Defense/Military - 64. page

Global Times, which is under the state’s People’s Daily, recently published an article which referred to a report from the HK newspaper Ming Pao. The report included information that the Chinese Navy is planning to establish the Fourth Fleet, which will be headquartered in Sanya, Hainan Province. It also said that the Fourth Fleet will include at least two aircraft carrier combat groups, that the future aircraft carriers will be placed directly under the Central Military Committee, and that the carriers will have their own independent Command Headquarters. The Chinese Naval fleets’ command structure is similar to Russia’s. The extent to which this information may change in the future remains unclear.

Source: Global Times, September 10, 2011
http://mil.huanqiu.com/Exclusive/2011-09/1993689.html

Study Times, a newspaper of the CCP Central Party School, published an article that discussed transforming weapons and equipment to increase power on the battlefield. The transformation model is very important because the correct use of weapons and equipment directly determines their effectiveness in combat. The author believes the direction for changing the model for today’s military is to merge weapons into information systems. A key approach in doing that is to integrate military technology with the civil market to ensure both low cost and sustainability. To speed up the model’s transformation, full system engineering must be introduced into all layers of society, which includes designing top level strategy, establishing operational systems and rules, as well as managing the industrial structure.

Source: Study Times, August 29, 2011
http://www.studytimes.com.cn:9999/epaper/xxsb/html/2011/08/29/07/07_52.htm

Xinhua recently published a report referring to the Indian newspaper Economic Times, which reported on a speech U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta delivered. According to the report, Mr. Panetta suggested in his speech that the United States will not allow the emerging countries, namely China, India and Brazil, to “disrupt the world order.” He promised to cooperate with the emerging countries, but he also asserted that the United States will ensure that these countries won’t become a threat to world stability, will ensure U.S. world leadership status, and will ensure the world’s acknowledgement of the U.S. as the guardian of world stability.  

Source: Xinhua, August 27, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2011-08/27/c_121919045.htm

Colonel Major Qian Lihua, director of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Defense Ministry, published an article after Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited China on July 10-13, 2011. In commenting on the transparency of China’s military, Qian said, “It must be pointed out that the openness of China’s military is an orderly openness, one that is equal, reciprocal, and in accordance with China’s security and interests. We will gradually increase the extent of openness based on the level of China’s military development and the need for military diplomacy; we will oppose blind openness that does not consider the realities. We advocate equal treatment and oppose forced and involuntary openness. We advocate mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, and oppose unilateral openness seeking self interest. We insist on gradual openness on the premise of ensuring national military security, appropriately handling the relationship between openness and confidentiality. There is no such thing as ‘absolute transparency.”

Source: People’s Daily, July 16, 2011
http://military.people.com.cn/GB/1076/115150/15179956.html

On August 11, 2011, PLA Daily published an article suggesting China should “dare to” use its aircraft carrier to solve territorial disputes. The article is no longer available on the official web site, but several other sites have picked it up. The article pointed out that China made a large investment in building the aircraft carrier, and it was not built “just for display.” The author expressed that putting a military warship into a field of combat is the logical next step when China’s territorial seas are under threat or attack. The article also suggested that China is ready to fight the challenging countries even without the aircraft carrier. However the new aircraft carrier “only reinforces and enhances the confidence and the determination” of defending China’s territory. The article did acknowledge that there might be a long way to go before the new aircraft carrier can obtain actual combat capability; it has more political value that military value at the moment.

Source: DWNews, August, 12, 2011
http://china.dwnews.com/news/2011-08-12/58006109.html

China’s first Internet military game, “Mission of Honor,” co-developed by the Nanjing Military Region and Wuxi Network Science and Technology Corporation (WNSTC), was delivered to the Chinese army in June 2011. China Software Evaluation Center acclaimed the product as “China’s first large intranet military game developed as domestic intellectual property.” It was reported that the Chinese military authorized WNSTC to develop a commercial version of the game for civilian use. The new game is projected to hit the market by the end of 2012.

Chinese experts proposed the development of the civilian version of the game in order to help the younger generation of gamers inherit (the CCP’s) military tradition, promote patriotism, foster an interest in the military among adolescents, and enhance the concept of national defense.

According to a VOA report, “Mission of Honor" displays images of Chinese soldiers firing at an imaginary “enemy” with the obvious appearance of American soldiers and American military equipment, including an Apache helicopter.

Source: People’s Daily online, August 11, 2011
http://military.people.com.cn/GB/15386978.html

On August 5, 2011, the International Herald Leader, a newspaper under Xinhua, published an article titled “The Aircraft Carrier Is Not an Exhibit.” China’s first aircraft carrier, the former “Varyag” of Ukraine, is now being rebuilt and refurbished. According to the article, China’s dream is not about an aircraft carrier, but about the oceans. Having an aircraft carrier gives China the option of restoring its marine rights, expanding its maritime interests, and fulfilling the dream of its revival as an oceanic power. The article states,“It is impossible to have an aircraft carrier, a weapon, merely for display and show, but not target anyone.” “An aircraft carrier is a military ship by its very nature. Without the courage and will to use the ship to resolve a dispute, the ship cannot threaten anybody but the builder of the ship, as it consumes a lot of public money.”
 
The article concludes, “If all the countries that the aircraft carrier targets believe that China’s aircraft carrier is only for visiting or worshiping, it is not good news for world peace. We should not let them think so.” 

Source: International Herald Leader, August 10, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2011-08/05/c_131029061.htm

Xinhua recently published a digest report based on an article by the Russian newspaper Pravda. The Pravda article stated that the U.S. has insisted on strengthening its air reconnaissance missions regardless of China’s angry protests. The article expressed the belief that China’s air defense system is fully capable of defeating all types of U.S. reconnaissance aircraft. A Russian military expert suggested that, under the current tight Asia-Pacific situation, it is very important for the U.S. military to keep a close eye on China’s military movements, especially on its strategic nuclear capabilities, as well as China’s anti-missile systems.

Source: Xinhua, July 29, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2011-07/29/c_121742052.htm