China to open its first military baseabroad in Indian Ocean

[rkjindal91]

China to open its first military base
abroad in Indian Ocean
Dec 12, 2011, 12.27PM IST PTI BEIJING:

In a move that may cause unease in India, China on Monday announced that it will set up its first military base abroad in the Indian Ocean island of Seychelles to "seek supplies and recuperate" facilities for its Navy. The naval fleet may seek supplies or recuperate at appropriate harbours in
Seychelles or other countries as needed during escort missions, Chinese defence ministry announced here.

China has already cemented its foothold in the Indian Ocean by signing contract
with the UN backed International Seabed Authority to gain rights to explore polymetallic sulphide ore deposit in Indian Ocean over the next 15 years.
The contract awarded this year to a
Chinese association exclusive rights to
explore a 10,000-square-km of international seabed in the southwest
Indian Ocean.

The base in Seychelles is regarded
significant by analysts as China is about to launch its first aircraft carrier. It is
currently undergoing final trials. Playing down its significance, Chinese defence ministry statement on Monday said it is international practice for naval fleets to re-supply at the closest port of a nearby state during long-distance missions.

Apparently commenting on a recent
report that China will establish a military base in Seychelles, it said Chinese naval fleets have re-supply facilities at harbours in Djibouti, Oman and Yemen since China sent its first convoy to the Gulf of Aden in 2008.

The decision to establish its first naval
base abroad was taken during Chinese
defence minister Gen Liang Guanglie's
goodwill visit to Seychelles earlier this
month. During the visit, Seychelles foreign affairs minister Jean-Paul Adam said his country has invited China to set up a military base on the archipelago to beef up the fight against piracy. "We have invited the Chinese government
to set up a military presence on Mahe to
fight the pirate attacks that the Seychelles face on a regular basis," Adam was quoted as saying in the media reports. "For the time being China is studying this possibility because she has economic interests in the region and Beijing is also involved in the fight against piracy," he said.

During Liang's visit, the two sides
exchanged views on their countries' and
armies' cooperation, as well as on the
global and regional situation, state-run
Xinhua news agency reported.

Seychelles appreciates China's efforts to
maintain safe navigation on the Indian
Ocean, as well as the support it has
granted to Seychelles, the ministry said. Seychelles also invited China's navy to re-supply and recuperate in the country
during escort missions, the defence
ministry statement said.

 

[tvsram1992]

India should go ahead and start a base in SCS .

 

[Ganges Zephyr]

Another thread already running

 

[peaceful]

India should go ahead and start a base in SCS .

we can build a type-054a+/type-052c in months, indian should first try to match that kind of capacity.

 

[IndoCarib]

China denies it is a military base

China on Monday said its naval fleet would only seek supplies or recuperate in the Seychelles during anti-piracy operations, denying reports that Beijing might break with its long-standing policy by setting up a military base overseas with a presence in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

The Chinese Defence Ministry reaffirmed that policy on Monday, saying its ships would only resupply in the Seychelles as they were already doing in other countries such as Oman and Yemen, while participating in anti-piracy escort missions.

"It is international practice for naval fleets to resupply at the closest port of a nearby state during long-distance missions,” the Ministry of National Defence said in a statement issued in response to reports which suggested China would establish an anti-piracy military base in the Seychelles.

China’s presence, it said, would be limited to its naval fleet “seeking supplies or recuperating at appropriate harbours in Seychelles or other countries as needed during escort missions". The arrangement, according to the Defence Ministry, would be similar to the practice of Chinese ships resupplying in ports in Djibouti, Oman and Yemen, where China has not established military bases.

On Friday, Seychelles Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Paul Adam said his government had invited China "to set up a military presence" on the archipelago to help against regular piracy attacks faced by the country, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

The Hindu : News / National : Ships may dock but no Indian Ocean military base, says China

 

[rkjindal91]

China denies it is a military base

China on Monday said its naval fleet would only seek supplies or recuperate in the Seychelles during anti-piracy operations, denying reports that Beijing might break with its long-standing policy by setting up a military base overseas with a presence in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

The Chinese Defence Ministry reaffirmed that policy on Monday, saying its ships would only resupply in the Seychelles as they were already doing in other countries such as Oman and Yemen, while participating in anti-piracy escort missions.

"It is international practice for naval fleets to resupply at the closest port of a nearby state during long-distance missions,” the Ministry of National Defence said in a statement issued in response to reports which suggested China would establish an anti-piracy military base in the Seychelles.

China’s presence, it said, would be limited to its naval fleet “seeking supplies or recuperating at appropriate harbours in Seychelles or other countries as needed during escort missions". The arrangement, according to the Defence Ministry, would be similar to the practice of Chinese ships resupplying in ports in Djibouti, Oman and Yemen, where China has not established military bases.

On Friday, Seychelles Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Paul Adam said his government had invited China "to set up a military presence" on the archipelago to help against regular piracy attacks faced by the country, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

The Hindu : News / National : Ships may dock but no Indian Ocean military base, says China

China may deny the military implications but you can't stop them from docking their destroyers and stationing naval assets, missiles, weaponary once the port is operational.

 

[indiatech]

we can build a type-054a+/type-052c in months, indian should first try to match that kind of capacity.

Type 54a history.

Read below how 054a was built mostly by stealing foreign technologies.

The Russian state military import/ export agency Rosvoorouzhenie and 956E production Severnoye Design Bureau were shocked and angered when the 054A upgrade to the new People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) 054 frigate appeared in 2006 . At first it appeared to have four Russian-supplied systems that had been on earlier Chinese Luyang guided missile destroyers (DDGs). In reality, the four complex systems were illegal Chinese copies never before seen, and all were on a new serial production series of frigates.


The Sovremennyi high-technology combat systems copied by China on the surprising 2006 054A upgrade are the MGK-335 sonar, the Fregate M2EM three-dimensional (3-D) radar, Mineral ME (Bandstand) tracking radars and the Russian MR90 missile guidance tracker-illuminator for the SAN-7 Rif-M Shtil surface-to-air missile (SAM).

Designed by Morphizpribor Central Research Institute, the complete MGK-335 sonar suite has a towed variable depth sonar (VDS) in addition to its hull array. Because no stern VDS hoist is visible, the Chinese 956E ships must have the reduced MGK 335MS with only the hull sonar dome. This complex 1.5-10.9 kilohertz medium-frequency sonar has sufficient power and digital signal processing to enable near-convergence zone detection capability. The first PLAN vessel to use an imported sonar set was the 2002 052B DDG. The 054A frigate in 2006 was the first illegal reverse-engineered version manufactured in China.

The Fregate M2EM 3-D radar offers two channels in E and H bands that can track more than 100 contacts with maximum range of 300 kilometers (200 miles). The equipment and antenna weigh 6.6 tons and 2.3 tons, respectively. It was designed by Salyut Moscow and first provided to China on four 956E ships in 2000. China imported 10 sets of the Fregate 3-D radar, with two placed on 052B DDGs in 2002 and two placed on 051C DDGs in 2006. The first reverse-engineered Chinese copy appeared on the 054A frigate in 2006.

The Russian MR90 missile guidance tracker-illuminator for the SAN-7 Rif-M Shtil SAM was designed by the Altair Marine Radio-Electronics Research Institute JSC. China imported eight S-band MR90s from Russia for four 956E DDGs in 2000. Two MR90 radars were tested for several years on the Chinese experimental ship 891. The first installation of a Chinese copy of the MR90 supported the HQ-16 vertical launch system (VLS) on the 054A in 2000.

This touches on what may be another piece of reverse engineering. The four rectangular VLS modules of the HQ-16 on the 054A appear identical to the U.S. Navy MK 41 VLS, but the United States has not commented on the obvious similarity. The MK 41 has been exported for many years to numerous nations, and a copy could have been expected sooner—such as on the 052C Luyangs. In fact, this rectangular-hatch VLS has been evaluated, along with an MR90 tracking radar, on the 6,000-ton weapon experimental Wuhu-B hull 891 for more than a year. Some experts assumed that this MR90 was a Soviet import, but it probably is the Chinese copy undergoing testing prior to installation on the 054A. Although the type of VLS SAM has not been identified, it would probably be the SAN-7, which is associated with the MR90 illuminator.

The 054A frigate has the Type 730 close-in weapon system (CIWS), based on the Netherlands Goalkeeper, which uses the U.S. GE GAU Phalanx gun. The Type 730 was on the 052B and 052C in 2002 and 2003, and it was on the 051C prior to the 054A frigate in 2006. Type 730 radars are very similar to the Signaal I-band search radar and dual I- and K-band track radar.

These recent stunning reverse-engineering successes do cause complications. One result is that combat system sensors are not matched on the hull and machinery generators, notably for MTU and SEMT diesels. Shaanxi Diesel Plant, also called Factory 408, has been licensed to serially produce French SEMT Pielstick and German MTU series diesels since 1974. In 1989, a second factory, Shanghai Hudong Heavy Machinery Company, was authorized to produce PA6STC diesels. Four of these diesels are on each 054/054A frigate.
SEMT Pielstick PC2-5 series diesels have 6-, 12- and 16-valve models, and MTU 956 diesels have 12-, 16- and 20-valve models (TB82, -32 and -92). The 052A has MTU 12-valve 1163 TB83 diesels, and the 052B has MTU 20-valve 956 TB92 diesels. Chinese factories produced them, and difficulties have been reported with them.
After all of these years, China still imports some SEMT and MTU diesel components from France and Germany. During 2006 and 2007, China imported 15 to 20 sets of German MTU 16-valve and 8-valve 396 SE84 diesels for new submarines such as the modern Yuan diesel boats. The same situation exists with China importing parts for 24 model 16 PA6STC diesels, which were used on the newest 054/054A frigates. Apparently China has not yet successfully produced these submarine or surface ship diesels without imported components.

Other notable Chinese PLAN reverse engineerings of foreign weapon systems include the Crotale/HQ-7/Castor C radar. Two sets of Crotale missile launchers were imported from France in the 1980s. Crotale missile launchers and associated Thomson CSF DRBC 32F Castor C fire control radars were installed on the Luhu DDG 112 in 1991. An upgraded Luda, hull 109 added a topside 8-round reload box aft of the launcher. The six Jiangwei II frigates launched from 1991 to 2000 had HQ-7 by China, with no reload storage. In 2002 the Crotale was replaced with indigenous HQ-7A on DDG 112. The 1993 Luhu DDG 113 and 1997 Luhai DDG 167 HQ-7 had reload rounds in below-deck hatches, which was not even available in French Crotale systems.

Two SS-12 variable depth or dipping sonars were imported from France in 1974. Three SS-12s were installed on Z-9 shipboard helicopters, and in 1987 Haiju craft hulls 688 and 697 replaced aft 57-millimeter guns with the SS-12. China procured one French Thomson CSF TAVITAC CDS computer, which was installed on the Luda I destroyer DD 105 upgrade in 1987. The first Chinese copy of TAVITAC was installed on Luhu DDGs 112 and 113 as the ZJK4 in 1991 and 1993.

China imported 40 A244 torpedoes from Italy around 1980. An improved A244/S was produced in 1984. Reportedly, the A244/S is produced under Italian license as the Yu-7 antisubmarine warfare (ASW) torpedo. Some reports of U.S. Navy MK 44 torpedoes being produced by China could be mistaken because both the MK 44 and the A244 have a similar shroud around the propeller. Some references state that Yu-7 PLAN ASW torpedoes are copies of the U.S. Navy MK 46 Mod 2, four of which were sent to China in 1986 for co-production. Because the sale was below the $14 million Arms Export Control Act threshold, Congress did not review the deal. Negotiations between the United States and China broke down, and Chinese attempts to change the hardware to metric measurements reportedly stopped in 1988.