Defense/Military - 52. page

People’s Daily reported that pictures of two domestic AWACS (early warning aircraft), the export-oriented ZDK-03 (also known as the "Kunlun Hawk") and a new medium-sized AWACS, were widely exposed on the Internet. The report boasted that China’s AWACS came into being because the U.S. blockage forced China to create it. It will be able to overcome the F-22 stealth fighter jet. 

The China Military website carried an article that described how the PLA in the Nanjing district has been recruiting party members from among students currently enrolled in the national college defense students program. The article said that the PLA in the Nanjing district had hired experts in Party ideology, veterans of the red army, and those well-known in the Party to teach classes in Party theory, arrange field trips to the Party’s historic sites, and set up Party branches in every class in every university to ensure that a branch manages every member. The director in charge of training at Tongji University and the East China University of Science and Technology reported statistics that stated that, in the past three years, 86 training classes have been organized at 11 universities that held national defense training programs. Through these programs, they identified 2,200 candidates who then became active Party members.

Source: China Military, June 2, 2013
http://chn.chinamil.com.cn/zgjq/2013-06/02/content_5362094.htm

On May 28, 2013, the Academy of Military Science (AMS), the highest-level research institute of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), published a report titled "The Strategic Assessment 2012." The report analyzed the international strategic situation and regionally sensitive issues, as well as setting forth some counter strategies.

Experts and scholars from several different disciplines prepared the AMS 2012 report, which is now published in both Chinese and English. it contains a total of nearly 50, 000 words. The report includes a preface and nine chapters: Asian Pacific Strategic Situation, the U.S. Asian Pacific “Re-balancing,” U.S.-China Relations, Strategic Gaming by Major Powers, New Trends in Regional Economic Development, Asia-Pacific Maritime Security, the Iranian Nuclear Crisis, the Korean Peninsula, and the Asia-Pacific Military Competition.

The AMS 2012 report is the second research report to perform a strategic assessment. Henceforth it will be an annual report.

Chen Zhou, chief editor of the AMS 2012 report, stated in an interview, “Releasing the annual assessment report is to let the world learn about our viewpoint and to hear our voice.”

Source: People’s Daily, May 28, 2013
http://world.people.com.cn/n/2013/0528/c1031-21649804.html

On May 27, 2013, Huanqiu (the Chinese edition of Global Times) published an article on the South China Sea dispute between China and the Philippines titled “Soft Power Can No Longer Solve the South China Sea Dispute; Strike Whenever Necessary.” The article reported on a recent interview of Han Xudong, a professor at the PLA National Defense University, on a Shanghai-based radio station .

In the interview, Han Xudong said, “Diplomacy only has leverage when backed by military might. As Renai Shoal and Scarborough Shoal are the sovereign territory of China, why can’t we make military moves now to protect our territorial rights? China’s marine power is now strong enough to protect our national interests and rights. (China should) exercise its diplomatic and military clout interactively to achieve its aim.”

Source: Huanqiu, May 27, 2013
http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2013-05/3973411.html

On May 10, 2013, with the approval of the Central Military Commission, the PLA formed the first carrier-borne naval air force. Xinhua reported that the naval air force consists of elite candidates selected from the existing PLA aviation force. The qualifications include their record for flying a minimum of five different types of aircraft and a minimum of 1,000 hours of air time. They must have completed training certification at the PLA Dalian Naval Academy, have the experience of participating in military exercises and be considered the highest-potential candidates in their unit.

Source: Xinhua, May 10, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2013-05/10/c_124694934.htm

The military training base of the North Sea Fleet stationed at Liugong island organized the recruits to take an oath at the site of the 1894 Sino-Japanese War memorial. The activity was part of the military political education to follow the instructions of the 18th Party Congress and President Xi Jinping’s requirement of “showing allegiance to the Party and being able to win the war.” They used the national disgrace of the loss of the 1894 naval battle as a way to educate, alert and motivate the soldiers. “Never forget the shame of 1894 and work hard to win [wars]." That way, we “can deliver more and better sailors for our naval vessels.”

On April 16, 2012, Qiushi, a journal of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, published an article titled, “With a Stronger Military Force as the Goal, We Must Work on the Ideological and Political Development of the Army.”  The article repeatedly stressed the absolute leadership of the Chinese Communist Party over the armed forces.

“Chairman Xi emphasized that the priority in building an army is to follow the Party’s leadership, ensuring the absolute loyalty, absolute purity, and absolute reliability of the army. This is the highest political demand of the Party and the people. It is the fundamental condition for ideological and political development, to which we must pay close attention.”

Source: Qiushi, April 16, 2012
http://www.qstheory.cn/zxdk/2013/201308/201304/t20130412_222741.htm