PLAN South Seas Fleet and Bases

If you are to consider only the newer ships, not counting the Ludas, Jiangweis and Jianghus.


NSF

112 - 052
113 - 052
115 - 051C
116 - 051C

ESF

136 - 956E
137 - 956E
138 - 956EM
139 - 956EM
524 - 054
525 - 054
529 - 054A
530 - 054A

SSF

167 - 051B
168 - 052B
169 - 052B
170 - 052C (not sure but highly likely)
171 - 052C
569 - 054A (not sure but likely)
570 - 054A (not sure but likely)

ESF is still numerically the most powerful, and it has the loads more of the 051s and variious 053s, plus at least three SSK flotillas. But SSF appears to have the most advanced ships.

Note the pennants, you can see a relationship between the pennant number and the fleet they belong to. Howerver, please note this does not apply to the submarine pennants.

The SSF will feature a large group of newer type of subs.



Satellite imagery from publicly available Google Earth has been used to reveal an underwater submarine tunnel entrance located several miles south of the major Chinese naval facility at Yulin, on Hainan Island.

China has constructed an underground and underwater submarine facility on Hainan Island as part of a major buildup of naval forces in the South China Sea.

Satellite imagery from publicly available Google Earth shows the major Chinese naval facility at Yulin on Hainan Island and, at lower right the underwater submarine tunnel entrance. Google Earth, courtesy Tim Brown


The tunnel was first discovered by private imagery interpreter Tim Brown of Talent-Keyhole.com, according to the current edition of East-Asia-Intel.com.
The tunnel is believed to be the base where China will deploy its newest attack and ballistic missile submarines. The Pentagon stated earlier this year that the new Shang-class attack submarine, formerly known as the Type 093, is entering service now. The submarine was described as a �next generation� system.



China is expected to deploy at least eight submarines at the base. The tunnel is one of 10 such submarine tunnels China has built to avoid detection and attack for its submarine forces.
China also is building a new ballistic missile submarine known as the Jin-class, which will carry JL-2 nuclear missiles. The Pentagon described the new missile submarine as �an additional, survivable nuclear option� to China�s strategic nuclear buildup.

A Pentagon report from 2005 said that China was using Hainan Island as a new power projection platform as part of its �string of pearls� strategy designed to control strategic sea-lanes from the Persian Gulf to Northeast Asia.

The report said that Chinese activities are less about territorial claims than "protecting or denying the transit of tankers through the South China Sea

In another somewhat related news. Maybe Japan is nervous about CHina fleet buildup in South CHina Sea and now they feature their destroyers in the Ho chin minh city to protect their ships.
So, Japan is having a naval military base in vietnam? I guess.


Vietnamese ship hits two Japanese destroyers
A Vietnamese-registered freighter has hit two Japanese destroyers at a port in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.

Officials of the Japanese defence ministry's Maritime Staff Office say no one was injured in the accident.

They say the freighter Hailong-45 first hit the Matsuyuki, then two minutes later hit the Hamayuki.

http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/storie...htm?tab=latest

The Hamayuki collided the previous day with a Cambodian cargo ship in the same port area.

Neither of the ships was damaged.

Originally Posted by crobato

If you are to consider only the newer ships, not counting the Ludas, Jiangweis and Jianghus.


NSF

112 - 052
113 - 052
115 - 051C
116 - 051C

ESF

136 - 956E
137 - 956E
138 - 956EM
139 - 956EM
524 - 054
525 - 054
529 - 054A
530 - 054A

SSF

167 - 051B
168 - 052B
169 - 052B
170 - 052C (not sure but highly likely)
171 - 052C
569 - 054A (not sure but likely)
570 - 054A (not sure but likely)

ESF is still numerically the most powerful, and it has the loads more of the 051s and variious 053s, plus at least three SSK flotillas. But SSF appears to have the most advanced ships.

Note the pennants, you can see a relationship between the pennant number and the fleet they belong to. Howerver, please note this does not apply to the submarine pennants.

SSF also has 4 of 7 replenishment ship, the first 2 093s and first 094 in service. 071 is also going to SSF from the pennant number.

This unfavorable ocean topography may be one reason why the PLA has decided to build a second nuclear submarine base in the South. Sources in three Asian governments have told the author that this new nuclear submarine base will be at the existing sub base at Yulin, on Hainan Island, while a PLA source notes it is merely an expansion of the existing base.[12] Going Southeast of Hainan a Type 094 SSBN can quickly find deep operating zones that go beyond 1,000 meters. This base would reduce the time needed for surface ships to defend SSBN access to deep water, and when there Type 093 SSNs could more effectively combat U.S. SSNs. Basing Type 094s at Yulin would ensure "second-strike" coverage for India but may only allow limited JL-2 coverage of the U.S


To support SSBN and SSN operations it is likely that there will be a general PLA naval and air build-up around the Yellow Sea and on Hainan. PLA Air Forces and Naval Air Forces being focused on Taiwan could easily be shifted North to support pro-submarine operations in the Yellow Sea. This area will also likely see intensive distribution of naval mines, a weapon in which the PLA Navy has invested heavily. Taiwanese sources expect that a future unit of PLA Navy Su-30MKK2 fighter-bombers will be based on Hainan Island. The PLA can be expected to further build up its based in the Paracel Island chain, especially its airbase on Woody Island. In addition, both areas will benefit from new maritime patrol aircraft the PLA intends to purchase. These may include up to 10 Russian Beriev Be-200 turbofan-powered amphibious transports outfitted for patrol missions.[15]
?

Originally Posted by lilzz

To support SSBN and SSN operations it is likely that there will be a general PLA naval and air build-up around the Yellow Sea and on Hainan. PLA Air Forces and Naval Air Forces being focused on Taiwan could easily be shifted North to support pro-submarine operations in the Yellow Sea. This area will also likely see intensive distribution of naval mines, a weapon in which the PLA Navy has invested heavily. Taiwanese sources expect that a future unit of PLA Navy Su-30MKK2 fighter-bombers will be based on Hainan Island. The PLA can be expected to further build up its based in the Paracel Island chain, especially its airbase on Woody Island. In addition, both areas will benefit from new maritime patrol aircraft the PLA intends to purchase. These may include up to 10 Russian Beriev Be-200 turbofan-powered amphibious transports outfitted for patrol missions.[15]
?

what future MKK2 unit? There is only 1 regiment in ESF. Btw, ESF has been expanding in different ways. If you notice, the MCM assets, most ka-28s and most subs are in ESF. So, it's the basis of a more area denial kind of fleet and also one that has to deal with possible Taiwanese or American submarine operations. SSF is obviously the power projecting fleet, so I would expect not just the first carrier, but maybe the first 2 to both go there.

Originally Posted by tphuang

what future MKK2 unit? .

China is not buying anymore MKK2 plane, I guess the J-11BS would be utilized. Afterall, there are still alot older J-8II or Su-27 SK planes in Hainan.

Originally Posted by lilzz

I wonder what type of naval bases got estbalished in woody island? I heard a sub base will estbalished there. The place is becoming off limit of alot of common folks. Would it become the home site of the first carrier?

I don't see Woody Island being the home site of the first carrier. Why would you base a carrier in what is essentially an unsinkable carrier? However, if the airbase is big enough, it could base bombers to extend range, though this would be an aggressive signal to neighbors.

When I saw that island the first thing that came to my mind was 'environmental impact'.

On the SSF sub fleet, there should be one flotilla of Kilos (4 subs), and a flotilla of Songs (3 Songs and one Yuan---the original Yuan). There is a possibility that the Yuan may be rejoining the new Yuans later to form a Yuan flotilla. I think one or two 091G Improved Han, and I suspect not one but two 094s, each acting as a paired unit with an 093.

I think there is a regiment (from the PLANAF 9th Division) of J-8F or J-8H (J-8D converted to J-8F standards) in Hainan, but the Su-30MKK (Changsha, 28th Division), Su-27SK/J-11 and J-10s of the 2nd Division are in the mainland in Guangzhou, and the J-10s (5th Regiment) in particular in Guilin. So there is significant air power covering there.

054A 570 is operational with the SSF now, 569 returned to Shanghai but either its doing last minute fixes, or being repainted for her own commissioning ceremony.

Wasington Post 3/14/08 reports PLAN is setting up 2 squandron of J-11B in Hainan.

美国 《华盛顿时报》3月14日针对中国军力扩充及近日中国歼-11B战机两个中队调入海南岛，引用美中央情报局局长迈克尔 海登在一次采访中说:北京未能像一个负责任的全球大国那样行事。中国"尚未接受一个大国的责任"，迄今未能 认识到"他们其实担负一定的维持全球体系的责任。"

Originally Posted by lilzz

Wasington Post 3/14/08 reports PLAN is setting up 2 squandron of J-11B in Hainan.

美国 《华盛顿时报》3月14日针对中国军力扩充及近日中国歼-11B战机两个中队调入海南岛，引用美中央情报局局长迈克尔 海登在一次采访中说:北京未能像一个负责任的全球大国那样行事。中国"尚未接受一个大国的责任"，迄今未能 认识到"他们其实担负一定的维持全球体系的责任。"

that's not going to happen, there is no such article and they don't even have 1 full regiment of J-11B let alone 2.

Chinese build secret nuclear submarine base
By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent
Last Updated: 3:19AM BST 02/05/2008
China has secretly built a major underground nuclear submarine base that could threaten Asian countries and challenge American power in the region, it can be disclosed.



Satellite imagery, passed to The Daily Telegraph, shows that a substantial harbour has been built which could house a score of nuclear ballistic missile submarines and a host of aircraft carriers.

In what will be a significant challenge to US Navy dominance and to countries ringing the South China Sea, one photograph shows China’s latest 094 nuclear submarine at the base just a few hundred miles from its neighbours.

Other images show numerous warships moored to long jettys and a network of underground tunnels at the Sanya base on the southern tip of Hainan island.

Of even greater concern to the Pentagon are massive tunnel entrances, estimated to be 60ft high, built into hillsides around the base. Sources fear they could lead to caverns capable of hiding up to 20 nuclear submarines from spy satellites.

The US Department of Defence has estimated that China will have five 094 nuclear submarines operational by 2010 with each capable of carrying 12 JL-2 nuclear missiles.

The images were obtained by Janes Intelligence Review after the periodical was given access to imagery from the commercial satellite company DigitalGlobe.

Analysts for the respected military magazine suggest that the base could be used for "expeditionary as well as defensive operations" and would allow the submarines to "break out to launch locations closer to the US".

It would now be "difficult to ignore" that China was building a major naval base where it could house its nuclear forces and increase it "strategic capability considerably further afield".

The development so close to the sea lanes vital to Asian economies "can only cause concern far beyond these straits".

Military analysts believe that China’s substantial build up of its forces is gaining pace put has remained hidden from the world in the build-up to the Olympics.

China has diverted much of its resources from the huge Peoples Liberation Army to the navy, air force and missile development.

An old Russian aircraft carrier, bought by Beijing for "leisure activities" has been picked over by naval architects who hope to "reverse engineer" the ship.

Within the next five to 10 years the Peoples Liberation Navy is expected to build up to six carriers which will also coincide with the Royal Navy’s construction of two major carriers.

The location of the base off Hainan will also give the submarines access to very deep water exceeding 5,000 metres within a few miles, making them even harder to detect.

Britain’s Trident submarines have to remain on the surface when they leave Faslane in north east Scotland and cannot dive to depth until outside the Irish Sea.

While it has been known that China might be developing an underground base at Sanya, the pictures provide the first proof of the base’s existence and the rapid progress made.

Two 950 metre piers and three smaller ones would be enough to accommodate two carrier strike groups or amphibious assault ships.

Christian Le Miere, editor for Jane's Intelligence Review, said the complex underlined Beijing’s plan “to assert tighter control over this region".

"This is a challenge to any hegemonic power, particularly the US which still remains dominant in the region."

So far China has offered no public explanation for its building at Sanya.

Source

China has secretly built a major underground nuclear submarine base

Well, it's obviously not so secret because there it is, on sat images for everyone to see. And it has been there, and reported on for years. As regards the newer additions at that base, any look at a sat image during its construction by US or other sat coverage would have shown it. So I do not believe you can really call it secret.

As to the threat, well the larger threat to nations in the area is the 094 itself. It is no secret that the PLAN has built one or two of them at this point, and will probably build more. Their designation as SSBN clearly indicates that they are ballistic missile submarines, able to threaten far more than three local countries in the region. They have to be housed somewhere and so it is safe to assume that if the PLAN would build these submarines, they would also build or modify a base to house them.

Now, there is no doubt that there is a large buildup and modernization going on with the PLAN. They have the funds and they are building a lot of new designs that seem very capable and very much improved over earlier years in the early to mid 1990s. They have made unbelievable progress in the last 10 years. It is also clear that that buildup is meant to counter potential adversaries, the chief of which must be the US Navy. They are also building up a force capable of defending what they view s their national interests, both close to the mainland, and, IMHO, out into the blue water.

But you also must compare this with the regional buildup that is going on. While it is true that the US has reduced its overall numbers in the overall US Navy at the same time China has been building up...it is also true that the US has moved more naval assetts into the Western Pacific. So an overall let down in US Naval strength world-wide is also producing a regional buildup in US forces in the Western Pacific to counter the PLAN.

In addition, and at least as meaningful, is the fact that the regional powers...South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and others, including Australia, are in the middle of a significant buildup themselves. There is a fairly large naval arms race going on in the Western Pacific and overall, those nations likely to oppose China are building up larger numbers altogether than China is. That's the truth.

The PLAN SSBNs send a regional strategic message, because that is one very critical platform that China is building that none of the other regional powers, outside the US of course, is building.

I have been tracking this for some years.

THE RISING SEA DRAGON IN ASIA

I've always thought that the South Korean naval build up was primarily directed at Japan (after all, the KDX-III are overkill for whatever China can field at the moment)