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Chinese Navy (PLAN) News & Discussions

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New leader takes helm of PLA Navy
By Zhao Lei (Chinadaily.com.cn) 09:45, January 21, 2017

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(file photo)

The People's Liberation Army Navy has a new commander, 60-year-old Vice-Admiral Shen Jinlong, according to the Navy.

Shen, in the capacity of the PLA Navy commander, had a video chat on Friday morning with officers and sailors of the 25th escort fleet to the Gulf of Aden, according to a Navy news release.

That means he has replaced Admiral Wu Shengli, 71, to take charge of the largest navy in Asia. Although the Navy did not disclose when the transition took place, observers believe it occurred in the past week.

A senior researcher with the PLA Navy who asked not to be named said Shen was chosen because he has rich experience gained through posts in front-line combat units, institutes and a major fleet's commanding body.

"He has theoretical and practical knowledge and front-line commanding experience, and he is just 60. These make him a suitable choice," the senior researcher said.

"However, Shen is facing many challenges, since the Navy now has heavier responsibilities in safeguarding the country's maritime interests and dealing with threats and interventions," he added.

The researcher said he expects the new commander to continue to improve the Navy's strategies, tactics and weapons and to keep honing its joint operation capabilities.

Admiral Wu, Shen's predecessor, was captain of several frigates and destroyers and gradually moved up through the Navy's ranks.

Wu was commander of the South Sea Fleet before taking the job of deputy chief of general staff in 2004. In April 2006, he was named commander of the PLA Navy.

He is the second-longest-serving commander of the PLA Navy, exceeded only by Xiao Jinguang, who was the Navy's chief from 1950 to 1980.

In Wu's tenure, the Navy went through a massive expansion in terms of armaments, capabilities and operational scope.

When he took over the Navy in 2004, most of its ships and submarines were old and incapable of matching their US or Japanese counterparts, while most of the Navy's exercises were conducted in China's coastal waters.

In the past 10 years, the Navy took delivery of about 100 advanced ships and submarines as well as a large number of new aircraft.

It commissioned around 20 new ships in 2015 as well as last year and is believed to have deployed several new-generation nuclear submarines during this period.

The Navy now has a carrier battle group, which just completed a long-distance, live-fire drill in the Western Pacific Ocean and South China Sea.

The Navy's aviation force has carried out several long-range, combat-ready drills.

Moreover, the Navy has gained extensive experience of large, sophisticated operations through its active participation in escort missions in the Gulf of Aden and multinational naval exercises in the past several years.

The last time Wu appeared in media reports as the PLA Navy's commander was on December 28 when he attended a symposium that marked the eighth anniversary of the Navy's escort mission in the Gulf of Aden.

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Chinese naval escort task force visits Qatar
By Sun Wenyu (People's Daily Online) 17:15, January 22, 2017

The 24th Chinese naval escort task force arrived in Doha, Qatar on Jan. 21 local time, starting its five-day visit to the country. It is the second visit by the Chinese Navy to Qatar. The task force was welcomed by 400 representatives from the Chinese Embassy in Qatar, local Chinese companies, overseas Chinese and Qatari marines. The two countries' marines will visit each other's fleets, and other exchanges will also be carried out during the visit.


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China commissions 31st stealth warship
BEIJING: JANUARY 22, 2017 16:33 IST
The People’s Liberation Army Navy has commissioned its 31st Type—056 class corvette, marking a new addition to the world’s largest fleet of modern corvettes, official media reported.

With a maximum speed of 52 km/h, the ship features good manoeuvrability, a high-level of automation and stealth capability, and is capable of hitting aircraft, ships and submarines, the PLA Daily, the official organ of the Chinese military said.

The CNS Ezhou with a hull number of 513 was delivered to the East Sea Fleet in a naval base in East China’s Fujian province.

The ship will perform coastal patrol, fishery escort, anti-submarine and anti-ship operations.

It is the second ship that has been commissioned to the PLA Navy since the start of 2017, following the CNS Kaiyangxing, a Type—815A class electronic reconnaissance ship, which now belongs to the North Sea Fleet.

Russia has the world’s largest corvette group that consists of about 80 vessels, but most of them were built in the 1980s and 1990s and cannot compete with the Type—056 in terms of technology and equipment, the report quoted defence observers as saying, adding that China’s fleet is now the biggest force of modern corvettes of all navies.

PLAN has expanded its fleet rapidly in the past ten years taking delivery of about 100 advanced ships and submarines as well as a large number of new aircraft.

It commissioned around 20 new ships in 2015 as well as last year and is believed to have deployed several new-generation nuclear submarines during this period, state-run China Daily reported.


The Navy now has a carrier battle group headed by its first aircraft carrier Liaoning, which just completed a long-distance, live-fire drill in the Western Pacific Ocean and South China Sea.

A second aircraft carrier is being built with plans for the third.

The Navy’s aviation force has carried out several long-range, combat-ready drills as China appears bracing itself for renewed tensions in the South China Sea under Donald Trump Presidency.

Mr. Trump’s Secretary of State nominee, Rex Tillerson in his testimony before the US Senate had said that America should block China from accessing islands in the disputed SCS.

He likened China’s island-building in the SCS to “Russia’s taking of Crimea”.

He warned that the new U.S. government will send a “clear signal” to China that it must abandon its artificial islands in the South China Sea.

His remarks were denounced by official Chinese media which said the U.S. has to wage a war with China if America blocks it from accessing the artificial islands it has built in the contested South China Sea.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...ions-31st-stealth-warship/article17077870.ece

 
Chinese navy holds anti-piracy drill
(People's Daily Online) 16:01, January 23, 2017

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China's 25th naval escort fleet held a live-fire anti-piracy drill in the Gulf of Aden on Jan. 22, 2017. The drill was intended to test and improve the fleet's combat skills. (Chinanews.com/Li Youtao)


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China's 25th naval escort fleet held a live-fire anti-piracy drill in the Gulf of Aden on Jan. 22, 2017. The drill was intended to test and improve the fleet's combat skills. (Chinanews.com/Li Youtao)


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China's 25th naval escort fleet held a live-fire anti-piracy drill in the Gulf of Aden on Jan. 22, 2017. The drill was intended to test and improve the fleet's combat skills. (Chinanews.com/Li Youtao)


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China's 25th naval escort fleet held a live-fire anti-piracy drill in the Gulf of Aden on Jan. 22, 2017. The drill was intended to test and improve the fleet's combat skills. (Chinanews.com/Li Youtao)
 
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