China's SCS Strategy Thread

Hendrik_2000

Lieutenant General
A meeting between Adm Wu Shengli and Adm Richardson was held recently and a defiant China lay it on the deck. I like this guy Henri K he is non judgmental and neutral. Forbin are you there?

When I put my hands on the keyboard to begin this article, I realize that this is my 9th article on the South China Sea.

9 out of 36, it starts to do a lot, especially in space of less than four weeks.

But it is the subject of the moment in Asia, and more and more new elements are communicated every day, difficult to miss when we closely follow the news of China.

That said, geopolitics is really not my preferred domain, on the one hand because there are no simple geopolitical subjects, and therefore a profound knowledge of all the fields concerned (history, culture, economy, Military, social ...) quickly becomes a primordial prerequisite.

On the other hand, it is necessary to have a certain impartiality and a sufficient depth of view to understand each of the subjects if we want to be able to give depth to our analysis.

Otherwise, there is a risk of having an incomplete and biased view, as can be seen in most of the mainstream press articles.

And precisely on the subject of the South China Sea, we have to note that in France we have a fairly biased media coverage, and that is really regrettable.


The purpose of this article is not to write you another "analysis" that ultimately resembles others you might read elsewhere, but rather to simply expose recent events and facts that have taken place since a Week, in the form of a chronological summary classified by category.

He is then free to each to make his own judgment and comment.

Declarations & Events
On 12 July, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (CPA) issued its verdict.

2016-07-18-Une-semaine-en-mer-de-Chine-m%C3%A9ridionale-01-300x225.jpg

Daniel Kritenbrink at the CSIS Southern China Conference

On the same day, the Director of Asian Affairs of the US National Security Council, Daniel Kritenbrink, also adviser to US President Obama on Asian policy, delivered a 20-minute speech at the 6th Annual Conference Of the South China Sea, an event organized by the Think Tank CSIS (the Center for Strategic and International Studies) once a year.

According to some sources, Kritenbrink described the South China Sea as part of the "Top National Interests". I have not watched the speech but you can find it
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
.

This would be the first time that a senior US official has publicly made such a statement.

Kritenbrink also specified the 4 military axes that the United States intend to undertake in the South China Sea -

  1. Demonstrating regular military capabilities
  2. Maintain military operations in a perpetual manner
  3. Promoting the integration of countries into a regional security network
  4. Interact directly with China to reduce the military (misunderstanding) risk
Kritenbrink did not remain after his speech to answer the questions of the guests, so there is no more clarification on his remarks.

From 15 to 16 July, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), an interregional forum bringing together the European Commission and the 28 members of the European Union on the one hand and the 13 members Of ASEAN plus China, Japan and South Korea, was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

According to an article in the Japanese press shinbun Yomiuri dated July 17 , Japan tried to persuade China to respect the verdict of the CPA during the two-day forum.

Shinzō Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister, met with his Vietnamese and Filipino counterparts on July 15, and gives his support to all ASEAN countries that are in territorial conflict with China. Some Japanese government officials then told the press that:

The content of the meeting is satisfactory. The siege is on.

本.

The European Commission has exhorted China to respect the CPA's judgment, while the representatives of Hungary and Greece for example are reluctant to openly criticize Beijing.

2016-07-18-Une-semaine-en-mer-de-Chine-m%C3%A9ridionale-02-300x214.jpg

Admiral John Michael Richardson of the US Navy and WU Commander of the Chinese Navy

On 18 Juilet, Admiral John Michael Richardson, Naval Operations Chief of the US Navy, met with the Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Navy in Beijing at the invitation of the latter. The US Navy delegation is invited to China for a three-day official visit.

During the meeting, Admiral WU made a firm declaration of five points, all of which begin with "On (China) absolutely not", which I translate literally here:

  1. "We absolutely will not sacrifice China's sovereignty in the South China Sea, which is at the heart of the country's interests. It is the basis of (legitimacy) the governance of the Communist Party, it concerns the stability of the national security of China, and it concerns above all the fundamental interest of the Chinese people. There will be no concession. "
  2. "We absolutely will not be afraid of military provocations in any way ... The Chinese navy is ready to face any kind of provocations. "
  3. "We are not going to stop halfway the construction of its reefs. China will carry out this work to the end. "
  4. "We absolutely will not lower our guard. The number of defensive installations on these reefs depends entirely on the degree of threat we face. Those who think they can bend us by the demonstration of forces will get an opposite result. "
  5. "Absolutely we will not abandon the effort to resolve these differences through peace. Negotiations will be favored within a regulated framework. "
You can find the rest of his statements on
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
.

The Chinese television CCTV also broadcast a report on this encounter between the two men -

During his visit, Admiral John Michael Richardson will travel to a naval base in the Northern Fleet and board the aircraft carrier 16 Liaoning.

Military
The official blog of the army of the Chinese air had aired it two days ago a picture that shows
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
.

The information was confirmed on July 18 by the spokesman of the Chinese Air Force, which also announces the normalization of patrol of the Chinese air forces in the South China Sea.

He said that fighter planes, AWACS, maritime patrol aircraft and tankers would gradually patrol the entire South China Sea.

Furthermore, after
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
in the South China Sea early July, the Chinese navy plans two other naval exercises around the island of Hainan.

The maritime areas will be closed from 19 to 21 July to the east of the island, and from 20 to 22 to the south of the Yalong naval base.

2016-07-18-Une-semaine-en-mer-de-Chine-m%C3%A9ridionale-06.jpg

Naval exercise from 19th to 21st July east of Hainan, and from 20th to 22th of the south of the island

It should be noted that two years ago the Chinese aircraft carrier 16 Liaoning had already participated in a naval exercise which is located in an area in the East located almost in the same place.

Construction & Exploration
For those who have followed my articles, you already know that
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
last July 13.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
is also activated from the 15, while the announcement of the start of
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
partly intended to reefs in the South China Sea was made the day before evening.

It is now reported that the embankment operations at Mischief Reef started exactly on January 16, 2015, and are terminated on June 30 of the same year.

A total of 32 specific vessels were mobilized to create an artificial surface of 5.66 km². The protection of the new land required the construction of a concrete embankment 25.7 km long.

On the maritime exploration side, the mother ship "Zhang Jian" arrived in the South China Sea on July 17th. This vessel will house the "Rainbow fish" submersible that is designed to reach 10,000m depth.

"Zhang Jian" will conduct underwater explorations with the first prototype of "Rainbow fish". We can see what this mother ship looks like in this video of CCTV:
 

FORBIN

Lieutenant General
Registered Member
Close the thread then

Bad idea.
I think this thread is like the "politics magnet" that attracts all the political talk here. So the other threads can remain professional, if this is closed, we'll see political talks everywhere. Now that would be disastrous.
Useless topic politic, bias, chauvinism etc... some fight on the net... they do only it don' t post for true military things what are they doing on this forum it is the question and the problem...
 

Air Force Brat

Brigadier
Super Moderator
Useless topic politic, bias, chauvinism etc... some fight on the net... they do only it don' t post for true military things what are they doing on this forum it is the question and the problem...

How so? all these military toys only exist to ostensibly carry out our political wishes, whether to extend our power, protect our sovereignty, protect the sovereignty of each other.

Forums have existed since long before the meeting on "Mars Hill", where the Apostle Paul, meets the Greek philosophers, and begins to "present the Gospel."

Here we are today, on the SDF, different men, with different interests, drawn together by a "military interest" in the toys of either freedom or oppression dependant only upon who is in possession of "power" at the moment??

The Chinese have expressed an interest and a determination to "project power" and occupy real estate in the South China Sea??? while that is political, it is also purposeful, so the real question is what is the purpose of "upsetting the balance of nature"??

I would remind that the many freedoms we each have, have come to be through the honest and powerful exchange of ideas, and fighting to maintain those freedoms through whatever means necessary.
 

Air Force Brat

Brigadier
Super Moderator
A meeting between Adm Wu Shengli and Adm Richardson was held recently and a defiant China lay it on the deck. I like this guy Henri K he is non judgmental and neutral. Forbin are you there?

When I put my hands on the keyboard to begin this article, I realize that this is my 9th article on the South China Sea.

9 out of 36, it starts to do a lot, especially in space of less than four weeks.

But it is the subject of the moment in Asia, and more and more new elements are communicated every day, difficult to miss when we closely follow the news of China.

That said, geopolitics is really not my preferred domain, on the one hand because there are no simple geopolitical subjects, and therefore a profound knowledge of all the fields concerned (history, culture, economy, Military, social ...) quickly becomes a primordial prerequisite.

On the other hand, it is necessary to have a certain impartiality and a sufficient depth of view to understand each of the subjects if we want to be able to give depth to our analysis.

Otherwise, there is a risk of having an incomplete and biased view, as can be seen in most of the mainstream press articles.

And precisely on the subject of the South China Sea, we have to note that in France we have a fairly biased media coverage, and that is really regrettable.


The purpose of this article is not to write you another "analysis" that ultimately resembles others you might read elsewhere, but rather to simply expose recent events and facts that have taken place since a Week, in the form of a chronological summary classified by category.

He is then free to each to make his own judgment and comment.

Declarations & Events
On 12 July, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (CPA) issued its verdict.

2016-07-18-Une-semaine-en-mer-de-Chine-m%C3%A9ridionale-01-300x225.jpg

Daniel Kritenbrink at the CSIS Southern China Conference

On the same day, the Director of Asian Affairs of the US National Security Council, Daniel Kritenbrink, also adviser to US President Obama on Asian policy, delivered a 20-minute speech at the 6th Annual Conference Of the South China Sea, an event organized by the Think Tank CSIS (the Center for Strategic and International Studies) once a year.

According to some sources, Kritenbrink described the South China Sea as part of the "Top National Interests". I have not watched the speech but you can find it
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
.

This would be the first time that a senior US official has publicly made such a statement.

Kritenbrink also specified the 4 military axes that the United States intend to undertake in the South China Sea -

  1. Demonstrating regular military capabilities
  2. Maintain military operations in a perpetual manner
  3. Promoting the integration of countries into a regional security network
  4. Interact directly with China to reduce the military (misunderstanding) risk
Kritenbrink did not remain after his speech to answer the questions of the guests, so there is no more clarification on his remarks.

From 15 to 16 July, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), an interregional forum bringing together the European Commission and the 28 members of the European Union on the one hand and the 13 members Of ASEAN plus China, Japan and South Korea, was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

According to an article in the Japanese press shinbun Yomiuri dated July 17 , Japan tried to persuade China to respect the verdict of the CPA during the two-day forum.

Shinzō Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister, met with his Vietnamese and Filipino counterparts on July 15, and gives his support to all ASEAN countries that are in territorial conflict with China. Some Japanese government officials then told the press that:

The content of the meeting is satisfactory. The siege is on.

本.

The European Commission has exhorted China to respect the CPA's judgment, while the representatives of Hungary and Greece for example are reluctant to openly criticize Beijing.

2016-07-18-Une-semaine-en-mer-de-Chine-m%C3%A9ridionale-02-300x214.jpg

Admiral John Michael Richardson of the US Navy and WU Commander of the Chinese Navy

On 18 Juilet, Admiral John Michael Richardson, Naval Operations Chief of the US Navy, met with the Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Navy in Beijing at the invitation of the latter. The US Navy delegation is invited to China for a three-day official visit.

During the meeting, Admiral WU made a firm declaration of five points, all of which begin with "On (China) absolutely not", which I translate literally here:

  1. "We absolutely will not sacrifice China's sovereignty in the South China Sea, which is at the heart of the country's interests. It is the basis of (legitimacy) the governance of the Communist Party, it concerns the stability of the national security of China, and it concerns above all the fundamental interest of the Chinese people. There will be no concession. "
  2. "We absolutely will not be afraid of military provocations in any way ... The Chinese navy is ready to face any kind of provocations. "
  3. "We are not going to stop halfway the construction of its reefs. China will carry out this work to the end. "
  4. "We absolutely will not lower our guard. The number of defensive installations on these reefs depends entirely on the degree of threat we face. Those who think they can bend us by the demonstration of forces will get an opposite result. "
  5. "Absolutely we will not abandon the effort to resolve these differences through peace. Negotiations will be favored within a regulated framework. "
You can find the rest of his statements on
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
.

The Chinese television CCTV also broadcast a report on this encounter between the two men -

During his visit, Admiral John Michael Richardson will travel to a naval base in the Northern Fleet and board the aircraft carrier 16 Liaoning.

Military
The official blog of the army of the Chinese air had aired it two days ago a picture that shows
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
.

The information was confirmed on July 18 by the spokesman of the Chinese Air Force, which also announces the normalization of patrol of the Chinese air forces in the South China Sea.

He said that fighter planes, AWACS, maritime patrol aircraft and tankers would gradually patrol the entire South China Sea.

Furthermore, after
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
in the South China Sea early July, the Chinese navy plans two other naval exercises around the island of Hainan.

The maritime areas will be closed from 19 to 21 July to the east of the island, and from 20 to 22 to the south of the Yalong naval base.

2016-07-18-Une-semaine-en-mer-de-Chine-m%C3%A9ridionale-06.jpg

Naval exercise from 19th to 21st July east of Hainan, and from 20th to 22th of the south of the island

It should be noted that two years ago the Chinese aircraft carrier 16 Liaoning had already participated in a naval exercise which is located in an area in the East located almost in the same place.

Construction & Exploration
For those who have followed my articles, you already know that
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
last July 13.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
is also activated from the 15, while the announcement of the start of
Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!
partly intended to reefs in the South China Sea was made the day before evening.

It is now reported that the embankment operations at Mischief Reef started exactly on January 16, 2015, and are terminated on June 30 of the same year.

A total of 32 specific vessels were mobilized to create an artificial surface of 5.66 km². The protection of the new land required the construction of a concrete embankment 25.7 km long.

On the maritime exploration side, the mother ship "Zhang Jian" arrived in the South China Sea on July 17th. This vessel will house the "Rainbow fish" submersible that is designed to reach 10,000m depth.

"Zhang Jian" will conduct underwater explorations with the first prototype of "Rainbow fish". We can see what this mother ship looks like in this video of CCTV:

Nice post Hendrick, and it does go a distance to help us understand what our mutual interests in this region are, also illustrates to some extent why there is conflict at the moment??? likely the SDF post of the day, thank you for your thoughts.
 

Hendrik_2000

Lieutenant General
Nice post Hendrick, and it does go a distance to help us understand what our mutual interests in this region are, also illustrates to some extent why there is conflict at the moment??? likely the SDF post of the day, thank you for your thoughts.

You are welcome I try to post a good, well research article for people to read. So that people know what is at stake for both sides
Hopefully it will lead to understanding of the other side viewpoint
It is better to talk and avoid conflict
 

Air Force Brat

Brigadier
Super Moderator
You are welcome I try to post a good, well research article for people to read. So that people know what is at stake for both sides
Hopefully it will lead to understanding of the other side viewpoint
It is better to talk and avoid conflict

It absolutely is, and I in particular appreciate your determination to understand both sides of the coin, you have published some very relevant information, that has been helpful to me personally. I am very impressed with your tone, and honesty, a man of honor no doubt, all blessings to you today brother.

I like to think that we the gentlemen of the Sino Defense Forum will be a voice of reason, and champions of good will no matter what our govts are up to, that we will stand by one another as friends even if our "world view" comes from a different direction.
 
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