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Russian Media Say Chinese Military Will Be the Strongest in the World in 20 Years

Huanqiu (Global Times) published a report from a Russian media Military Messenger’s publication about China’s military power and development. It said, “Over the past decade, the Chinese army has gone through a complete makeover and confidently advanced to be in the top three of the world’s most powerful armies. It may even be too conservative to say that the Chinese army ranks third.” 

The article stated, “While keeping the quantity of its military equipment almost unchanged, the Chinese PLA has updated the quality of its equipment by leaps and bounds. The production capacity of Chinese military enterprises is very large. There are three countries in the world whose military enterprises currently have the ability to manufacture almost all types of weapons and equipment, not only to meet domestic demand, but also for export. China is one of them.” 
The article admitted that the Chinese army is technologically backward in some particular areas, but the large quantities enable it to compensate. The numerous military enterprises can ensure an uninterrupted weapon supply in times of war. In addition, Chinese military enterprises in all areas do not have the issue of overreliance on foreign countries for spare parts and technical help. 
The article concluded that, if nothing unexpected happens, in 15 to 20 years the Chinese PLA will be the world’s most powerful army in all respects. 

Source: Huanqiu, August 14, 2013 
http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2013-08/4240291.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

For the First Time, Chinese Maritime Police Expel Japanese Ships from the Diaoyu Islands

On August 7, Chinese Maritime Police Surveillance Ships 2350, 1126, 2102, and 2166 expelled Japanese patrol ships from the waters of the Diaoyu Islands. This is the first time that Chinese maritime police have expelled the Japanese patrol ships since the conflict started. [1] 

Regarding Japan’s "quasi-carrier" 22DDH helicopter destroyer, "the cloud’s," launching ceremony on August 6, Chinese Military expert Li Jie stated that the Diaoyu Islands are within the coverage of China’s military missiles and that Japan’s quasi-carrier service will not have a decisive impact on the regional situation or pose any serious threat. [2] 
Sources:
[1] CRI online, August 7, 2013 
http://gb.cri.cn/42071/2013/08/07/3245s4210109.htm 
[2] People’s Daily, August 7, 2013 
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/0807/c1011-22476669.html
Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Kyodo News: China Developing Missile Early-warning Satellite

China News Service carried an article that Japanese Kyodo News had originally published. The article reported that the PLA seems to have speeded up development of the missile early-warning satellite, which is capable of detecting missiles that the enemy has launched. The article stated that, if the project is successful, China will be the third country, following the U.S. and Russia, to own this type of satellite. The development of the satellite has become the most urgent task in PLA missile defense work. Since 2009, China has launched a number of testing satellites. The article reported that, according to a Japanese research scientist, China may be able to launch a missile early-warning satellite in less than five years. China has not issued any official statement regarding the news.

Source: China News Service, July 26, 2013
http://www.chinanews.com/mil/2013/07-26/5087621.shtml

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Qiushi: Former Soviet Union Stopped Controlling the Armed Forces

Qiushi published a commentary on how the former Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) abandoned its role of leadership of its armed forces and the Soviet Union ended up disintegrating.

“At that time, the Soviet Communist Party discontinued its leadership of the armed forces. At the critical juncture, the armed forces simply stood by without taking any action. At the last moment, the Soviet Union collapsed instantly and the CPSU fell apart. What a profound lesson!”

According to the commentary, first, the former CPSU discarded Lenin’s principles and abolished the CPSU leadership of the military so that, in the end, the military did not follow the Party. Second, Gorbachev’s “reform and the new thinking” collapsed the ideological foundation of the CPSU’s leadership of the military. Consequently, the military did not have a unified resolve or will at the most critical moment. Lastly, the CPSU’s unrealistic military reform undermined military discipline and order and led to chaos among the military.

Source: Qiushi, July 10, 2013
http://www.qstheory.cn/hqwg/2013/201313/201307/t20130710_247739.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

People’s Daily: U.S. Missile Intercept Test Failed Again

On July 7, People’s Daily reported in its Top News section that a U.S. land based missile intercept test suffered yet another total failure in the pacific region. The report was based on the July 5th announcement made by the U.S. Department of Defense that a missile launched from the California Vandenberg Air Force Base failed to intercept a long-range missile from the Ronald Reagan Air Force Base in the Pacific. The announcement did not mention the reason of the failure. This was the third consecutive failure of the same intercept system. According to People’s Daily, the U.S. Military has conducted a total of sixteen missile intercept tests in the past. It has only eight successes on its record. The last successful intercept test occurred in the year 2008.
Source: People’s Daily, July 7, 2013
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/0707/c1011-22104719.html
Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Senior PLA Official: Promoting Military Reform with Chinese Characteristics

Liu Yazhou, the political commissar of the National Defense University of the People’s Liberation Army, published an article in the recent issue of Qiushi about promoting and deepening military reform with Chinese characteristics.

Liu wrote that the PLA faces two “incompatibles.” First, the existing level of modernization is incompatible with the requirement to win local informationization wars. Second, military capabilities are incompatible with fulfilling our historic mission in the new century. “The only way to solve these two "incompatibles" is through a vigorous and deep reform. Otherwise, we will once again be eliminated by the tide of military development.”

Such military reform must be included in the framework of national reform so that “the military reform will synchronize with political and economic reforms and reforms in other fields and will be in harmony with social reforms. On the other hand, it is essential for the military reform and for overall national development that, during the historic stage of overall changes in society, military reform does not exceed what social reform can tolerate.”

Source: Qiushi reprinted at sina.com, July 1, 2013
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2013-07-01/155827545695.shtml

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Military Expert: China Has No Reason to Fear Any War

The 12th Asian Security Conference, also called the Shangri-La Dialogue, was held in Singapore, concluding on June 2, 2013. The representatives of the participating countries and regions focused their attention on Asia-Pacific regional security cooperation. 

Qi Jianguo, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the PLA, made the observation that, in the past 30 years, almost all of the world’s major counties have used their armed forces to participate in a war. "For nearly 30 years, China is the only country that has not used its armed forces to participate in any war or to provoke a military conflict.” 
Military expert Du Wenlong interpreted the message that Qi was signaling. In an interview on the CCTV program, "Today’s Focus," he said that the message expresses two levels of meaning: On the one hand, for the last 30 years, China has not wanted war. First and foremost it has chosen a path of peaceful dialogue and peaceful development. However this approach has also made us lose a lot of opportunities. For example, in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other wars, the armed forces of the United States gained experience in its comprehensive combat capability. Its new weapons and equipment in all combat operations have been tested. We had some trade-offs in these areas compared with the Western counties. 
On the other hand, 30 years ago, the Chinese army was invincible. From 1949 on, after the founding of the Republic of China, the PLA won all of its wars. Now, with the increase in China’s comprehensive national power and with the development of its military technology, we are capable of producing all the weapons required to safeguard our national security, from the F -15, aircraft carriers, and stealth fighter to the new surface ships, etc. From this point of view, we have no reason to fear any war. 
Source: People’s Daily, June 3, 2013 
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/0603/c1011-21713902.html
Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Global Times: Chinese Delegation Assesses Su-35 Fighter Jet

On June 6, Global Times reported that a Chinese delegation recently visited Moscow for a discussion with Russian arms export officials on negotiating the purchase of the latest Su-35 (Russian: Су-35, NATO: Flanker-E) fighter jet. The Russians agreed to present a demonstration to the Chinese delegation on June 5. The primary mission of the visit was to determine and assess the technical capabilities of the new multifunctional fighter jet. Business discussions were also planned. The two sides refused to reveal the number of jets included in the deal, but one Russian official hinted that it would be a “very sizable” number. Rumors are that the deal included at least 24 fighter jets. Russian government officials also confirmed that this will be a supply contract, not a manufacturing license. According to Russian media reports, the Chinese delegation gave high praise to the new jet model. “The political decision has already been made.” The deal is at the stage of negotiating payment schedules.
Source: Global Times, June 6, 2013
http://mil.huanqiu.com/paper/2013-06/4005371.html
Briefings | | |   Defense/Military