South China Sea Forum

[ahojunk]

Airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef set for completion by end of year｜Politics｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com
.
Airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef set for completion by end of year
2015-01-14 11:48 (GMT+8)

Fiery Cross Reef seen from a Chinese scientific research vessel. Land reclamation has made the reef the largest island in the Spratlys. (File photo/CNS)

Beijing may complete construction of its second airstrip on the South China Sea by the end of this year, which would greatly enhance its ability to transport goods to and conduct patrols in the disputed maritime region, reports the nationalistic tabloid Global Times, citing Tokyo-based magazine the Diplomat.

The runway, said to be completed by the end of this year, is being built on reclaimed land on Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratlys, according to Gregorio Pio Catapang, chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, which also claims the archipelago.

Satellite images taken in November last year show the reclamation project, which began in August, has created an area of land sufficient for a 3km-long runway. It will be the second airstrip China possesses in the South China Sea after the runway on Woody Island in the Paracels, the seat of the city of Sansha which was set up to assert Beijing's claim to the Paracels, Spratlys and Macclesfield Bank.

Global Times said the second runway will enhance China's status in the South China Sea and alter the status quo to a direction best suited to the country's interests. Beijing has also been carrying out land reclamation projects on Cuarteron Reef, Gaven Reef and Collins Reef, all in the Spratlys.

The move could also be considered China's first step in establishing an Air Defense Identification Zone in the South China Sea, Global Times said, following the controversial East China Sea Adiz declared in 2013.
.

 

[yusheng]

 

[cirr]

CCG 1501 launch video

武船国内首创 5000吨级巨轮横移下水—在线播放—优酷网，视频高清在线观看

the crab way

 

[yusheng]

"Hope 7" platform main hull 60 meters in diameter, main deck 66 meters, 27 meters high , operating deep 14 meters , deck area of 2200 square meters, has a DP3 dynamic positioning system, 6 sets of 5535 kilowatts full rotating propeller, 9 point position mooring system, the living area has 98 single rooms, 196 double room, can accommodate 490 people stay at the same time, the platform design service life of 20 years.

 

[ahojunk]

Pictures of Yongshu (Fiery Cross) Island taken on 12 Dec 2014, obtained by Rappler.

 

[cirr]

Yongshudao（Fiery Cross Island）22.01.2015

 

[cirr]

CCG 3901 on the “launch pad”

 

[cirr]

3500m3/h “Tianbin 6” and 4000m3/h “Tiankai” cutter-suction dredgers start working on the Zhubijiao（Subi Reef）and Meijijiao（Mischief Reel），respectively。

Tianbin 6 dredger

Bye Subi and Mischief Reefs，hello Subi and Mischief Islands。

“Rainbowfish”，a new generation of manned submersible capable of diving 11000 metres below the sea surface

中国将总装新型万米潜水器 技术超蛟龙号一代|深潜器|蛟龙|中国_新浪军事

to begin trial operations in the SCS in the 2nd half of 2015.

 

[biendong]

East Sea: When the 'fox' deliberately sticks out its legs

VietNamNet Bridge – It is possible that the accelerated rehabilitation and construction activities on the reef Gac Ma (Johnson) and Chu Thap (Fiery Cross) are part of China's strategic intentions of giving the international community with a fait accompli before the International Court of Justice makes a judgment.

Recently, the South China Morning Post (SCMP - Hong Kong) newspaper quoted Chinese experts as saying that China could turn the Fiery Cross Reef into the largest artificial island in the Truong Sa Archipelago (Spratly Islands) of Vietnam.
This reef currently has an area of approximately 1 km2 and the land reclamation here can still be ongoing. The process of expansion is occurring faster than expected and it is likely that this reef will surpass Ba Binh (Itu Aba), the largest island in the Spratly Islands.
Overall, this is just the next step in the artificial island plot which some experts have predicted that China will continue to use in the future. So what is behind this plot?

"Status Quo" Chinese style
The construction of an airport on the Johnson Reef has caused fierce criticism and condemnation from many ASEAN countries and the world. The pictures provided by the Philippines show that this airport has two runways and two long berths cross through the reef. China itself did not refuse to certify as before. They have openly challenged countries in the region and the world that "It is the right of China!"
Compared to the construction of an airport on the island of Phu Lam (Woody Island), the airport on Johnson Reef was built in an incredibly speedy manner. The photos provided by the Philippines show that China mobilized six giant dredgers which operated day and night like a great construction site on the waters of Vietnam. It was similar on the Fiery Cross Reef. When the entire world knew its activities on the Johnson Reef, China announced its construction of an airport on the Fiery Cross Reef.
According to Taiwan's Kanwa Newspaper, China not only built airports on Johnson and Fiery Cross reefs but also urgently renovated six reefs in the Spratly Islands which they used to rob from Vietnam and turn into artificial islands. Its project to "renovate and build scale islands" in the disputed areas is a strategic measure to monopolise the South China Sea (Bien Dong Sea, East Sea), through the realization of the "U-shaped line".
Dr. Nguyen Chu Hoi, former Deputy Director of the General Department of Sea and Island Affairs, said: "The change of the status quo in the East Sea is to help strengthen China’s claims of sovereignty, creating a strategic advantage over the East Sea."
Obviously, these actions are essentially an invasion, in contrast with the statement about peace and no aggression and expansionism made by China's leaders.
This is not the first time China has used a gradually invasive measure. The key solution to handle the tension on the East Sea given by the United Nations is maintaining the "status quo" has been used by China in its own style.
On the one hand China intentionally made provocative acts, changed and then applied the "status quo" as it did with Hoang Sa Archipelago (Paracel Islands) of Vietnam in 1974 and has kept the “status quo” by occupying the islands until now, and attacked and robbed the Johnson Reef and others of Vietnam in 1988, and has “held” them, turning the territorial waters of other countries into 'disputed territory' with China.
From the early 20th century, when China began to really "eye" the East Sea, the regular tricks of China are proactively provocative acts, illegally occupying and trying to encroach and expand. China’s "U-shaped line" claim takes in Indonesia’s territorial waters. The military measures to break through the status quo will pave the way for subsequent civil remedies. In particular, the civil remedies are used in various ways, with unpredictable evolution.

In 2012, the Philippines took drastic action by lodging a complaint against China with the International Court of Justice after China occupied the Scarborough Shoals (China calls it Huangyan). The Philippines also accused China of occupying its islands and conducting construction activities to turn reefs into artificial islands.
China previously made a solemn commitment to ASEAN countries and the world of "keeping peace and stability in the East Sea," but after the Scarborough Shoals event, China continued to occupy James shoals, which is claimed by Malaysia, in 2013.
China does not recognize the role of the International Court of Justice in handling the petition of the Philippines, but in fact China is still interested in it. Along with a frantic diplomatic campaign to split the ASEAN countries, China is aggressively presenting the international community with a fait accompli before the International Court of Justice issues a verdict.
It is likely that the accelerated rehabilitation and construction on the reefs of Johnson, Fiery Cross and London is in China’s strategic intentions. The Taiwanese press as described in details the survey trip of Chinese generals down to the Spratly Islands and made many statements as: "China will declare jurisdiction over the reefs of Johnson and Fiery Cross very soon."
According to Colonel Nguyen Don Hoa, former vice president of engineering of the Navy, China has been building airports on Woody Island (in the Paracel Islands of Vietnam) and Johnson Reef (of the Spratlys Islands of Vietnam) that they have occupied by force since 1974, and in 1988 they were involved in furtive tricks in terms of geopolitical and political aspects, rather than military. The military airports built by China on Woody Island and Johnson Reef are used only by helicopters. Fighter aircraft cannot make a landing due to their limited length.
Moreover, military power at sea does not depend on "unsinkable aircraft carriers" as the Chinese press stated but on warplanes and warships. During its deployment of the 981 oil rig in Vietnam’s waters, Chinese military aircraft also took off from the airport on the island of Hainan, not from the Woody Island, which is closer.
Col. Don Hoa compared China's tricks like "a fox that wants to enter the house of a rabbit to eat the rabbit and it enters the house by sticking out each leg one by one. When all the legs are in, the fox will jump on it to swallow the rabbit. China is step by step doing it in that way!"
According to Dr. Nguyen Chu Hoi, after consolidating its bases in Spratly Islands, China will ask for national jurisdiction in the exclusive economic zones to control all commercial activities through the East Coast. This is a sinister plot by China to strengthen forces and then control the entire international maritime routes.
Duy Chien

 

[AgentOrange]

Vietnam depends on a Swiss watchmaker for support in the South China Sea. Meanwhile, China has to make do with launching 3 ships, totaling 32,000 tons, in a single day. To put it in perspective, the combined total tonnage of Vietnam's entire surface fleet is around 37,000 tons.

China Launches Three Warships In One Day, Setting A New Record
For comparison, the U.S. Navy commissioned only four warships in all of 2014.

By Jeffrey Lin and P.W. Singer Posted January 23, 2015
27

Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard

Flickr

Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard, a subsidiary of the China State Shipping Corporation, builds both advanced warships, as well as high tech commerce vessels like Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) carriers.

Not since World War II has a single shipyard launched multiple large warships in a single day. But Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai, one of China's best naval and civilian shipyards, just did that. On January 22, 2015, it showed off its prowess in military mass production by simultaneously launching a Type 071 Landing Platform Dock (LPD) amphibious warship, a Type 054A frigate, and a Type 815G Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) ship. For comparison, the U.S. Navy commissioned only four warships (including a submarine) in all of 2014.

4th Type 071 LPD

hobby shanghai

The 20,000 ton Tanggula Shan is China's fourth Landing Platform Dock, with a built in well deck which allows Chinese Marines to start amphibious assaults out of the range of coastal defense.

The Type 071 LPD, the fourth in the class is named Tanggula Shan and will be followed by at least two more Type 071 LPDs. Displacing between 20,000 and 25,000 tons, it can carry up to four Type 726 hovercrafts, which can transport a combination of 65 vehicles or 800 infantry across 60 km of ocean to shore, as well as six Z-8 transport helicopters. Once all six Type 071s enter service, China will have the second largest offshore amphibious assault capability in the world, after the U.S. Marine Corps. A task-force of Type 071s would provide decisive force to take or hold disputed small islands, or as the tip of the spear for a larger invasion from the sea.

Another Type 054A Frigate

www.top81.cn

The stealthy Type 054A frigate, 21st in its class, is China's most modern medium sized surface combatant, with capable air defense and anti-submarine systems.

Type 1130 CIWS

=GT at China Defense Forum

The Type 1130 CIWS, with 11 30mm barrels, is the largest Gatling cannon in the world, firing up to 11,000 rounds a minute (that's nearly 200 rounds a second). Its designers say that it can shoot down 90% of incoming supersonic missiles.

The 4,500-ton Type 054A frigate, the 21st in the class, has improvements over the previous Type 054A frigates. It carries a variable depth sonar in its rear, to improve its submarine detection capabilities. It also has two Type 1130 Close In Weapons Systems (CIWS), replacing the previous two Type 730 CIWS. The Type 1130 CIWS has eleven 30mm barrels, and can fire up to 11,000 shells a minute. As China will likely face enemy submarines and supersonic anti-ship missiles in the near future near seas, 054A+'s upgrades would increase its chances of survival.

Type 0815G Spy Ship

www.top81.cn

This Type 815G spy ship uses its giant radomes to vacuum in enemy electronic activity and communications, providing China with a way to monitor foreign strategic, naval and air activities both in the near seas and internationally (one even went to Hawaii last summer).

While not directly as lethal as its fellow debutants, the Type 815G ELINT spy ship will still provide a critical role in Chinese naval and joint operations. Of particular note are the two sensor domes on the Type 815G’s superstructure; the large size of those domes indicates high sensitivity to record distant enemy radar emissions, electronic jamming frequencies and communications signals. A Type 0815G spy ship showed up at the multinational RIMPAC 2014 exercise (where China was also a participant). In future cyber/kinetic operations, such as those that the late Air Sea Battle concept envisioned, the Type 815G spy ships will help Chinese commanders prepare and understand the battlefield.

A Busy Day

On this fine January 22, 2015 day, you can see three recently launched Chinese warships: the massive Type 071 LPD in front, the Type 815G spy ship somewhat hidden behind it, and the new Type 054A frigate in the background (which orange coverings on its sensor and communications domes above the helicopter hangar).

The three warships of January 22, 2015 will be joined in the following years by other PLAN milestones, such as the Type 055 destroyer, domestically built aircraft carriers and the quiet Type 095 nuclear attack submarine. Modern naval construction techniques like modular building and computer aided design have improved the pace, cost effectiveness and capability of Chinese warships. Amidst sequestration and austerity triggered cutbacks, western navies are struggling to keep naval shipyards in business, China's success in rapidly launching modern warships is even more stark.

 

[biendong]

Vietnam firmly protects sovereignty in East Sea: Deputy Spokesperson
Vietnam’s authorised agencies are tasked with firmly safeguarding the country’s sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the East Sea, Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang told reporters at a regular press conference in Hanoi on January 8.

 

[conkhi]

Vietnam firmly protects sovereignty in East Sea: Deputy Spokesperson
Vietnam’s authorised agencies are tasked with firmly safeguarding the country’s sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction in the East Sea, Foreign Ministry Deputy Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang told reporters at a regular press conference in Hanoi on January 8.

this means war with China, very dangerous for my conkhi brothers.

 

[cirr]

Subi Reef，soon to be known as Subi Island：

China's latest land reclamation activity in the SCS。

 

[dichoi]

East Sea: Are artificial islands more dangerous than oil rigs?
VietNamNet Bridge – Though it is slow and difficult to identify, China’s strategy of building artificial islands in the South China Sea (Bien Dong Sea – East Sea) is dangerous because of its strategic value and the ability to change face that benefits China once the island chain is fully developed .

The "abrasive" move and China's long-term attempt

China’s East Sea policy has a clear delineation between short term and long term.

The strategy to maintain a continuous presence in the undisputed waters to gradually turn them into disputed areas has been resolutely pursued by Beijing. The 981 oil rig incident is a typical example. China used this oil rig as a "mobile sovereignty landmark " to maintain its presence in the undisputed waters, even in the areas that are completely within the exclusive economic zone of its neighboring countries.

The objective of turning from "no dispute" to "dispute", from "theirs" to "ours", have been implemented in accordance with the motto of the Chinese people, "What is mine is mine, what's yours, we can negotiate."

Along with that move, China’s strengthening and expansion of the construction of artificial islands has shown their long-term strategic calculations in the East Sea. The 981 oil rig is a pretty risky move, but it is substantially easier to manage and attract the support of the international community for a small country like Vietnam. Meanwhile, though it takes place slowly and is difficult to identify, the artificial island building strategy is more dangerous.

Another way to evaluate China’s East Sea strategy is through changes of targets in certain stages. These are intentional changes. We will see the same thing when considering China's maritime strategy from 2009 to present. For example, how could China say that the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) - signed in 2002 and the guidelines for implementing the DOC signed in 2011 – would be the lodestar navigation of the parties, when the use of force is still a key tool in Beijing's policy.

Currently, what we can see most clearly in China's steps are the consistency of the overall goal to increase the ability to control the entire East Sea. What is not clear is the specific objectives and tasks that every single department of China will perform.

This is considered the main difficulty, because Vietnam in particular and more broadly, the ASEAN countries and the international community in general, will find it difficult to know in detail what the Chinese agencies in charge of the East Sea will do what, when and where.

Keep calm

Therefore, Vietnam should not be so focused on predicting the short-term and specific goals of China, but on learning about the nature and long-term strategy of China.

Vietnam should probably determine the correct perspective and develop a comprehensive strategy for the East Sea before going into each small act of China. From there, from the overall view, Vietnam can build detailed objectives and plans for each phase.

This raises the need to focus on building a long-term and overall strategy to deal with the long-term goal of China. A sound strategy with clear objectives and specific division of tasks will help ensure efficient utilization of resources within and outside the country, thereby creating advantages in the field and on the negotiating table. Without an overall strategy, Vietnam will be unable to cope with the inconsistent statements and actions of China.

Luc Minh Tuan - Vu Thanh Cong

 

[cirr]

New “toy” for the oil game in the SCS launched by China Merchants Heavy Industry Co. Ltd in Shenzhen：

“Haiyangshiyou 707”