At the beginning of 2017, the People’s Liberation Army underwent big personnel changes that surprised outside observers. First, the Chinese Navy commanders of all the three major fleets have been replaced. Then, for the first time, the commander-in-chief of the combat region was promoted from the Navy. This series of personnel changes sends two signals: First, China’s southern combat region, that is, the South China Sea, will become the main strategic focus. Second, one of the objectives of the 2017 military reform is to highlight three-dimensional warfare.
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Defense/Military - 47. page
Liu Yazhou: What Does the Central Military Commission Conference on Army Reform, involving Military Heavyweights, Tell Us?
On December 2 and 3, 2016, the Central Military Commission held a conference in Beijing on reforming the structure and strength of the army. Following the conference, Liu Yazhou, General of the Chinese Air Force, published an article discussing the pressing need for Chinese military reform.
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Global Times: Shen Jinlong Promoted to Navy Commander
Global Times recently reported that Shen Jinlong was mentioned in Chinese Naval News as the Navy Commander. This means Wu Shengli is no longer the Navy Commander and Shen Jinlong was promoted to this position very recently. Shen was previously the Commander of the South China Sea Fleet. Other than some of China’s military founding generals, Shen is the first one promoted to Navy Commander directly from the position of fleet commander. Shen never had any experience in the Chinese military’s central command. However, Shen has been commanding the South China Sea Fleet during the period when the South China Sea has been the most heated region for potential conflicts among many countries. Shen also commanded the Joint Exercise of the three major fleets in July last year. Shen’s South Fleet confronted the United States Navy three times before and, not long ago, managed the incident of capturing the U.S. unmanned vessel. He was also the commander of the Chinese Fleet that participated in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) that the United States led in Hawaii in 2014. That Fleet visited the U.S. San Diego Naval Base afterwards. Shen served as the president the Naval Academy of Commanding between 2011 and 2014. The Academy is the top academy of the Chinese Navy.
Source: Global Times, January 20, 2017
http://china.huanqiu.com/article/2017-01/9991804.html
China’s Long Term Aircraft Carrier Plan “Project 048” Revealed
Well-known Hong Kong pro-mainland TV station and news site Phoenix New Media recently reported on some leaked information on China’s “Project 048,” which is China’s roadmap plan for developing its aircraft carriers. The project was finalized in August of 2004; hence the name “048.” According to the leaked roadmap, the carrier building plan consists of three phases. Phase one is to build two mid-sized carriers within 10 years; phase two is to build two large scale carriers in the next 10 years; phase three involves building large nuclear-powered carriers. The ultimate goal is to have 10 carriers by the year 2049. A model “001A” carrier is almost completed and will soon be launched in the city of Dalian. The building process on the Model “002” carriers started in 2015. They are large scale ships still using conventional power and a catapult take-off. Model “003” carriers aim to be the equivalent of the U.S. nuclear-powered Nimitz-class carriers. According to Project 048, China is improving its steam catapult so that it is one third more efficient than the U.S. equivalent. It is estimated that the Chinese Model “003” nuclear carrier will have electromagnetic catapult take-off capabilities on the same level as the U.S. Ford-class, and will launch in the year 2030. At the current pace of parallel design and building of multiple models, the year 2030 target should be reached three years earlier.
Source: Phoenix New Media, January 17, 2017
http://news.ifeng.com/a/20170117/50587137_0.shtml
Taiwan Military Experts Assessed Mainland Carrier Could Reach 30 Percent of Its Capabilities in Actual Combat
The Taiwanese TV station Sanlih recently reported that the Mainland Navy sent the Liaoning carrier to the South China Sea for exercises and sailed past Taiwan during the New Year’s holiday. The Mainland media emphasized that the J-15 fighter jets were the carrier’s biggest highlight. However, the Taiwanese Air Force also sent F-16 jets to monitor the Liaoning carrier’s performance during the exercises. Taiwanese military experts concluded that the carrier could reach 30 percent of its capabilities in real combat. They gave an example that J-15 jets did not participate in night exercises, which is a critical matter for all-time combat conditions. The carrier’s total number of J-15 jets is also too limited. The Mainland does not have the minimally required 40 pilots. The carrier’s runway is also considered an outdated design and is inefficient. The Taiwanese called the carrier a “paper tiger.”
Source: Sanlih News, January 3, 2017
http://www.setn.com/News.aspx?NewsID=212992
PLA Online Warfare Headquartered in Two Beijing Hotels
Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported on an article from Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA). The article indicated that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has its online warfare headquarters hidden in two Beijing hotels. The two hotels are the Jingtang Hotel and the Seasons Hotel in the Haidian District, Beijing. The Fourth Division of the General Staff of the Central Military Committee used to own the hotels, either directly or indirectly. The Fourth Division was once called the Electronic Warfare and Radar Operations Unit. With the latest Chinese military reform, the Fourth Division was assigned new roles to handle Strategic Support, Foreign Electronic and Intelligence Warfare, and Internet Attacks. Network Intelligence assignments are typically highly classified operations. It therefore makes sense to use the hotels as “under cover” headquarters locations. According to sources from the U.S. intelligence community, some guests who stayed at the Jingtang Hotel in 2012 left guest notes there mentioning the Fourth Division’s ownership of the hotel. In 2015, researchers attempted to book rooms in the two hotels and encountered booking system errors or received apologies from the hotel for closures.
Source: Sina, January 5, 2017
http://dailynews.sina.com/gb/news/int/cna/20170105/19597680155.html
Nikkei: Xi’s Strong Position on Maritime Rights
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!”
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.