With World Focused On ISIS - Chinese Military Machine Advances At Record Pace
November 24, 2015
China is marching on relentlessly in its quest for military supremacy that rivals the capabilities of the United States. Most recently, reports state that China recently conducted a flight test of a new missile, capable of knocking out U.S. satellites as part of Beijing’s growing space warfare arsenal.
State Department and Pentagon officials declined to comment on the anti-satellite test. However a State official referred to a speech from February by Frank Rose, assistant secretary of State for arms control, verification and compliance, who commented on the 2014 test: “Despite China’s claims that this was not an ASAT [anti-satellite] test; let me assure you the United States has high confidence in its assessment, that the event was indeed an ASAT test…the continued development and testing of destructive ASAT systems is both destabilizing and threatens the long-term security and sustainability of the outer space environment”.
Rose said the secrecy surrounding China’s ASAT program is preventing any U.S. cooperation with Beijing on space. Cooperation will only possible after “China changes its behavior with regard to ASATs”.
A forthcoming report by the congressional U.S China Economic and Security Review Commission suggests that China disguised its anti-satellite tests in 2010, 2013, and 2014 as missile defense interceptor tests. According to the report, “China is pursuing a broad and robust array of counterspace capabilities, which includes direct-ascent anti-satellite missiles, co-orbital anti-satellite systems, computer network operations, ground-based satellite jammers, and directed energy weapons”.
A report by the Rand Corporation published in September concluded that the Chinese threat to U.S. satellites is increasing. “The risk to most U.S. space functions appears to be growing faster than the U.S. ability or effort to mitigate them,” the report said, noting that Chinese space warfare capabilities “are increasing across the board.”
As would be expected, the U.S is not taking all of these emerging threats to its superiority and dominance lying down. Air Force Gen. John Hyten, head of the Air Force Space Command told CBS’s 60 Minutes in April that U.S. weapons are being developed to counter China’s space arms, stating: “We have the right of self defense and we’ll make sure we can execute that right.”
Not that the U.S has much choice in that decision anyway.
China is leaving the U.S no breathing space as it unravels weapon after weapon at a feverish pace across all military facets. This seems to be particularly so regarding naval warfare and support capabilities.
David Tweed, in a commentary for Bloomberg Business wrote: “Increased interactions between the Chinese and U.S. navy in the contested South China Sea risk becoming more complicated by the increasingly sophisticated missiles being carried by submarines.
A new report to the U.S. Congress assessing a Chinese submarine-launched missile known as the YJ-18 highlights the danger, noting the missile accelerates to supersonic speed just before hitting its target, making it harder for a crew to defend their ship.
Defense chiefs from several countries in Southeast Asia have warned in recent months of the danger of undersea “clutter” as countries build up submarine fleets and the U.S. challenges China over its claim to a large swath of the South China Sea.”
The YJ-18’s speed and long range, as well as its wide deployment “could have serious implications for the ability of U.S. Navy surface ships to operate freely in the Western Pacific” in the event of a conflict, the commission found.
The surrounding waters are a vital thoroughfare for the global economy, hosting $5 trillion of international shipping a year. China claims more than 80 percent of the sea, vying with five rival claimants, including Vietnam and Philippines.
As history illustrates, China isn’t shy either about perpetuating its ‘neighborhood bully’ status. Taking full advantage of its regional superiority, China has reportedly completed its planned build-up of joint forces for military engagement against Taiwan. Taiwan’s Defence Ministry reported several weeks back that China is on its way to ensure victory in a decisive battle by 2020.
The Defence Ministry report added that China is also strengthening the combat readiness of its navy and air force in the west Pacific region to avoid any foreign intervention in cross-strait conflicts around the “first island chain”. This refers to a strategic concept of an offshore defence line extending from Japan’s Okinawa and Taiwan down to the Philippines and Indonesia.
Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the chief of naval operations (CNO) was asked what Chinese weapons systems he is most concerned about if the United States went to war with China. Greenert noted Beijing’s growing arsenal of cruise and ballistic missiles. He said that if the conflict were close to China, the reach of missile forces would pose the most serious threat.
China had already developed several types of advanced missile systems, including a unique DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile that is intended to strike U.S. aircraft carriers hundreds of miles from China’s coast. The DF-21D has been described as a “carrier killer” for which the U.S. Navy has few defenses.
Greenert has said earlier that U.S. defenses against the DF-21D would involve breaking the weapons’ “kill chain—the network of sensors and communications links used to guide the missile to its target. Laser and electromagnetic technologies would be key aspects of the overall defense strategy.
Another major threat mentioned in a future conflict was China’s new guided missile destroyer, the Type 052D. The Pentagon said this was a deployment of the PLA’s first multipurpose vertical launch system that is believed “capable of launching [anti-ship cruise missiles], land-attack cruise missiles (LACMs), surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and anti-submarine missiles.” More than a dozen Type 052 destroyers were planned.
China’s H-6 bomber had also been upgraded to carry six land-attack cruise missiles with precision guidance capabilities.
In April this year, The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) warned that China’s current naval force of 300 surface ships, submarines, amphibious ships, and missile-armed patrol craft was rapidly expanding. About 60 naval ships and vessels were built last year, and a similar number of warships were under construction or deployed for 2015.
Notably, China’s coast guard now has more ships and vessels than the combined coast guard forces of countries in the region. China has clashed with Vietnam, Philippines, and Japan over maritime claims to islands in the South China and East China Seas. Further escalating tensions, the Chinese have reclaimed “hundreds of acres” of land last year as part of a buildup of naval and maritime law enforcement operations in the South China Sea’s Spratly islands.
In addition, China has deployed 59 diesel submarines and nine nuclear power submarines, and ONI estimates the numbers will increase to 63 and 11 respectively by 2020. Not to mention the deployment of four Jin-class nuclear missile submarines that are expected to begin operational deployments this year. These would “mark China’s first credible at-sea second-strike nuclear capability”.
The report contradicts a key theme of U.S. intelligence analysts for the past 15 years, namely that China’s military was defensive and focused mainly on preparing for a conflict with Taiwan. The new report says China’s naval buildup is for operations far beyond Chinese shores, including sea-lane security and other power projection.
Chinese military affairs expert Rick Fisher concludes: “Here, ONI is suggesting what to some non-government analysts is obvious: China is building its naval forces for eventual global power projection... China could soon be projecting naval power in the same manner as the U.S. Navy. The Washington policy community has not yet started to understand, much less respond to this level of strategic challenge.”
Ironically, some observers feel that a direct, fully fledged U.S.-China war is still a remote possibility. The essential argument is that in the case of such powerful rivals, no one can really win, and perhaps ‘Mutually Assured Destruction’ would be a more likely outcome. That in itself serves as a powerful deterrent.
Early 2014, Eugene Chow in a piece for The Week, noted as much. Rather than orienting itself towards a total war it cannot win, China's military strategy serves a smaller, but shrewder purpose - pushing the United States out of China's backyard.
According to Admiral Patrick Walsh (commander of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet until 2013), there is no reason to fear China's military buildup as long as U.S. capabilities keep pace. Even with the U.S. military's technological advantages, China's explosive military growth has guaranteed that even a small conflict with the United States would prove deadlier than anything the nation has witnessed in decades – which, concludes Chow, is exactly why it won't happen.
Only time will tell for sure. Meanwhile, the China military machine marches on, ready to surpass all expectations.
The YJ-18’s speed and long range, as well as its wide deployment “could have serious implications for the ability of U.S. Navy surface ships to operate freely in the Western Pacific” in the event of a conflict, the commission found.
The surrounding waters are a vital thoroughfare for the global economy, hosting $5 trillion of international shipping a year. China claims more than 80 percent of the sea, vying with five rival claimants, including Vietnam and Philippines.
As history illustrates, China isn’t shy either about perpetuating its ‘neighborhood bully’ status. Taking full advantage of its regional superiority, China has reportedly completed its planned build-up of joint forces for military engagement against Taiwan. Taiwan’s Defence Ministry reported several weeks back that China is on its way to ensure victory in a decisive battle by 2020.
The Defence Ministry report added that China is also strengthening the combat readiness of its navy and air force in the west Pacific region to avoid any foreign intervention in cross-strait conflicts around the “first island chain”. This refers to a strategic concept of an offshore defence line extending from Japan’s Okinawa and Taiwan down to the Philippines and Indonesia.
Adm. Jonathan Greenert, the chief of naval operations (CNO) was asked what Chinese weapons systems he is most concerned about if the United States went to war with China. Greenert noted Beijing’s growing arsenal of cruise and ballistic missiles. He said that if the conflict were close to China, the reach of missile forces would pose the most serious threat.
China had already developed several types of advanced missile systems, including a unique DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile that is intended to strike U.S. aircraft carriers hundreds of miles from China’s coast. The DF-21D has been described as a “carrier killer” for which the U.S. Navy has few defenses.
Greenert has said earlier that U.S. defenses against the DF-21D would involve breaking the weapons’ “kill chain—the network of sensors and communications links used to guide the missile to its target. Laser and electromagnetic technologies would be key aspects of the overall defense strategy.
Another major threat mentioned in a future conflict was China’s new guided missile destroyer, the Type 052D. The Pentagon said this was a deployment of the PLA’s first multipurpose vertical launch system that is believed “capable of launching [anti-ship cruise missiles], land-attack cruise missiles (LACMs), surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and anti-submarine missiles.” More than a dozen Type 052 destroyers were planned.
China’s H-6 bomber had also been upgraded to carry six land-attack cruise missiles with precision guidance capabilities.
In April this year, The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) warned that China’s current naval force of 300 surface ships, submarines, amphibious ships, and missile-armed patrol craft was rapidly expanding. About 60 naval ships and vessels were built last year, and a similar number of warships were under construction or deployed for 2015.
Notably, China’s coast guard now has more ships and vessels than the combined coast guard forces of countries in the region. China has clashed with Vietnam, Philippines, and Japan over maritime claims to islands in the South China and East China Seas. Further escalating tensions, the Chinese have reclaimed “hundreds of acres” of land last year as part of a buildup of naval and maritime law enforcement operations in the South China Sea’s Spratly islands.
In addition, China has deployed 59 diesel submarines and nine nuclear power submarines, and ONI estimates the numbers will increase to 63 and 11 respectively by 2020. Not to mention the deployment of four Jin-class nuclear missile submarines that are expected to begin operational deployments this year. These would “mark China’s first credible at-sea second-strike nuclear capability”.
The report contradicts a key theme of U.S. intelligence analysts for the past 15 years, namely that China’s military was defensive and focused mainly on preparing for a conflict with Taiwan. The new report says China’s naval buildup is for operations far beyond Chinese shores, including sea-lane security and other power projection.
Chinese military affairs expert Rick Fisher concludes: “Here, ONI is suggesting what to some non-government analysts is obvious: China is building its naval forces for eventual global power projection... China could soon be projecting naval power in the same manner as the U.S. Navy. The Washington policy community has not yet started to understand, much less respond to this level of strategic challenge.”
Ironically, some observers feel that a direct, fully fledged U.S.-China war is still a remote possibility. The essential argument is that in the case of such powerful rivals, no one can really win, and perhaps ‘Mutually Assured Destruction’ would be a more likely outcome. That in itself serves as a powerful deterrent.
Early 2014, Eugene Chow in a piece for The Week, noted as much. Rather than orienting itself towards a total war it cannot win, China's military strategy serves a smaller, but shrewder purpose - pushing the United States out of China's backyard.
According to Admiral Patrick Walsh (commander of the U.S. Navy's Pacific Fleet until 2013), there is no reason to fear China's military buildup as long as U.S. capabilities keep pace. Even with the U.S. military's technological advantages, China's explosive military growth has guaranteed that even a small conflict with the United States would prove deadlier than anything the nation has witnessed in decades – which, concludes Chow, is exactly why it won't happen.
Only time will tell for sure. Meanwhile, the China military machine marches on, ready to surpass all expectations.
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