Chinese Military,Political and Social Superthread

[dimsum]

No national security grounds, in allowing a Chinese company to own and operate a major port?

In a country that has to import nearly everything it needs… pretty sure the country that is constantly making open threats, undertaking adversarial political moves, overtly undermining their democracy, etc - should not be owning or in charge of a major port.


0.02

Not to mention that Darwin is where USMC (and potentially other US assets) are located on a rotating basis, and that Australian Army (1st Bde at Robertson barracks) and RAN units (patrol boats at HMAS Coonawarra) are also based there.

 

[Kirkhill]

Based on the public discussions of what the US is planning in capabililties this is one picture of what China might be facing.

First Line - First Island Chain

30 times JLTV/NSM - Rogue Fires - NMESIS Platoons of the USMC - 185 km reach moved around 6000 km of Island Frontage by 30 Light Amphibious Warships. Line extends from Singapore and Malaysia, through Brunei, Vietnam and the Philippines, to Taiwan and then to Busan in S Korea.
Backed by HIMARS Trucks launching 500 km PrSM missiles

Organized into three Littoral Combat Regiments each with its own Service Support Battalion and Air Defence Battalion.

Backed by a 40 knot fleet of 14 monohull LCS, 17 trimaran LCS and 15 catamaran EPFs for log support. The 31 LCS hulls also all mount the same 185km NSMs employed by the USMC Rogue Fires Platoons. In addition the hulls have the ability to move a lot of marines and their trucks, LAVs and UAVs.

2nd Line - 2nd Island Chain

Anchored on Guam with flanks secured forward at Darwin in Northern Australia and Adak in the Aleutians. Protected by Medium Range Capabilities of the SM6 and the GLCM missiles as well as, prospectively, the LR Hyper Sonic weapons. Secure allies in Australia in the south and Japan in the North.

3rd Line - Hawaii

Pearl Harbor
USN / USMC

4th Line - Conus and Alaska
USAF and US Army

From China's viewpoint that could be seen as a containment strategy.

 

[MilEME09]

Trouble For Chinese Navy In South China Sea? Philippines Accepts BrahMos Offer For Anti-Ship Missile System

swarajyamag.com

Philippines ups the stakes by acquiring the Brahmos from India. With a speed of Mach 2.8, it's is likely a Chinese ship that lacks modern defenses would be able to intercept in time. A few could cover much of the south China sea. This would be a big threat to the PLAN once online.

 

[armrdsoul77]

Team USA Advises Athletes Heading to Beijing Olympics to Leave Their Phones at Home

 

[Fishbone Jones]

There should be a complete boycott of these games. The more face Red China loses, the better, IMO.

 

[Kirkhill]

View attachment 68073

Based on the public discussions of what the US is planning in capabililties this is one picture of what China might be facing.

First Line - First Island Chain

30 times JLTV/NSM - Rogue Fires - NMESIS Platoons of the USMC - 185 km reach moved around 6000 km of Island Frontage by 30 Light Amphibious Warships. Line extends from Singapore and Malaysia, through Brunei, Vietnam and the Philippines, to Taiwan and then to Busan in S Korea.
Backed by HIMARS Trucks launching 500 km PrSM missiles

Organized into three Littoral Combat Regiments each with its own Service Support Battalion and Air Defence Battalion.

Backed by a 40 knot fleet of 14 monohull LCS, 17 trimaran LCS and 15 catamaran EPFs for log support. The 31 LCS hulls also all mount the same 185km NSMs employed by the USMC Rogue Fires Platoons. In addition the hulls have the ability to move a lot of marines and their trucks, LAVs and UAVs.

2nd Line - 2nd Island Chain

Anchored on Guam with flanks secured forward at Darwin in Northern Australia and Adak in the Aleutians. Protected by Medium Range Capabilities of the SM6 and the GLCM missiles as well as, prospectively, the LR Hyper Sonic weapons. Secure allies in Australia in the south and Japan in the North.

3rd Line - Hawaii

Pearl Harbor
USN / USMC

4th Line - Conus and Alaska
USAF and US Army

From China's viewpoint that could be seen as a containment strategy.

Revision -

The monohull LCS, the problematic ones from the Great Lakes, are being deployed out of Florida to the Caribbean. Only the Austal Catamaran fleet of Independence Class LCS (recently armed with the same NSM used by the USMC Littoral Regiments) and the Spearhead Class Joint High Speed Vessels (EPFs) are being deployed to the Indo-Pacific region. Austal is also a lead contender for the Light Amphibious Warship.

 

[Kirkhill]

Just noting the open deck concept for the LAW landing ship.

That suggests this:



Meaning that those 30 Light Amphibious Warships, with ROGUE and HIMARS vehicles on board might also be considered as Bombards capable of contributing to the fight with their on board cargo. The missiles could be launched at sea, or the launchers could be disembarked and launched from the shore.

 

[Altair]

China’s ambassador to US warns of possible military conflict over Taiwan

Unusually explicit reference to prospect of war comes as tensions over island’s future continue to rise

www.theguardian.com

China’s ambassador to the US has said the two countries could face a “military conflict” over the future of Taiwan, in an unusually explicit reference to the prospect of war.

“The Taiwan issue is the biggest tinderbox between China and the United States,” Qin Gang told the US public broadcaster National Public Radio (NPR), on Friday. “If the Taiwanese authorities, emboldened by the United States, keep going down the road for independence, it most likely will involve China and the United States, the two big countries, in the military conflict.”
m/world/2022/jan/28/china-ambassador-us-warns-possible-military-conflict-taiwan

Act 2 begins...

 

[Good2Golf]

While Taiwan stocks up on supplies ahead of any actions by China.

Taiwan ‘buys 20,400 bottles of Lithuanian rum rejected by China

 

[SeaKingTacco]

While Taiwan stocks up on supplies ahead of any actions by China.

Taiwan ‘buys 20,400 bottles of Lithuanian rum rejected by China

Anyone know if Lithuanian rum is any good?

 

[Good2Golf]

Anyone know if Lithuanian rum is any good?

Worth a try!

 

[RangerRay]

Anyone know if Lithuanian rum is any good?

I would trust their vodka before I trust their rum!

 

[dapaterson]

Krupnikas enters the conversation.

 

[KevinB]

Italian intelligence watchdog flags small, sneaky foreign takeovers in defense

Italy’s intelligence watchdog has called for tighter, U.S.-style monitoring of corporate acquisitions after allegations that China quietly purchased an Italian military drone maker that supplied Italy’s special forces.

www.defensenews.com

Whoops...

 

[KevinB]

China not wanting Russian to be the only douchenozzle these days.

‘Serious safety incident’: Chinese ship shone laser at Australian aircraft, defence says

Department condemns ‘unsafe military conduct’ after laser detected coming from People’s Liberation Army Navy vessel

www.theguardian.com

 

[Colin Parkinson]

I just saw someone mention a container from China is costing them $20,000 at the moment , when it used to be $4500 and the tranist time is an extra month.

Container Rates Climb On China Lockdowns

By Kevin Varley and Ann Koh (Bloomberg) The number of container ships waiting off Qingdao, one of China’s biggest ports, is continuing to rise as the country doubles down on...

gcaptain.com

 

[Kirkhill]

Xi's very bad month?

Xi Jinping’s Faltering Foreign Policy

The war in Ukraine and the perils of strongman rule.

www.foreignaffairs.com

 

[OceanBonfire]

Berger said several times during the interview “no other operation is more complicated” than an amphibious invasion. He added there are problems of logistics and sustainment that need to be addressed once ashore, although having the ability to enter from the sea and air gives the invader mobility to overcome defenses.

The “sheer difficulty” of forcible entry “highlight why we [Navy and Marine Corps] have to train.

CMC Berger: Russian Logistics Failures in Ukraine ‘Should Give Pause’ to Taiwan Invasion Planners - USNI News

Stalled Russian forces across a number of fronts in Ukraine “should give pause” to Chinese military planners looking across more than 100 miles of water at Taiwan as an amphibious invasion target, Gen. David Berger, Marine Corps commandant, said Wednesday. Any amphibious invasion “is not going...

news.usni.org

 

[OceanBonfire]

A top U.S. commander says China has fully militarized at least three of several islands it built in the disputed South China Sea. U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Adm. John C. Aquilino says the increasingly aggressive moves threaten all nations operating nearby.

“I think over the past 20 years we’ve witnessed the largest military buildup since World War II by the PRC,” Aquilino told the AP, using the initials of China’s formal name. “That buildup of weaponization is destabilizing to the region.”

...

A U.N.-backed arbitration tribunal that handled the case invalidated China’s sweeping historical claims in the South China Sea under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. Beijing dismissed the ruling as sham and continues to defy it.

AP Exclusive: US admiral says China fully militarized isles

A top U.S. commander says China has fully militarized at least three of several islands it built in the disputed South China Sea and has armed them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment, and fighter jets.

apnews.com

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Oh god, those poor people likley had time to realize they were going to die.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1505966330746339328

China Eastern 737-800 Crashes With 132 Onboard | Aviation Week Network

A China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737-800 123 passengers and nine crew members has crashed into the mountains near Wuzhou, southern China; the airline is reportedly grounding its fleet of 75 737-800 aircraft.

aviationweek.com