Defense
to offense: China unveils new military strategy to boost naval
capability
RT,
26
May, 2015
China
has unveiled a new defense strategy to boost its naval capability and
said it will now shift from “territorial air defense” to both
“defense and offense.” Beijing also slammed its neighbors for
their “provocative actions” on its “reefs and islands.”
The
white paper China’s military strategy was issued by the State
Council on Tuesday, signaling ambitions for greater naval presence in
the region where tensions are rising over disputed territories in the
South China Sea.
“The
[People's Liberation Army] Navy (PLAN) will gradually shift its focus
from "offshore waters defense" to the combination of
"offshore waters defense" with "open seas protection,"
and build a combined, multi-functional and efficient marine combat
force structure,” says the document.
The
white paper says that Chinese navy will also “enhance its
capabilities for strategic deterrence and counterattack, maritime
maneuvers, joint operations at sea, comprehensive defense and
comprehensive support.”
In
the document Beijing also stresses that it will shift its focus from
territorial air defense to both defense and offense.
“The
PLAAF will boost its capabilities for strategic early warning, air
strike, air and missile defense, information countermeasures,
airborne operations, strategic projection and comprehensive support.”
As
tension are high in the region over disputed Spratly archipelago,
China’s latest military white paper criticized its neighbors for
their “provocative actions” on its ”reefs and islands.”
Spratly
Islands are a disputed group of more than 750 reef, islets and
islands in South China Sea. While China claims a vast majority of the
sea, it still has territorial disputes with the Philippines, Vietnam,
Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia.
“On
the issues concerning China's territorial sovereignty and maritime
rights and interests, some of its offshore neighbors take provocative
actions and reinforce their military presence on China's reefs and
islands that they have illegally occupied,” Beijing said.
The
document says that some “external” countries are also “busy
meddling in South China Sea affairs; a tiny few maintain constant
close-in air and sea surveillance and reconnaissance against China.”
Spokesperson
of Chinese Ministry of National Defense Senior Colonel Yang Yujun
holds a copy of the annual white paper on China's military strategy
during a news conference in Beijing, China, May 26, 2015 (Reuters /
Kim Kyung-Hoon)Spokesperson of Chinese Ministry of National Defense
Senior Colonel Yang Yujun holds a copy of the annual white paper on
China's military strategy during a news conference in Beijing, China,
May 26, 2015 (Reuters / Kim Kyung-Hoon)
US
reconnaissance missions have led to increased tensions between
Beijing and Washington as the latter continues to beef up its
military presence in the Pacific.
On
Monday, China lodged a complaint with the Washington over US spy
aircraft which flew over the areas in the disputed South China Sea.
The
islands also present concerns for US military. In March Washington
accused Beijing of "unprecedented land reclamation," saying
China is "creating a great wall of sand" over 4 sq km, in
the disputed area in the South China Sea.
Washington
is bolstering its own military presence in the region. US navy fleet
commander Harris said the United States is currently preparing to
shift 60 percent of its fleet to the Pacific by 2020.
Australia
is also concerned about the situation. In 2014 it agreed with Japan
to increase military cooperation and exercises as a hedge against
China’s fast-growing military potential.
Chinese
authorities insist their territorial claims have a historical basis
and the US should not meddle in these disputes.
On
Tuesday, China's Ministry of Transport hosted a ceremony for the
construction of two lighthouses on Huayang Reef and Chigua Reef on
largely disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying described the construction
as an “important measure to implement its corresponding
international responsibilities and duties,” Reuters reports. She
added that Beijing is planning to build more constructions on the
disputed islands.
Asia
Scholar Lays Out "Three Ways China And The US Could Go To War"
26
May, 2015
Yesterday,
in a troubling oped posted
in China's Global Times,
a paper owned by the ruling Communist Party, China issued its loudest
warning yet to the US to keep out of its affairs, in this case the
various disputed territories in the South China Sea among them but
not limited to China's artificial islands in the Spratly chain which
have become a topic of contention between China and various US allies
in the region, when it said that war was “inevitable” between
China and the United States unless Washington stopped demanding
Beijing halt the building of artificial islands in the disputed
waterway.
“We
do not want a military conflict with the United States, but if it
were to come, we have to accept it,” said The Global Times, which
is among China’s most nationalist newspapers.
But
is a military conflict, let alone an actual war, realistic in a world
in which all political and diplomatic disagreements are solved either
in the back room or using the capital markets?
According
to Michael Auslin, a resident scholar and the director of Japan
Studies at the American
Enterprise Institute (AEI),
where he specializes in Asian regional security and political issues,
the answer is yes. Auslin proposes that with Beijing and Washington
both laying down "red lines" in the South China Sea, the
two superpowers are maneuvering themselves into a potential conflict
since neither would be willing to back down over fears of losing face
or realpolitik clout.
Beijing has not yet declared a formal air defense identification zone (ADIZ) over the South China Sea, unlike the one it established over part of the East China Sea in 2013, nor could it today enforce such a zone effectively with its current fighters.
However, with its reclamation activities continuing, and the Obama Administration apparently having decided to challenge China’s claims, the US and China are now potentially closer to an armed encounter than at any time in the past 20 years.
In
an article in The
Commentator,
he lays out the three real-world scenarios under which it could
happen.
1)
Accident: The
US Navy is reportedly considering sending ships within 12 miles of
the manmade islands, thereby entering into what China claims is now
sovereign territory. With Chinese naval and maritime patrol vessels
in the waters, intimidation or harassment of US ships could lead to a
collision, with each side responding in turn.
This
is what China has done to ships of other nations, and an accident
could lead to a stand-off. In the air, the Spratlys lie about 800
miles from China’s shores, already within the combat radius of
China’s most advanced fighter jet (though Beijing has yet to show
that it can effectively oppose US air patrols).
More
worrisome, China is building airstrips on its islands, and may soon
be able to launch planes from them to patrol the skies. Similarly,
once its aircraft carrier is operational with an air wing, it can
easily patrol the area. Any of those developments would dramatically
increase the chances of a mid-air collision, such as happened in 2001
between a Chinese fighter and a US Navy surveillance plane.
2)
Premeditation: Beijing
has staked its geopolitical reputation in Southeast Asia on its
claims to the South China Sea and now the building of the islands,
which already cover more than 2,000 acres. As I wrote in National
Review last week, unless they decide to back down, and risk losing
influence in Asia, China’s leaders may decide that stopping
American incursion into their newly claimed waters early on is the
best opportunity to make the risks to Washington seem too high.
Once
Chinese airplanes are on the islands, then they may decide to shadow
US planes and prevent them from flying in “restricted” skies, for
the same reason, leaving the US to decide how far to respond. Thus,
they may force a confrontation, to try and get the Obama
Administration to back down from getting involved in another military
situation while it is dealing with the Middle East and Ukraine.
3)
Indirect Conflict: China
may well judge that it is too risky to directly challenge US ships
and planes, but that it can make the same point by intercepting those
of other countries. Already, the Philippines has claimed that China
warned off its surveillance planes, and China has had regular
maritime run-ins with the Philippines and Vietnam.
It
may decide to stop foreign ships from passing by its new islands, or
it may soon try to escort less advanced foreign planes out the skies
above its islands. A direct conflict between China and any of its
neighbors would, at this point, have a good chance of bringing in the
US, in order to credibly claim that it is upholding international law
(and, in the case of the Philippines, coming to the aid of a treaty
ally).
His
conclusion:
Beijing and Washington are each laying down redlines in the South China Sea, making the upholding of their claims a priority. In this, they are maneuvering themselves into a potential conflict.
With no de-escalation mechanisms, and deep distrust on both sides, the more capable China becomes in defending its claimed territory, the more risks the US will face in challenging those claims.
That is why each is trying to define the boundaries and set the pattern of behavior before the other does. That may not ensure that there will be a military encounter, but it steadily raises the chances of one.
What
Auslin ignored to note is that with the entire world gripped in
secular stagnation, a "controlled" war may be just what the
sputtering economic engines of the world's two largest economies
need. The only question is how to assure any incipient conflict will
remain "controlled."
China
State Paper Warns of War Unless US Backs Down
By
GMA News
Information
Clearing House,
25
May, 2015
"GMA
News" - BEIJING - A Chinese state-owned newspaper said
on Monday that "war is inevitable" between China and the
United States over the South China Sea unless Washington stops
demanding Beijing halt the building of artificial islands in the
disputed waterway.
The
Global Times, an influential nationalist tabloid owned by the ruling
Communist Party's official newspaper the People's Daily, said in an
editorial that China was determined to finish its construction work,
calling it the country's "most important bottom line."
The
editorial comes amid rising tensions over China's land reclamation in
the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea. China last week said
it was "strongly dissatisfied" after a US spy plane flew
over areas near the reefs, with both sides accusing each other of
stoking instability.
China
should "carefully prepare" for the possibility of a
conflict with the United States, the newspaper said.
"If
the United States' bottomline is that China has to halt its
activities, then a US-China war is inevitable in the South China
Sea," the newspaper said. "The intensity of the conflict
will be higher than what people usually think of as 'friction'."
Such
commentaries are not official policy statements, but are sometimes
read as a reflection of government thinking. The Global Times is
among China's most nationalist newspapers.
China
claims most of the South China Sea, through which $5 trillion in
ship-borne trade passes every year. The Philippines, Vietnam,
Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also have overlapping claims.
The
United States has routinely called on all claimants to halt
reclamation in the Spratlys, but accuses China of carrying out work
on a scale that far outstrips any other country.
Washington
has also vowed to keep up air and sea patrols in the South China Sea
amid concerns among security experts that China might impose air and
sea restrictions in the Spratlys once it completes work on its seven
artificial islands.
China
has said it had every right to set up an Air Defense Identification
Zone in the South China Sea but that current conditions did not
warrant one.
The
Global Times said "risks are still under control" if
Washington takes into account China's peaceful rise.
"We
do not want a military conflict with the United States, but if it
were to come, we have to accept it," the newspaper said.
—Reuters
See
also -
Philippines
seeks stronger commitment from U.S. in South China Sea dispute:
The Philippines is seeking a "stronger commitment" from the
United States to help its ally, the defense minister said on Monday,
as China asserts its sovereignty over disputed areas of the South
China Sea.
For the first time the PRC publishes a white paper on China’s Military Strategy
Sr.
Col. Yang Yujun, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense (MND)
of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), briefs on China’s first
white paper on military strategy and answers reporters’ questions
on May 26, 2015. The State Council Information Office of the PRC
published a white paper on China’s Military Strategy in Beijing on
Tuesday
BEIJING,
May 26 (Xinhua) — The Information Office of the State Council on
Tuesday published a white paper on China’s military strategy.
For
the full text GO HERE
The
US continues to push its allies to take a larger role in patrolling
the waters of the Pacific. To that end, the United States and
Australia have brought Japan into its regular war games, a move
signaling a renewed front against a perceived Chinese threat.
Conducted
every other year, the Talisman Sabre is a joint military exercise
conducted in July between Washington and Canberra involving nearly
30,000 troops. Held largely in the waters off Australia, but also on
land, the drills include special forces tactics, maritime operations,
amphibious landings, and urban warfare.
While
New Zealand will contribute 500 troops, this year’s drills will
also include, for the first time ever, the cooperation of the
Japanese military, which will send 40 officers and soldiers.
South
Korean President Park Geun-hye will meet US President Barack Obama on
June 16 in Washington, DC to discuss the security situation on the
Korean Peninsula, White House said in a statement.
The
two leaders will also exchange views on economic and global issues as
well as cooperation in environment, health and cybersecurity,
according to the White House
As
the government of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe seeks to amend
the country’s US-drafted constitution, granting the Tokyo’s
military the power to wage war, some fear the return of old
imperialistic tendencies.
Japan
is ready to change its post-war pacifist constitution; it is rapidly
arming itself to the teeth, building battleships and purchasing
fighter jets. Recruitment posters are everywhere. Meanwhile, Japan is
standing - obediently and loyally - by its occupier and closest ally,
the United States.
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