Nikkei, Japan’s leading economic news provider, reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping used strong words in his 2017 New Year’s speech televised to the nation, “We have adhered to peaceful development while resolutely safeguarding the territorial sovereignty, maritime rights, and interests of China. To whoever wants to take issue with this, the Chinese people’s answer is a resounding No!”
Defense/Military - 34. page
Global Times: Why Is the U.S. More Arrogant toward China than toward Russia? China Has Too Few Nuclear Weapons!
Following Trump’s tweet and Putin’s statement about the expanding nuclear capabilities in the U.S. and Russia, China’s state media Global Times published a commentary claiming that China needs to advance its nuclear program to stay relevant as a world power.
The article said, “Russia’s conventional military capabilities have been far less than those of NATO, but the Russian-U.S. equal nuclear balance of power continues to ensure that Russia’s status as a military superpower is almost equal to the United States. Russia dared to confront the United States in Ukraine, in Syria and in other conflicts. The number one reason is the support of its nuclear forces.
People’s Daily: India Launched Agni-V ICBM Again
People’s Daily recently reported that the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) announced a test launch of its Agni-V intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). The Agni-V claims a range of 5,000 kilometers with an effective weapon load of one ton. Since the range is far enough to cover all of China if launched in the northern part of India, Indian domestic media widely believed this is the best weapon to counterbalance China. According to DRDO, this is the fourth test launch of the Agni-V, and they are still examining the data collected to validate the correctness of the design. Experts expressed their belief that this launch seems to be the final acceptance test for the Agni-V. Once passed, the next step may be final ground tests before production. Indian media have been bragging about the coverage to Stockholm, Sweden, and Harbin, China, if launched from Amritsar, thanks to Agni-V’s mobility feature. However, the swift mobile launch capability they have been dreaming about may not actually be available any time soon. Thus, the real “threat” that China must pay attention to is yet to be formed. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented on the launch. It stated that the UN Security Council has already made a clear resolution on whether or not India can develop an ICBM that can carry nuclear warheads.
Source: People’s Daily, December 27, 2016
http://military.people.com.cn/n1/2016/1227/c1011-28978929.html
RFA: Obama Signs Defense Bill Strengthening Military Exchanges with Taiwan
Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Saturday that, on Friday, December 23, U.S. President Barack Obama signed the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which requires the Pentagon to facilitate military exchanges between the U.S. and Taiwan.
It was the first time that high level military exchanges between the U.S. and Taiwan had been written into an Act of Congress.
China’s Defense Ministry: Underwater Drone Handed over to U.S.
According to a terse statement that the News Bureau of China’s Ministry of National Defense issued, at noon on December 20 in related waters of the South China Sea, and after friendly consultation between the Chinese and U.S. sides, the handover of a U.S. underwater drone was carried out smoothly.
A New York Times report on its Chinese website noted that China did not mention that the presence of the U.S. Navy in the South China Sea had caused the tension between the two countries. BBC Chinese also reported the expectation that China would take the opportunity of returning the underwater drone to demand that the U.S. reduce its reconnaissance activities in the South China Sea.
There was no such expression in the Defense Ministry’s one sentence statement issued within hours of the hand over.
On December 17, a spokesperson from China’s Defense Ministry issued a statement confirming that, on the afternoon of December 15, a Chinese naval lifeboat located an unidentified device in the waters of the South China Sea. In order to prevent the device from causing harm to the safety of navigation and personnel of passing vessels, the Chinese naval lifeboat verified and examined the device in a professional and responsible manner.
Upon examination, the spokesperson noted, the device was identified as an underwater drone of the United States. The Chinese side decided to hand it over it to the U.S. in an appropriate manner. Both sides maintained communication on the issue. The spokesperson added, “We regret that,” after commenting, the U.S. side’s unilateral move to dramatize the issue in the process was inappropriate and not conductive to its settlement.
The spokesperson also emphasized that for a long time, the U.S. military has frequently dispatched vessels and aircraft to carry out close-in reconnaissance and military surveys within Chinese waters. According to a statement that the spokesperson published on the Defense Department’s website on December 17, “China resolutely opposes these activities and demands that the U.S. side stop such activities. China will continue to be vigilant against the relevant activities on the U.S. side and will take necessary measures in response.”
Sources:
China’s Defense Ministry website, December 20, 2016,
http://www.mod.gov.cn/topnews/2016-12/20/content_4767292.htm
New York Times Chinese website, December 20, 2016,
http://cn.nytimes.com/china/20161220/china-returns-us-drone/
BBC Chinese, December 18, 2016,
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-38359622
Xinhua News Agency, December 18, 2016,
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2016-12/18/c_1120137584.htm
Global Times: U.S. Demands the Return of the UUV; Major General Says We Will Collect What Should Be Collected
Following the incident in which the Chinese Navy captured the U.S. unmanned underwater vehicle in the South China Sea on December 15, China’s state media Global Times reported on an interview of some Chinese military officers about the incident. Below is an excerpt from their report:
Wu Shicun, President of the China South Sea Research Institute, said that the issue of the foreign media’s so-called international waters [where the incident happened] represents only one side of the opinion from the United States. There is no (such explanation) in the Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Wu believes that the calm in the South China Sea is only temporary. Because the core problem has not been resolved (including Sino-U.S. competition in the South China Sea, geopolitical competition, and a power struggle over sea rights), the United States is back. Therefore, this may represent a trend in the South China Sea — the conflict is heating up as the U.S. returns again with deep intervention.
In answering the question “whether China is getting stronger and stronger in the ability to control the South China Sea issue, and will not let the United States do whatever it wants,” Wu answered that “it is very obvious” and added that the Chinese military will be very confident in dealing with the issue. The strategic situation of the South China Sea will gradually change with China’s Nansha reef-related facilities being in place.
He said that China’s capturing the U.S. unmanned underwater vehicle sends the following signal: The United States performs close reconnaissance, threatening our country’s security. China has counter-measures. In the 2001 the plane crash incident and the 2009 “USNS Impeccable” event, China had “no choice but to suffer in silence” in many regards. That era may be gone forever.
Yang Yi, Major General and former director of the Strategic Research Institute of the National Defense University, claimed that China should “capture whatever should be captured,” and now they (the United States) “can stop us.”
Yang Yi also believes that, when Trump comes to power, the Sino-US conflict around the South China Sea may become more intense.
Yang said that [since] Americans “sent this thing to our door,” it could not be more natural for us to take it home and study it. If the United States becomes even noisier, it only indicates that it is that much more guilty.
Source: Global Times (Huanqiu), December 17, 2016
http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2016-12/9825473.html
People’s Daily: Japanese and U.S. Military Aircrafts Spied on China’s Air Combat Capabilities
People’s Daily recently reported that Chinese Air Force aircraft encountered close interference from Japanese aircraft as they flew over the Miyako Strait during routine open-sea exercises. Two Japanese F-15 fighter jets launched jamming decoys against the Chinese aircraft. Another eight Japanese F-15 fighter jets as well as two U.S. electronic warfare aircraft covered the two Japanese fighters. Chinese military experts expressed the belief that Japan and the United States were jointly spying on China’s air combat capabilities. In response to China’s complaint, the Japanese Ministry of Defense refused to admit the launching of the decoys and called the Chinese description of the situation “unreal.” According to reports that the Taiwanese media published, the Japanese did mobilize ten F-15 fighters and the U.S. deployed one EP-3 and one RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft.
Source: People’s Daily, December 14, 2016
http://military.people.com.cn/n1/2016/1214/c1011-28947065.html
Liaoning Carrier Live-Fire Exercises Revealed Battle Group Lineup
Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, for the first time, the Chinese Navy took its aircraft carrier to engage in live-fire exercises. The Exercises were conducted within the North Sea Fleet and involved tens of vessels as well as aircraft. Although not all the details were revealed, multiple models of destroyers and frigates were part of the battle group. However, from the official video report, a large-scale Model 051C missile air-defense destroyer named “Shenyang” was identified, which was equipped with the Russian SA-N-6 long range vertical launching missile system. The battle group also included vessels with anti-submarine and anti-ship roles. The wide coverage of roles showed that this exercise was a full-scale carrier mission. On the aircraft side, the KA-31 took on the early-warning task. J-15 ship-borne fighter jets played the main combat role; they carry the YJ-83K anti-ship missile, the PL-12 mid-range air-to-air missile, the PL-9 dogfight missile, and the YJ-91 anti-radiation and anti-ship dual-task supersonic cruise missile. On board the Liaoning aircraft carrier, the “Sea FL-10” air defense missile served its missile interception capabilities in the exercises. The full mission concluded successfully with both offensive and defensive aspects.
Source: Sina, December 16, 2016
http://mil.news.sina.com.cn/jssd/2016-12-16/doc-ifxytqav9476806.shtml