Defense/Military - 82. page

Qiushi Journal published an article by Fang Fenghui, the Commander of the Beijing Military Area Command, on studying President Hu Jintao’s instruction on using the military to maintain social stability. Some of Hu’s instructions are quoted as: “Development is the hard truth, the number one mission; stability is the hard mission, the number one responsibility. Development is achievement, maintaining stability is also achievement.” “(We) must always take it as a critical mission for the military to maintain society’s stability.” The Military should “consciously follow the big picture, to actively contribute to the steady and fast economic development and the harmonious and stable society (of the nation).”

Fang stated that in the past, the PLA has been a critical force during political turmoil and offered strong safety protection in complex situations, and thus has become the most reliable force of the Party when dealing with a crisis.

Source: Qiushi Journal, the 13th issue of 2009, published on July 1, 2009
http://www.qsjournal.com.cn/qs/20090701/GB/qs%5E506%5E0%5E19.htm

People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Daily reported that a joint security exercise of the PLA and the Singapore military took place between Jun 19 and June 24 somewhere in the Guangzhou Military Region. This was the first joint exercise with Singapore, and this was the first security exercise with a foreign military.

The exercise reflected the developing military relationship between China and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). In recent years, Chinese military has extended international military cooperation on a strategic level – which is a national defense policy that has been listed in the Defense Whitepaper since 1994.

Source: PLA Daily, June 30, 2009.
http://www.chinamil.com.cn/site1/xwpdxw/2009-06/30/content_1818160.htm

Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) announced on June 24 that the member countries agreed on the Kazakhstan’s proposal for the next military exercise. The exercise assumes a regional military conflict which will be tackled by a joint effort of the member country’s armies. The total manpower planned will be under 10,000 and the exercise is scheduled to take place in Kazakhstan in September 2010.

Source: China News, June 24, 2009.
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/news/2009/06-24/1747952.shtml

On June 18, General Zhang Li delivered a talk at a meeting of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, saying China only controls 4 of the 500 islands in the South China Sea, while Vietnam has 29. The Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei each has more than 3. China has no oil well there, but other countries have more than 1000 – with annual oil output of up to 100 million tons. This trend of development is speeding up. Vietnam and other countries are working closely with the US, Britain and Russia on further development. The Chinese Navy has only 8 vessels covering the area and current air force planes cannot reach the southern part of the South China Sea.

Source: Epoch Times, June 21, 2009.
http://epochtimes.com/gb/9/6/21/n2564777.htm

Nanfang Weekends published several articles arguing that China should change its strategy of using nuclear weapons. It reported that China is surrounded by “Nuclear Superpowers” and “Nuclear Small Powers.” These countries have encircled China with a total of 22,500 nuclear war heads. China’s military strategic experts have a consensus on war tactics once a nuclear war starts, but there have been many debates over China’s overall nuclear weapons strategy. China’s current position, as stated in the 2008 China Defense White Book, is “limited retaliation.” But as other nuclear superpowers keep adjusting their nuclear war strategy, for example, both the U.S. and Russia’s strategies are “attack first” now, China should reassess its strategy.

Source: Nanfang Weekends, June 17, 2009
http://www.infzm.com/content/30216
http://www.infzm.com/content/30218

China News Agency reported that China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, a major defense manufacturer in China, showcased a newly developed pilotless plane. The new plane, Blade, was shown at the 2009 Exhibition of Equipment for Emergency Response and Rescue and Security System Technology on June 16, 2009.

The report did not provide military applicaiton of Blade. It mentioned that it is a multifunction pilotless plane and can be used for aerial photography, aerial survey, coastal patrol, climate and environment monitoring, forest fire prevention and petroleum or electricity pipe line investigation. It is equipped with a 12 Kilowatt engine and propeller. Its speed during patrol is 120 Km/h, with maximum 4,000 meter flying altitude and 3 hours of cruise duration.

Source: China News Agency, June 17, 2009
http://www.cns.com.cn/gn/news/2009/06-17/1736901.shtml

The Hong Kong based newspaper Wen Wei Po, with a strong Chinese government background, published an article on June 12 discussing the complete military encirclement around China.

The article mentioned the US’ intent to rent the Cam Ranh Bay Base from Vietnam, which would significantly improve control over the South China Sea together with the Guam Base and the Singapore Changi Base. Also mentioned in the report are the two military exercises NATO had in Georgia in May which mainly featured Eastern European counties that reached China’s doorstep. The “East Asia Shadow NATO” of the US, Japan and South Korea now should include Australia and India – closing more gaps in the encirclement.

Source: Wen Wei Po, June 12, 2009.
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/hb/news/2009/06-12/1731654.shtml

Many Chinese web sites widely published a China News Agency article defending China’s military spending. The article was based on a Hong Kong Wen Wei Po article. It acknowledged that in 2008 China’s military expenditures had leaped to the world’s second. It then argued, “Internationally, ‘people with their own agenda’ will inevitably create a new wave of ‘China threats.’ However, since China’s GDP will soon surpass Japan to become the world’s second-largest economy, wasn’t it normal that its military expenditures correspondingly move to second position, too?” “In fact, right now China’s military expenditures, compared to the China’s national defense and security needs, are far from being adequate.”

Source: China News, June 15, 2009
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/hb/news/2009/06-15/1734256.shtml