys has increased to several thousand. One of the PLA’s military doctrines not widely known, says, “In the initial battle of war, launch a large number of missiles and then immediately leave the front line.” This strategy was picked up from the former Soviet Union, whose military played the role of teacher while China was forming the PLA. Over the past few years, the PLA has rushed to add more fighter jets, surface ships and submarines, which might indicate an intention to increase the number of missiles that can be launched when battles commence. Unmanned aircraft are thought to have the same purpose. This strategy will continue, especially when the military is not able to secure enough soldiers. To protect themselves from Chinese missile attacks, Japan and other nations must start thinking about enhancing measures to mitigate damage. These measures include developing and deploying next-generation arms, including high-energy laser weapons and rail guns, which use electromagnetic force to launch projectiles at extremely high speeds. Japan already has a technological foundation to develop these weapons, though this capacity is not widely known in the country. Source: Nikkei

Defense & Aerospace

China’s military has an Achilles’ heel: Low troop morale

2 years ago China News

The Chinese Communist Party has unintentionally revealed weaknesses of the country’s military. One indication came with the building of facilities...

Defense & Aerospace

Future of War: Latest Chinese Drones

2 years ago China News

All kind of unmanned vehicles are the future of war. My first YouTube video on Chinese drones and their capabilities....

Defense & Aerospace

‘We’ll meet you in the sky’: Chinese air force commander challenges US military

2 years ago China News

As China flexed its most advanced stealth fighter jets fitted with home-grown engines at the nation’s biggest air show, a...

J-31 is displayed along with PL-15E air-to-air missile in Zhuhai Airshow

Defense & Aerospace

China says its J-31 is superior to F-35, and will be new carrier-borne fighter jet

2 years ago China News

Dwnews.com describes the J-31 in its report “曝歼31配新型导弹高清照　被指将终结美军空中优势” as China’s new carrier-borne fighter jet for China’s Type 003 aircraft carrier....

Defense & Aerospace

China’s electronic warfare aircraft J-16D spotted near Taiwan; experts say India border could be next

2 years ago China News

China is rapidly acquiring new military technologies and weapons as it tries to dominate the Indo-Pacific region, especially the South...

A group of converted J-6 unmanned aircraft is sits on the tarmac at China’s Liancheng airbase

Defense & Aerospace

China shows off drones recycled from Soviet-era fighter jets

2 years ago China News

China has for the first time showed off retired 1950s era fighter jets that have been converted to unmanned drones, with satellite...

The Long March-2F Y13 rocket, carrying the Shenzhou-13 spacecraft and three astronauts

Defense & Aerospace

U.S. needs nuclear spacecraft to compete with China, NASA official tells Congress

2 years ago China News

A NASA official told Congress on Wednesday that the United States needs more nuclear spacecrafts in order to compete with China. “Strategic competitors...

Categories

China adds powerful new ship to maritime patrol fleet

China weighing occupation of former U.S. air base at Bagram in Afghanistan

Chinese Arctic incursion spooks US lawmakers

China’s military has an Achilles’ heel: Low troop morale

Future of War: Latest Chinese Drones

‘We’ll meet you in the sky’: Chinese air force commander challenges US military

China says its J-31 is superior to F-35, and will be new carrier-borne fighter jet

China’s electronic warfare aircraft J-16D spotted near Taiwan; experts say India border could be next

China shows off drones recycled from Soviet-era fighter jets

U.S. needs nuclear spacecraft to compete with China, NASA official tells Congress

Visit Pearl Tower Shanghai China for Breathtaking Views

Good Places to Go in China: Explore the Best

Flights from Brisbane to Shanghai China – Compare Prices

China Visa Application Brisbane: Expert Assistance

Categories

Recent Posts

You may have missed