China's Defense/Military Breaking News Thread

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Zool

Junior Member
I find the common direction of two popular topics of discussion absurd and glossed over respectively so I'm going to contribute my two cents here.

1) PRC naval expeditionary forces operating anywhere other than within or around the first island chain in a total war scenario - absurd. The PLAN will find itself consumed with securing this area to defend against attacks on the homeland and any expeditionary forces outside of this area would quickly find itself at least out of friendly ports to call, if it manages to survive that long. China fanboy wet dreams and China threat warmongering often ironically converge in misdirecting discussions on this topic.

2) PRC's fragile position and weak capabilities in propaganda, hearts-and-minds, and psy-ops - glossed over. Social discontent, already politically exploited by those hostile to PRC authorities, is alive and well in significant segments of the population in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Tibet/Xinjiang. The PRC clearly lacks nuanced impactful quick counters to increasingly knee jerk and blanket hostility, often responding with poorly packaged long term tactics and clumsy communications that undermine itself. Crude China fanboy overreactions and persistent China hater/blamer flame baiting constitute a microcosm of the topic itself and pre-empts meaningful discussion.

Both of these topics are major considerations in Chinese defense and military affairs but I have so far found quality discussions on them lacking, including on this forum, and that's a shame.

You want to evaluate scenario's and the surrounding conditions at a micro level while discussions even on a macro scale get hijacked by national or ethnic bias, emotional arguments and as you say 'fanboyism'. On a public internet forum, that never ends well. It's the reason Policy Centres/Think Tanks exist and are valued.

I'm guilty of getting sucked into these threads but have learned over the years it is best to keep my side of the discussion to the top-line subject, otherwise the entire thread unravels before long. Just look how off the rails this went based on a couple of articles and the posters interpretation of them.

I will PM you a suggestion if you are really interested in these sorts of discussions.
 

Lethe

Captain
If you go by SIPRI's figures, China's last military budget was for $188bn. Add the projected 10% growth and you get ~$206bn.

In any case we will get an official number for the new budget in early March. Not sure when SIPRI revises their estimates.
 
Not sure if news about this was posted here back when it was first proposed, if it was then guess this would be an update.

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Draft Chinese law paves way for counter-terror operations abroad
BY MICHAEL MARTINA
BEIJING Fri Feb 27, 2015 2:04pm IST

(Reuters) - China is close to approving a law that will create a legal framework for sending troops abroad on counter-terrorism missions, as Beijing seeks to address the vulnerability of the country's growing global commercial and diplomatic interests.

Experts said Article 76 of the draft anti-terrorism law would allay concerns among the military elite about the lack of a formal mechanism for carrying out such operations, as well as mark a shift in foreign policy thinking and military doctrine.

The article is a small part of a draft law chiefly aimed at combating terrorism at home that was made public in November. It has undergone a second review by a parliamentary committee, and is likely to be adopted in the coming weeks or months.

China has rarely been the target of terrorist acts overseas but it has vast energy interests, construction projects and mines in unstable parts of the world, including the Middle East and Africa.

The risk to those projects was highlighted in 2011 when the government evacuated thousands of Chinese workers from Libya during the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi. Some Chinese operations have also generated local hostility over issues such as the use of imported Chinese labour and the exploitation of natural resources.

Article 76 would authorise the military, as well as state and public security personnel, to conduct counterterrorism operations abroad with the approval of the "relevant country".

While the draft gives few details, experts said the law could initially allow military or state security counter-terrorism experts to work abroad either as part of actual investigations or in a training capacity.

"It shows a legitimate evolution in Chinese thinking on counterterrorism efforts," said Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a senior fellow who researches counterterrorism at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington.

"Whether the law allows for cross-border counterterrorism missions is sure to have an impact on military preparations and, ultimately, doctrine."

Security operations by China abroad are not unprecedented. China sent gunboats down the Mekong River in cooperation with Thailand, Myanmar and Laos in 2011 to combat drug running in the Golden Triangle while its navy has conducted numerous anti-piracy patrols off the Horn of Africa.

Shen Dingli, a security expert at Shanghai's Fudan University, said the law was also intended to quell any concerns that China would take unilateral military action as its global security footprint expands.

"Having a law shows we want to address other's concerns. There is fear that if (cross-border security operations) become more frequent, other countries will worry," Shen said.

"SPECIAL ROLE OF THE MILITARY"

China says it is facing a complex struggle against terrorism. Hundreds of people have been killed over the past two years in the far western region of Xinjiang in unrest the government has blamed on Islamists who want to establish a separate state called East Turkestan.

One of the law's key statutes paves the way for China to create a domestic body that would have the power to designate organisations and their members as terrorists without due process, a measure condemned by human rights groups.

Beijing has also expressed concern that Chinese militants are travelling to battlefields in Syria and in Iraq, where China has significant oil interests.

The government has been vague, however, about how it might seek to cooperate with countries such as the United States to counter extremists groups, including Islamic State.

In a brief statement in response to questions from Reuters, the Defense Ministry said the Chinese military "shoulders counterterrorism duties, and consistently and proactively participates in international counterterrorism cooperation".

An editorial in the military-run China National Defense Daily this month said "giving the military the legal power" to conduct operations abroad was a prerequisite to deal with terrorism.

"In confronting the threat of terrorism, which is becoming more rampant by the day, the world's principle countries all gradually recognise that there is no substitute for the special role of the military," the paper said.

Indeed, China's military has already ramped up exercises with other countries in recent years, with counterterrorism activities central to such drills.

"I would argue (the law) is part of a growing normalisation of China's general approach to counterterrorism practices and foreign policy," said Raffaello Pantucci, director of International Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

The new law heralds a larger long-term Chinese security influence on countries potentially far from China's borders, added Christopher Yung, a senior research fellow at the National Defense University in Washington.

"Even if you don't see increased Chinese military activity over the next decade or so, the Chinese at least want to give themselves the authority and the flexibility to do it," Yung said.

(Editing by Dean Yates)
 

kroko

Senior Member
I dont know if it already been talked about in this forum, but it is confirmed that china will hold a military parade commemorating the end of WW2. It will be the first time in china´s history that such a parade is done for that purpose.

Key diferences from national day parades:
- foreign leaders will be invited;
- the parade may be smaller in size.

In the xinhua article it is mentioned that "it is not necessary to display all the newly developed equipment". What do you think that will appear in the parade?

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Janiz

Senior Member
PLAN, Russian Navy, South Korean Navy and Myanmar Navy.

Like the parade this summer which has been called off because no one wanted to parcitipate (like US Navy declined the invitation)?
 
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