China Is Seen Nearing U.S.’s Military Power In Asia

A Chinese commander adjusts the cap of a soldier in Beijing, ahead of a visit by President François Hollande of France in April. Petar Kujundzic/Reuters

China Is Seen Nearing U.S.’s Military Power In Region -- New York Times

TOKYO — China’s growing industrial might is likely to allow it to mount an increasingly formidable challenge to the military supremacy of the United States in the waters around China that include Japan and Taiwan, though it will probably seek to avoid an outright armed conflict, according to a detailed new report by a group of American researchers.

The report by the nine researchers, published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said the most likely outcome for the next two decades showed China narrowing the gap with the United States in military abilities, in areas including building aircraft carriers and stealth fighter jets. At the same time, the report, to be released Friday, said China’s economic interdependence with the United States and the rest of Asia would probably prevent it from becoming a full-blown, cold-war-style foe, or from using military force to try to drive the United States from the region.

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My Comment: Because U.S. military power is spread around the world .... and China is focused on Asia .... I would state that China has not only matched U.S. power in Asia, but because of their sheer numbers they have surpassed the U.S..

China Lays Out A Fuutre Vision For It's Military

Officers including spokesman with China's Ministry of National Defense Geng Yansheng (2nd L) prepare to answer questions at a press conference in Beijing, capital of China, March 30, 2011. The Chinese government issued the white paper on China's national defense in 2010 on Thursday, which reiterates China's insistence on peaceful development and pursuit of a national defense policy that is defensive in nature. (Xinhua/Li Mingfang)

China Lays Out Vision for Military -- New York Times

BEIJING — The Chinese military said Thursday that while the security situation in Asia and the Pacific was generally stable, it was becoming “more intricate and volatile,” with no clear solutions for tension points like the divided Korean Peninsula and with the United States increasing its involvement in regional security issues.

The military’s vision was laid out in a national defense white paper, a document published every two years since 1998. The paper tries to walk a line between trumpeting the modernization efforts of the Chinese military and assuaging fears by foreign governments and analysts that the fast-growing People’s Liberation Army will be used for expansionist purposes or regional dominance.

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More News On China's Military

China white paper highlights US military 'competition' -- BBC
China military policy paper lays out worries about U.S. -- Reuters
China warns of military competition in Asia -- Financial Times
China sticks to defensive national defense policy -- Xinhuanet
China's nuclear facilities "safe," military says in defense review -- CNN
Chinese Military Assessment Seeks 'Better Understanding' -- Voice of America
We will never bully our neighbours: China -- Times Of India
China's air force steps up modernization drive: white paper -- Xinhuanet
China Reaffirms "No First Use" Deterrent Policy -- Global Security Newswire
China sticks to no-first-use of nuclear weapons: white paper -- Xinhuanet
Chinese navy improves combat capability: white paper -- Xinhuanet
China's national defense tasked to guard sovereignty, peace: white paper -- Xinhuanet
China's army chief of staff to visit US in May -- AFP

Asia's Raises Concerns Over China's Military Growth

China To Unveil Defense Budget To Nervous Region -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Japan scrambled fighter jets this week when two Chinese naval planes flew close to disputed islands. Nothing came of the incident, but Tokyo's comments later spoke volumes about its anxiety as Beijing's military might grows.

"China's modernization of its military and increased activity is, along with insufficient transparency, a matter of concern," Japan's chief cabinet secretary, Yukio Edano said on Thursday.

He was speaking a day before China is expected to unveil its new defense budget which will give a guide to how much it wants to build up a military whose growing reach is already unsettling others in the region.

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More News On Asia's Concerns Over China's Military Expansion

With Its Eye on China, Japan Builds Up Military -- New York Times
With an eye on China, India steps up defence spending -- Reuters
Philippine military accuses China in sea spat -- Montreal Gazette/AFP
Russia Fears China, Not Japan -- Michael Auslin, Wall Street Journal
Come clean on military ambitions China -- Ian McPhedran, Adelaide Now/Daily Telegraph
Avoiding U.S.-China Military Rivalry -- Michael Swaine, Carnegie Endowment
The Arms Race China Is Winning -- Strategy Page
Factbox: China's military modernization -- Reuters

China Insists That Its Military Technology Is Decades Behind The U.S.

CEREMONIAL WALK - Photographers crowd to get shots of Chinese Gen. Liang Guanglie, the National Defense minister, and U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates as they troop the line of the Peoples' Liberation Army ceremonial guard during welcoming ceremonies for Gates at the Bayo Building in Beijing, Jan. 10, 2011. DOD photo by Jim Garamone

China: Military 'Decades Behind' US -- The Telegraph

China has insisted that its military technology lags "decades behind" the United States and other developed countries and poses no threat to the rest of the world.

Liang Guanglie, the Chinese defence minister, spoke on the first day of a three-day trip to Beijing by Robert Gates, the US Defence secretary.

"The efforts that we place on the research and development of weapons systems are by no means targeted at any third country or any other countries in the world, and it will by no means threaten any other country in the world," said Mr Liang.

His conciliatory tone was echoed by Li Keqiang, who is likely to become China's prime minister next year. On the first day of a tour of Britain, Mr Li stressed that China had "actively mediated" to reduce international tensions in Iran, Darfur and North Korea.

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My Comment: It is very uncharacteristic of the Chinese to show deference (i.e. their technology is behind) to foreigners .... especially on issues of national defense. Is this all show? .... unfortunately .... as long as China's military remains locked up behind doors, we will never be exactly knowledgeable of what they are capable of.

Ridicule Follows Mao's Grandson Promotion To Major General

Mao Xinyu is an academic who has spent most of his career researching the exploits of his famous grandfather, who died in 1976. (Goh Chai Hin AFP/Getty Images)

Mao's Grandson, Promoted To Major General, Faces Ridicule -- L.A. Times

Some in China say Mao Xinyu is a pudgy underachiever boosted only by nepotism. On the street, though, feelings are mixed.

Reporting from Beijing — For many Chinese, he's a curious conundrum, an emerging national figure with some serious public relations issues.

The only grandson of Mao Tse-tung, the Great Helmsman himself, Mao Xinyu's bloodlines ooze political royalty. Yet instead of praise, the 40-year-old faces ridicule as a pudgy underachiever shamelessly riding the coattails of the relative many consider this nation's greatest statesmen.

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More News On The Promotion Of Mao's Grandson To Major General

China confirms promotion of Mao Zedong's grandson -- AP
Chairman Mao's Grandson Becomes Youngest Army General in China's History -- Bloomberg
Chairman Mao Zedong's grandson, Mao Xinyu, becomes youngest general in China's history -- New York Daily News
Chairman Mao’s grandson Mao Xinyu is China's youngest general -- This Is London
China: Mao’s Grandson Gets Army Promotion -- New York Times
Mao is youngest general -- Global Post

My Comment: I suspect that my Chinese friends back in China are embarrassed with this news. This is clearly a case of nepotism, and I am sure that those who deserved to be promoted are probably steaming with this news.

China Begins Large Airborne Military Exercises

Chinese subs participate in a military exercise in the East China Sea.
Photo from The Telegraph

China Air Force Exercises 'Carry Message' -- BBC

A large airborne military exercise is underway in China's central and eastern provinces and seas.

Fighter jets, spy planes and helicopters, along with 12,000 soldiers, are taking part in the drill.

It is one of several announced in official media in recent weeks.

The exercise follows verbal sparring between the US and China over conflicting territorial claims by China and many South East Asian nations in the South China Sea.

It also comes after China protested against major US-South Korea military exercises last month in the Sea of Japan.

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More News On China's Military Exercises

China military launches major air exercises -- AP
China holds air drills amid tension with U.S. -- Reuters
China launches military exercises -- Sydney Morning Herald/AFP
As South China Sea tensions rise, China holds major air exercises -- The Hindu
China to launch military exercise in central provinces -- Xinhuanet

China’s Future Combat Systems

From War Is Boring:

China’s projected next-generation armored vehicles are looking a lot like something from the United States, circa 1999, if one official is to be believed. Mao Ming, director of the China North Vehicle Research Institute, said the follow-on to the Type 99 Main Battle Tank will be a family of vehicles plugged into a “command-and-attack network with many command systems and sensors from which the tank will receive real time useful information about the target.”

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My Comment: So .... the Future Combat Systems program is not dead .... all be it in a "Chinese" version. Let us see if they can bring it in at a cheaper price .... if they can.

China's Military Is Rising

Military vehicles park near Tiananmen Square during a rehearsal for a parade marking the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China. (Nelson Ching / Bloomberg / September 18, 2009)

US Concerned About China's Military Modernization -- Voice of America

October 1, 2009 is the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China, and the nation's armed forces will take part in a massive program celebrating the Communist Party's takeover in 1949. U.S. officials have carefully watched China's efforts to modernize its military in recent years and are concerned it could pose a threat to America's military power in the Pacific.

For more than a decade, China has been rapidly modernizing the People's Liberation Army. And U.S. officials have expressed concern about how Beijing might use its expanding military power.

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More News On China's Military

China to parade its new and improved arsenal -- L.A. Times
China to display upgraded missiles in Oct 1 parade -- Reuters
Beijing flaunts its 'peaceful' might -- Toronto Star
The Big ‘Made in China’ Military Parade -- The Danger Room
China's Sixtieth Birthday and Military Parade -- Business Week
China's National Day Military Parade Heats Defense Industry -- ACN Newswire
China rejects US military fears -- BBC
US view of China's military threat 'groundless': state media -- AFP
China says willing to improve U.S. defense ties -- Reuters

China’s Secretive Military Opens Up in Cyberspace

From The New York Times:

BEIJING — China’s military launched a long-promised strategic assault Thursday on its skeptics and detractors, a globe-spanning offensive powered not by arms, but entirely by charm.

The weapon was the Defense Ministry’s new Web site, its sharp home page topped by a photograph of a winding Great Wall and studded below with links to military news, video and photographs. The lead item on Thursday dealt not with missiles or troops, but with President Hu Jintao’s expressions of sympathy to Taiwan, which is believed to have lost more than 500 lives this month to a typhoon.

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My Comment: A very clean site. I doubt that valuable information will be transmitted via through this website .... but the Chinese are beginning to understand that the media war is just as important as all the other battles.

Update: FARC website taken offline -- Colombia Reports

Report: Chinese Develop Special "Kill Weapon" To Destroy U.S. Aircraft Carriers

From U.S. Naval Institute:

Advanced missile poses substantial new threat for U.S. Navy.

With tensions already rising due to the Chinese navy becoming more aggressive in asserting its territorial claims in the South China Sea, the U.S. Navy seems to have yet another reason to be deeply concerned.

After years of conjecture, details have begun to emerge of a "kill weapon" developed by the Chinese to target and destroy U.S. aircraft carriers.

First posted on a Chinese blog viewed as credible by military analysts and then translated by the naval affairs blog Information Dissemination, a recent report provides a description of an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) that can strike carriers and other U.S. vessels at a range of 2000km.

The range of the modified Dong Feng 21 missile is significant in that it covers the areas that are likely hot zones for future confrontations between U.S. and Chinese surface forces.

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My Comment: This should not be a surprise. At least the Chinese are not like the Russians who are putting tactical nukes into their subs .... instead, the Chinese are exploring alternative non-nuclear methods. The post from Information Dissemination that first broke this story, and is a must read, is here.

China Trying To Disrupt U.S. Military Advantages, Study Says

As relics like this Dong Feng 1 missile sit in the Chinese military museum in Beijing, China is increasing its military budget by 17.6 percent, part of a two-decade effort to modernize its forces. Jason Lee/Reuters/New York Times

From International Herald Tribune:

WASHINGTON: China is seeking technology and weapons to disrupt the traditional advantages of American forces, and secrecy surrounding its military creates the potential for miscalculation on both sides, according to a Pentagon study.

The annual report from the Defense Department to Congress, "Military Power of the People's Republic of China 2009," catalogs efforts by China to supply its armed forces with weapons that can be used to intimidate and attack Taiwan and blunt the superiority of American naval and air power, at least near its territory.

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My Comment: This trend may be designed to disrupt U.S. military advantages, but all that it will really do is inspire a mitary arms race in Asia between China and all of its neighbors.

The PLA Is The World's Largest--And Richest--Private Army.

Photo from China Digital Times

China's Military Gets A Hike -- Forbes Magazine

On March 4, Beijing said that this year's military budget will increase 14.9%. The jump in spending is "modest," insisted Li Zhaoxing, the spokesman for the annual meeting of the National People's Congress, where the announcement was made. The additional funding for the People's Liberation Army is, in the words of the official Xinhua News Agency, "mainly for better treatment of servicemen," specifically, subsidies and salaries. The total announced military budget is $70.27 billion.

"The country has no so-called 'hidden military expenditure,'" Li defensively said as he released the budget numbers. No analyst thinks Beijing tells the truth about the funding of the world's largest fighting force. As a Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman said, there are "untransparent points" in the Chinese military budget. The Pentagon is on record as saying that real spending is two or three times higher than announced figures.

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My Comment: China has the manpower, resources, money, and the will to build the world's #1 military machine for the 21rst century. The reasons for this are multiple. Pride, the need to protect foreign interests, intimidate possible rivals, and to be able to project power on the international political scene.

Are we ready for this new reality? Probably not .....

China Fears Containment As Defense Spending Rises

From Yahoo News/Reuters:

BEIJING (Reuters) – China fears containment abroad and separatist groups at home, a defense policy paper said on Tuesday, justifying a drive to increase military spending and push the People's Liberation Army into a high-tech era.

Describing China's general security as "improving," the document wasted little time denouncing those seeking independence for Taiwan, Tibet and the energy-rich western region of Xinjiang, which "pose threats to China's unity and security."

China's rising spending on arms and military modernization has been criticized by countries including the United States and Japan for its opaqueness. Beijing says its defense budget is purely for defensive purposes and is quite open.

"China is faced with the superiority of developed countries economically, scientifically and technologically, as well as militarily," the 95-page white paper said.

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My Comment: China's military is still small when compared to the U.S., Russia, and Japan. But this will change with time .... China has the economics and manpower to quickly modernize and build-up its military .... and this is a priority for China now.