PLAN SCS Bases/Islands/Vessels (Not a Strategy Page)

Islands with airstrips in key locations are like unsinkable carriers.

The only way to take them out of the game, short of dropping a tactical nuke on them (maybe not even then!) is to put boots on the ground to take it physically.

If China chooses to turn those new islands into military bases, they would be a hell of a hard nut to crack, especially since they are all located close enough to offer each other mutual support, and can count on PLAN and PLAAF assets from the mainland for additional support if needs be.

With those bases operational, anyone seeking to start a fight with China in the SCS is going to find the odds significantly stacked against them.

plawolf said:

Islands with airstrips in key locations are like unsinkable carriers.

The only way to take them out of the game, short of dropping a tactical nuke on them (maybe not even then!) is to put boots on the ground to take it physically.

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Nah, just blockade the islands till the people/troops on them starve to death

Those islands are not out in the middle of the Pacific. They are relatively close to land all around, and within reach of China's major bases to the north for provisioning and defense.

But let's cut this off right here.

We're not going to go into such "War with China," scenarios. SD rules forbid it.

DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS MODERATION

plawolf said:

Islands with airstrips in key locations are like unsinkable carriers.

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Unsinkable, but also unmoveable.

I think the strategic thinking behind the SCS islands, and they definitely have strategic value, is to serve as a buffer against foreign surveillance and as a counter to the threat of SLOC interdiction.

As such, the thinking behind them should not be turning them into fortresses, but rather early warning outposts, all the while being sufficiently strong to make any attempt at blockading China itself a difficult endeavor.

solarz said:

Unsinkable, but also unmoveable.

I think the strategic thinking behind the SCS islands, and they definitely have strategic value, is to serve as a buffer against foreign surveillance and as a counter to the threat of SLOC interdiction.

As such, the thinking behind them should not be turning them into fortresses, but rather early warning outposts, all the while being sufficiently strong to make any attempt at blockading China itself a difficult endeavor.

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Those islands cannot serve as buffers to stop foreign surveillance. Foreign surveillance assets will simply sail/fly past them, and there isn't anything assets on those islands can do to stop it short of opening fire, and that is clearly not a serious option.

To think those islands are for counter surveillance is to fall for the "great wall of sand", and "China wants to limit freedom of navigation" red herrings often thrown about in the media.

Those islands are all about power projection.

In peacetime, those islands will serve as forward operating bases, drastically cutting the distances that Chinese assets need to travel to patrol the SCS compared to having to come all the way from Hainan island (and correspondingly reducing the reaction time and deployment costs).

I fully expect China to homeport smaller ships on those islands, and probably will also move the crews' families down, both to help with moral, and also to conveniently establish a civilian presence on those islands to further cement their status.

Long range radar and other surveillance assets China will undoubtedly deploy on those islands could, and probably would also give China the ability to monitor most air and surface traffic in the SCS in real time. I don't think I need to spell out how useful that will be for both civilian and military applications.

China has, until now always been at a significant disadvantage in the SCS because of the Tyranny of Distance, these islands are all about removing that from the equation.

Picture of Yongshu (Fiery Cross) dated 22-Aug-2015.
(low resolution, ).
Lots of construction have occurred on the island.

Runway is really coming along.

Some good and new maps and graphics are included in the 40 page article below. Even good for people who don't agree with the view from the Pentagon

plawolf said:

Long range radar and other surveillance assets China will undoubtedly deploy on those islands could, and probably would also give China the ability to monitor most air and surface traffic in the SCS in real time. I don't think I need to spell out how useful that will be for both civilian and military applications.

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I would say they also provide the ability to monitor underwater traffic as well.