China's Defense/Military Breaking News Thread

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Equation

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on Thursday, July 2nd, 2015

China has made breakthroughs in the anti-jamming capability of its Beidou satellite navigation system (BDS), the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Daily said Thursday.

The new technology, developed by Wang Feixue and his team from the National University of Defense Technology, has made the satellites 1,000 times more secure, the newspaper said.

In March, China launched the 17th BDS satellite, the first step in expanding the regional system to a global one.

The first BDS satellite was launched in 2000 to provide an alternative to foreign satellite navigation systems. In December 2012, the system began to provide positioning, navigation, timing and short message services to China and some parts of the Asia Pacific.

The BDS global network will have 35 satellites, five of which will be in geostationary orbit. The complete network should be installed by 2020.




What do you guys reckon is the technology behind this sudden 1000 times more secure, jam-resistant capability?

Thickness of the material to safeguard it?
 

JayBird

Junior Member
Thousands times more secure and jam resistant, but with no details sounds like PR to raise company image and drum up business.

"Thousands times more secure" is probably just a figure of speech to emphasize how far the chinese Beidou satellite navigation system has advanced so far. I read another story that Beidou satellite was being jammed back in 2007 when it pass certain area.( Not sure it meant natural interfaces or deliberate jamming from another country) all control and communication were lost with the jammed satellite. And took the team 3 months working over time to came up with a new design at the time to secure/prevent the jamming of the Beidou satellites.

It seems like the same team now made a breakthrough in the anti-jamming capability of the Beidou system. And the government just trying to praise and give credit to Wang Feixue and his team from the National University of Defense Technology for their work and contribution for the BDS.
 
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World | Fri Jul 10, 2015 6:12am EDT
China military to prosecute another senior officer for graft
BEIJING

China's military will prosecute another former senior officer for corruption, the Defence Ministry said on Friday, part of a sweeping campaign against graft which has already felled dozens of top people, including high ranking military personnel.

Weeding out corruption in the military is a top goal of President Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission, which controls China's 2.3 million-strong armed forces.

In a brief statement, the ministry said that Deng Ruihui, former political commissar for the Joint Logistics Department in the Lanzhou military region, is suspected of serious "breaches of discipline", the usual euphemism for corruption.

"He is suspected of breaking the law, and has already been handed over to the military prosecutor for handling in accordance with the law," it added, without elaborating.

The Lanzhou military region is one of seven military regions in China, and is in charge of security for a large swathe of western China, including the restive region of Xinjiang, where Beijing says Islamist militants operate.

Serving and retired Chinese military officers have said military graft is so pervasive it could undermine China's ability to wage war, and dozens of senior officers have been taken down.

The anti-graft drive in the military comes as Xi steps up efforts to modernize forces that are projecting power across the disputed waters of the East and South China Seas, though China has not fought a war in decades.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
 

Blackstone

Brigadier
At times, I wonder what off the wall stuff CCP power brokers eat for breakfast, because some of their policies come straight out of the Twilight Zone. The most recent example involves PLA troops storming a replica of Taiwan presidential office, presumably to send the Taiwan independence movement a hard message. But, I think the act would end up doing more harm than good. It's sad Beijing risk years of goodwill building, just for a dog and pony show.

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Is Beijing doubling down on its longstanding threat to reclaim Taiwan by force? That’s a concern for some Taiwanese after China’s state broadcaster
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that featured soldiers storming an apparent replica of the island’s presidential palace.

Officials in Taipei have denounced the drill as harmful to the rapprochement of recent years between Taiwan and China, after decades of hostility following a civil war in the middle of the last century. Political and military experts, meanwhile, say the apparent targeting of an important political symbol for Taiwan marks Beijing’s latest bid to sway Taiwanese voters ahead of a key presidential poll next January.

The newsreel in question, first aired by China Central Television on July 5, featured dramatic footage of an annual military exercise in northern China—spanning fiery artillery barrages, imposing armored columns and infantry assaults on a mock-up city. The video went largely unnoticed until Wednesday, when
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said it demonstrated how Beijing “would use force to solve the Taiwan issue.”

The CCTV report swiftly struck a nerve in Taiwan, where President Ma Ying-jeou’s engagement policies with China have proved divisive, compounding the declining public support his ruling Nationalist Party is experiencing over economic and social fairness issues. Many commentators on Taiwanese media directed their ire on segments from the newsreel that appeared to show Chinese troops advancing toward a red-and-white structure that closely resembled Taiwan’s Presidential Office—built in a distinctive European-style in the 1910s by Japanese colonial administrators.

The implied assault on Taipei was “unacceptable for the Taiwanese public and the international community,” Major Gen. David Lo, spokesman for Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense,
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. “The Chinese Communist Party hasn’t given up on armed assault on Taiwan, and their military preparations are still geared toward the use of force against Taiwan,”
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.

China’s defense ministry denied that Taiwan was the object of the drill. “This is a routine annual military exercise, and isn’t directed at any particular target,” it said in a terse statement in response to queries from China Real Time on Thursday.

The exercise was the latest in a series of military drills that
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at a training base in China’s northern Inner Mongolia region. The exercise involved a simulated battle to capture urban strongholds, featuring mock-up structures that replicate actual urban environments, according to
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by the People’s Liberation Army’s official newspaper, PLA Daily.

“Militaries routinely practice fighting in combat scenarios based on their operational priorities and strategic realities,” said Ni Lexiong, a Shanghai-based military scholar. “For the PLA, this would mean missions in the South China Sea, in the East Sea, and of course Taiwan.”

Even so, Mr. Ni said, the decision to feature an easily recognizable Taiwanese political landmark was likely an attempt by Beijing to send a signal to Taiwan’s main opposition force, the Democratic Progressive Party. The DPP’s leader Tsai Ing-wen is favored in polls to win a presidential election in January—a prospect which unsettles Beijing given the party’s longstanding support for Taiwan’s independence from the mainland.

Beijing sees Taiwan as a breakaway province and has never relinquished a threat to retake the island by force. It has used military drills in the past to signal displeasure with prevailing political winds on the island. In 1995 and 1996, the Chinese government—hoping to dissuade Taiwanese voters from re-electing a president deemed by Beijing to be pro-independence—fired missiles into the waters off Taiwan and conducted large-scale amphibious assault drills near Taiwanese-controlled territory.

The latest drill, however, suggests a shift in Beijing’s tactics, some experts say.

“Over the years, the PLA threat to Taiwan has become largely abstract, and ordinary Taiwanese now tend to shrug off news of traditional PLA exercises,” said J. Michael Cole, a Taipei-based senior fellow with the University of Nottingham’s China Policy Institute. That, he said, “may have compelled Beijing to up the ante.”

The apparent targeting of Taiwan’s presidential palace “strikes at the heart of what is recognizable to ordinary Taiwanese—downtown Taipei. This is a symbol of nationhood, the seat of power in Taiwan,” Mr. Cole said. “By making the threat more recognizable and immediate than missiles fired off Taiwan’s northern and southern tips, or drills simulating an amphibious assault, Beijing may hope to engage ordinary Taiwanese not at the intellectual and abstract level, but on an emotional one.”
 

Equation

Lieutenant General
At times, I wonder what off the wall stuff CCP power brokers eat for breakfast, because some of their policies come straight out of the Twilight Zone. The most recent example involves PLA troops storming a replica of Taiwan presidential office, presumably to send the Taiwan independence movement a hard message. But, I think the act would end up doing more harm than good. It's sad Beijing risk years of goodwill building, just for a dog and pony show.

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BN-JN309_palace_NS_20150723073550.jpg

Suppose Replica

prespalace.jpg

Taiwan Presidential Palace

It look somewhat similar but not even close. The real one has arches and more ornate classical Greek elements, while the "replica" could be any type of college campus or government building.
 

escobar

Brigadier
The radical plan to turn China’s People’s Liberation Army into a modern fighting force
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As infantrymen polish their buckles and honour guards practice their marches one final time, the stage is set for Thursday’s parade in Beijing to mark the end of the second world war.

Global leaders can expect a display of awe-inspiring power from the world’s largest army, which will be represented by 12,000 Chinese troops in 50 formations, nearly 200 aircraft, seven types of missiles and a dazzling array of hardware never before shown publicly.

Yet with all eyes on the pomp in Tiananmen Square, behind the scenes, China’s military is in flux. Several plans for reform have been suggested, but one obtained by the South China Morning Post from reform-minded officers envisages the most radical restructuring of the forces ever. The plans, aimed at turning the People’s Liberation Army into a modern fighting force fit for battle and capable of projecting power overseas, envisage overhauling outdated command structures, unifying the army, navy and air force along Western lines, and further consolidating the army’s military command regions, now seven, down to four.


Such an overhaul is unlikely to be welcomed by all, given that it would involve cutting PLA and armed police personnel from 3 million to 2 million, promoting the role of the navy and air force at the expense of the army, and dispensing with command structures many officers have spent their lives climbing.

Yet keen observers say the commemorations, with their likely boost to morale and patriotism, give President Xi Jinping – who has already culled many of the corrupt military “tigers” standing in the way of reform – a springboard for change.


New command
The PLA’s nerve centre, the so-called four headquarters (General Staff, General Political Department, General Logistics Department and General Armaments Department) would be dissolved, with only the General Staff remaining. Functions of the other three departments would merge into the General Staff and Ministry of National Defence.

In their place would be four new headquarters for the army, navy, air force and a newly created national guard, which would in turn come under the joint command of the Central Military Commission.

The army, currently split into seven military command areas, would be split into just four zones: Northeast, Northwest, Southeast and Southwest.

The national guard would replace the armed police, taking care of domestic security, disaster relief and anti-terrorism.

Smaller, nimbler
Troop numbers, currently at less than 3 million after 10 reductions from a peak of 6.27 million in 1951, would be reduced to 2 million – 1 million in the national guard and 1 million in the army, navy and air force. The army will bear the brunt of the reductions, being cut from 850,000 at present to 490,000. The navy would go from 235,000 to 210,000 and the air force from 398,000 to 300,000.

In April, the PLA Daily reported that the army would cut a large number of non-combat posts, including medical, communications and artist troupes.

Xu Guangyu , a retired PLA major general, said 2 million troops was a reasonable size for China’s future armed forces, but it was too early to say when that figure might be achieved.

The role of the Ministry of National Defence would also change. At present, it takes a mainly ceremonial role, dealing with public relations and military exchanges with other countries. Under the reform plan, local garrisons at provincial, city and county levels would be replaced by defence ministry offices in charge of mobilisation, conscription, militia training and other management tasks in a move to prevent collusion between garrison leaders and local officials.

The future
A Beijing-based retired senior colonel from the navy said the reform proposal was “the future” for the PLA, although it was not an official document and was still under discussion.

“It is a comprehensive reform plan that has combined the ideas of many military reformers, and is definitely the general direction of the army’s future reform.

“The PLA must make fundamental changes if it is going to be a real blue-water navy,” he said.

Military analysts said the overhaul, particularly the more prominent role for the navy, is necessary given the military’s increasing presence overseas. They point to the PLA’s anti-piracy deployment to the Indian Ocean, and its evacuation of more than 600 Chinese and almost 300 foreigners from Yemen this year.

Others, such as military historian Xu Ping , argue that while the PLA should elevate the navy and air force, it would be wrong to follow too closely the US, Britain and Japan.

“Both Japan and Britain are island countries, while the US is on the verge of two oceans. Geography decided that their navies should enjoy equal status with their armies, but China is a continental country like Russia,” said Xu Ping, a PLA senior 8colonel.

A Guangzhou-based veteran disagreed with Xu: “China’s national interests have expanded overseas year after year, with the PLA Navy needing to protect the country’s offshore oil lines and overseas Chinese nationals, and boost its capability in international anti-piracy missions.”

Resistance
Speculation over reform began to circulate in 2009, but the defence ministry has made at least three unusual, high-profile, denials.

Strong resistance from vested interests has put the plan on hold – and it is not the only reform plan under discussion. However, analysts believe Xi’s authority will receive enough of a boost from tomorrow’s parade to enable him to enact the radical move.

Others warn resistance will be at least as strong, if not stronger than, the calls for change.

“No matter what kind of restructure decision is made, the final goal is to reduce the complexity of the bulky PLA system, meaning many senior officials [will be angry],” the Beijing-based retired senior colonel said.

“Such a move would trigger strong resistance in the army, not only among the conservatives, but also senior military officials who have had real power.”

The vested interests of many would be affected not only because departments and units would be merged or dissolved. Some officials would lose rank. Others said the political nature of the PLA – ultimately under the command of the Communist Party – means it is impossible to fully adopt Western models.

The PLA uses a “double-executive system” for combat command and ideology, which requires numerous political commissars in every corps-level military institution to ensure soldiers are politically correct and loyal to the party. This means far more executive officers are required than under Western systems. But losing the political commissars is not an option.

“It’s almost impossible to take out the role of political commissars from the PLA system, because such a move would cripple the party’s political influence in the army,” Xu Ping said.

Long march
Even advocates of the reform say it might take decades for the PLA to evolve into a modern army on par with Western standards.

They believe Xi has taken the first step to shaking up the PLA by pulling down two top generals – Xu Caihou and Guo Bo8xiong – who were running the army when former president Hu Jintao , who had little military background, was chairman of the CMC. Xu has since died from cancer while Guo was handed to military prosecutors in July on suspicion of %corruption.

In their place, Xi has promoted his own men, recently advancing 10 senior PLA officials to full generals in an echo of a move in 2013 in which he promoted two batches of officers to that rank.


“All reform needs to be step by step. Xi focused first on his corruption crackdown and cultivated his own governing team to occupy the army’s leadership, otherwise, no real reform could be implemented,” the senior colonel from the navy said.

He said the magnitude of the reform was too great to be done in one go. Xi might find the most practical part of the plan was the move to replace the seven military area commands with four.

“For other parts of the plan, Xi may need to leave them to his successor to carry out,” he said.

 
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