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China Extends Military's Reach
Eyes Long-Range Airlifters; Navy Sails Off Africa
By PIERRE TRAN
Published: 24 May 2010
BEIJING - The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is transforming a one-time barefoot peasant army into a modern and deployable military, racking up operational hours in an anti-piracy naval mission in the Gulf of Aden as military officials study strategic airlifter requirements.
"Projection is one of the priorities," a European official said. "They are very interested in any industrial program, whether aircraft or naval, American, British or European, that offers projection."
In March, Beijing dispatched missile destroyer DDG 168 and a fleet auxiliary supply ship, the fifth task force to sail since December 2008 to protect Chinese and other commercial shipping from pirates working off the Somali coast.
The operations in the Gulf of Aden, the farthest China has ever deployed its ships, constitute valuable training, Navy Capt. Xie Dongpei, deputy head of the office of the Navy commander, said May 10 at a rare press briefing.
Xie said the Navy is keen to cooperate with European and other foreign navies off Somalia and elsewhere.
But Western forces see little to learn from the Chinese Navy, and little incentive to teach them, the European official said.
Such power-projection missions will help China protect its maritime zones of economic interest and safeguard the foreign trade that powers its economy, said Army Gen. Jia Xiaoning, deputy director for foreign affairs in the Ministry of Defense.
Jia said that China's modernization will require spending more on the Navy and Air Force relative to the Army, which has been the backbone of national defense.
One thing that might show up on the shopping list: an aircraft carrier.
"We're in the process of studying the possibilities and conditions for having a carrier," Jia said. "When you look around the world, other major powers have a carrier, all except China."
Interest in A400M
Another possibility is long-range airlifters. Beijing has ambitions to develop a replacement for its Ilyushin Il-176s, but no one knows how far it has progressed, the European official said.
More intriguing to China is the A400M transport aircraft built by EADS subsidiary Airbus Military.
"It's natural they're interested in the A400M because it's happening," the European official said.
The unarmed A400M is certified as a civil aircraft, though it carries military equipment and self-protection gear. But selling it to China would be a charged and complicated political decision, requiring consent from each of the producer countries - mainly Britain, Germany, France, Spain and Turkey, said a French official in Paris.
China remains under U.S. and European Union arms embargoes imposed after the 1989 killing of pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for lifting the ban, arguing that China should be treated as an equal partner. Yet his efforts have earned him little credit with the Chinese, who have cold-shouldered France since Sarkozy met with the Dalai Lama in 2008, a second European official said.
Neither has Spain, the current holder of the EU presidency, earned Chinese political capital for its own calls to end the embargo. This is because Beijing understands that it will have to deal with this question at a European level, the second European official said.
But Britain, keen to nurture trans-Atlantic ties with Washington, has opposed an end to the EU embargo, a position supported by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The ban hampers China's efforts to develop military equipment, said China's Jia. China has tried to import technology from countries, including France, but runs into the "system of blockage from the EU and other things," he said. As a strategic partner, there is no reason to restrict trade in technology, he said.
China is talking to "other countries" but is in no hurry, he said.
The second European official said China could help make its case for an end to the embargo by ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and increasing military transparency.
Technology Leaks
U.S. officials, who want to keep advanced defense technology from leaking to Beijing, still need reassurance that Europe has a robust arms-control regime in place.
Such worries are holding up a prospective sale of French air-to-air missiles and fire-control systems to Pakistan, which wants to upgrade 50 JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft co-developed with China.
"It's on standby," the French official said in Paris. "It's a region of the world which is complex, with different influences: China, India, Pakistan."
France has refused to approve the export of the RC400 fire-control radar and other avionics for the JF-17, a Thales spokeswoman said in Paris.
The sale of gear for the JF-17 also is opposed by India, which is in talks with Thales to upgrade its Mirage 2000H fleet and which is weighing Dassault's Rafale in the competition for 126 new fighters.
"No one in French industry, neither MBDA or Thales, particularly wants this [JF-17 upgrade] deal," a French defense executive said in Paris.
Even if the embargo were canceled, the new EU Common Position on arms sales is stricter and would impose legal restrictions on arms exports, said Alexander McLachlan, political councilor at the EU delegation here.
The sanctions no doubt sting because China insists on being treated as an equal; indeed, its natural reference in military matters is the United States. Beijing also keeps alive the humiliation of 100 years of colonialism that began when Royal Navy Capt. Charles Elliot claimed Hong Kong for the British crown in 1841.
Absence of Black Hawk Spare Parts
For Col. Li Guo of the Army Air Corps, the American embargo has meant his helicopter regiment, based at Chengdu in the southwestern Sichuan province, has been unable to get hold of spare parts for around 10 Black Hawk transports. The U.S.-built helicopters entered service here in 1984 under the name of Black Eagles.
Asked how he has been able to maintain the helicopters without spare parts for 20 years, Li said the regiment had built up stocks before the embargo came into effect.
"They can be used indefinitely," he said.
The pilots fly about 60 hours a year, about 40 percent as much as French Army helicopter crews.
The Black Hawks, although they cost more to buy, are easier and cheaper to maintain than the regiment's 20 or so Russian-built Mi-171 helicopters, not to mention easier to fly and more maneuverable, Li said.
"It comes out the same," he said.
Li said the PLA lacks a modern heavy-lift helicopter and has not started designing one.
In 2008, the regiment flew 2,500 missions - sometimes 20 flights a day - to help residents of the earthquake-devastated Sichaun region. After the Black Hawks picked up six foreign tourists there, the authorities asked the U.S. government for spares after the earthquake but received no answer, Li said.
China Extends Military's Reach - Defense News
Eyes Long-Range Airlifters; Navy Sails Off Africa
By PIERRE TRAN
Published: 24 May 2010
BEIJING - The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is transforming a one-time barefoot peasant army into a modern and deployable military, racking up operational hours in an anti-piracy naval mission in the Gulf of Aden as military officials study strategic airlifter requirements.
"Projection is one of the priorities," a European official said. "They are very interested in any industrial program, whether aircraft or naval, American, British or European, that offers projection."
In March, Beijing dispatched missile destroyer DDG 168 and a fleet auxiliary supply ship, the fifth task force to sail since December 2008 to protect Chinese and other commercial shipping from pirates working off the Somali coast.
The operations in the Gulf of Aden, the farthest China has ever deployed its ships, constitute valuable training, Navy Capt. Xie Dongpei, deputy head of the office of the Navy commander, said May 10 at a rare press briefing.
Xie said the Navy is keen to cooperate with European and other foreign navies off Somalia and elsewhere.
But Western forces see little to learn from the Chinese Navy, and little incentive to teach them, the European official said.
Such power-projection missions will help China protect its maritime zones of economic interest and safeguard the foreign trade that powers its economy, said Army Gen. Jia Xiaoning, deputy director for foreign affairs in the Ministry of Defense.
Jia said that China's modernization will require spending more on the Navy and Air Force relative to the Army, which has been the backbone of national defense.
One thing that might show up on the shopping list: an aircraft carrier.
"We're in the process of studying the possibilities and conditions for having a carrier," Jia said. "When you look around the world, other major powers have a carrier, all except China."
Interest in A400M
Another possibility is long-range airlifters. Beijing has ambitions to develop a replacement for its Ilyushin Il-176s, but no one knows how far it has progressed, the European official said.
More intriguing to China is the A400M transport aircraft built by EADS subsidiary Airbus Military.
"It's natural they're interested in the A400M because it's happening," the European official said.
The unarmed A400M is certified as a civil aircraft, though it carries military equipment and self-protection gear. But selling it to China would be a charged and complicated political decision, requiring consent from each of the producer countries - mainly Britain, Germany, France, Spain and Turkey, said a French official in Paris.
China remains under U.S. and European Union arms embargoes imposed after the 1989 killing of pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for lifting the ban, arguing that China should be treated as an equal partner. Yet his efforts have earned him little credit with the Chinese, who have cold-shouldered France since Sarkozy met with the Dalai Lama in 2008, a second European official said.
Neither has Spain, the current holder of the EU presidency, earned Chinese political capital for its own calls to end the embargo. This is because Beijing understands that it will have to deal with this question at a European level, the second European official said.
But Britain, keen to nurture trans-Atlantic ties with Washington, has opposed an end to the EU embargo, a position supported by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The ban hampers China's efforts to develop military equipment, said China's Jia. China has tried to import technology from countries, including France, but runs into the "system of blockage from the EU and other things," he said. As a strategic partner, there is no reason to restrict trade in technology, he said.
China is talking to "other countries" but is in no hurry, he said.
The second European official said China could help make its case for an end to the embargo by ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and increasing military transparency.
Technology Leaks
U.S. officials, who want to keep advanced defense technology from leaking to Beijing, still need reassurance that Europe has a robust arms-control regime in place.
Such worries are holding up a prospective sale of French air-to-air missiles and fire-control systems to Pakistan, which wants to upgrade 50 JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft co-developed with China.
"It's on standby," the French official said in Paris. "It's a region of the world which is complex, with different influences: China, India, Pakistan."
France has refused to approve the export of the RC400 fire-control radar and other avionics for the JF-17, a Thales spokeswoman said in Paris.
The sale of gear for the JF-17 also is opposed by India, which is in talks with Thales to upgrade its Mirage 2000H fleet and which is weighing Dassault's Rafale in the competition for 126 new fighters.
"No one in French industry, neither MBDA or Thales, particularly wants this [JF-17 upgrade] deal," a French defense executive said in Paris.
Even if the embargo were canceled, the new EU Common Position on arms sales is stricter and would impose legal restrictions on arms exports, said Alexander McLachlan, political councilor at the EU delegation here.
The sanctions no doubt sting because China insists on being treated as an equal; indeed, its natural reference in military matters is the United States. Beijing also keeps alive the humiliation of 100 years of colonialism that began when Royal Navy Capt. Charles Elliot claimed Hong Kong for the British crown in 1841.
Absence of Black Hawk Spare Parts
For Col. Li Guo of the Army Air Corps, the American embargo has meant his helicopter regiment, based at Chengdu in the southwestern Sichuan province, has been unable to get hold of spare parts for around 10 Black Hawk transports. The U.S.-built helicopters entered service here in 1984 under the name of Black Eagles.
Asked how he has been able to maintain the helicopters without spare parts for 20 years, Li said the regiment had built up stocks before the embargo came into effect.
"They can be used indefinitely," he said.
The pilots fly about 60 hours a year, about 40 percent as much as French Army helicopter crews.
The Black Hawks, although they cost more to buy, are easier and cheaper to maintain than the regiment's 20 or so Russian-built Mi-171 helicopters, not to mention easier to fly and more maneuverable, Li said.
"It comes out the same," he said.
Li said the PLA lacks a modern heavy-lift helicopter and has not started designing one.
In 2008, the regiment flew 2,500 missions - sometimes 20 flights a day - to help residents of the earthquake-devastated Sichaun region. After the Black Hawks picked up six foreign tourists there, the authorities asked the U.S. government for spares after the earthquake but received no answer, Li said.
China Extends Military's Reach - Defense News
