South China Sea Forum

[cochine]

LOL Kublai is foreigner but first thai king and many of viet kings are locals, wow the viet propaganda is strong LOL. Do you even know that Tang emperors claim the title khagan of heaven (天可汗) after they defeated the Turkic hordes? So is it china have the claim on all Turkic nations now eh?

Yuan was supreme over the other khanates? LOL! Kublai never control any of the others khanates, the mongol empire already gone when it fractured to 4 parts, and they are independent from each other. Otherwise, applying your logic, you viets are rule by china until the French came colonize you guys, because lots of viet kings are Chinese origin.

Your double standard really showing man, what difference between the history of china, Thailand and Vietnam rule by localized dynasty of foreign origin? Internal matter LOL, then yuan is also internal matter of china, and Kublai is a Mongolian ethnic Chinese. Kublai too have to identify himself as Chinese before he can claim the mandate of heaven and rule as a Chinese emperor.

And don't DODGE MY QUESTION ABOUT BRITISH MONARCH AND ANY TREATY STATED SCS ISLANDS BELONG TO VIETNAM, oh you cant, because all you have is just double standard POV and crappy history knowledge. So applying your logic, Britain is ruled by germans for centuries (so is viets because they colonize by french), and Vietnam is currently illegally occupying SCS islands because I do not recall any treaty stated SCS belongs to Vietnam.

LOL names doesn't implying ownership, Ming name SCS as cochine "ocean" is simply for ease to remember, not to mention Vietnam is rule by Ming China for decades before Ming pull out and grant viets limited freedom, albeit Vietnam is still a vassal state of china. To give you an example, the name new Zealand (Zeeland) originated from netherland, but british monarch is currently the head of state. While NZ is a part of british commonwealth, UK, Canada and Australia does not own new Zealand.

The most important point of san Francisco conference is, china did not participate this conference hence all "voting" results from this conference regarding china are illegal and will not be recognize by china. China will only recognize conference that china had participated. This san Francisco conference is just basically an earlier version of the SCS arbitration from just a while ago, illegal and nonsense.

Apply your logic, new President of Taiwan is fractured from former KMT policy, has claimed that she is Taiwanese and so she has right to claim that Taiwan is independent state, not related to mainland China. Do you like it ?

 

[FlowerSummer]

Apply your logic, new President of Taiwan is fractured from former KMT policy, has claimed that she is Taiwanese and so she has right to claim that Taiwan is independent state, not related to mainland China. Do you like it ?

Tsai does have the right to declare independence, but mainland will also has the right to invoke anti-secession law and declare military reunification on rogue province Taiwan.

As for whether she is Taiwanese or not that doesn't contradict with her Chinese nationality. I am a half-hokkien (real taiwanese) half Cantonese and I am a legit han Chinese national. If Tsai and her DAP want to declare independence they should choose another better reason, using geographical naming is not convincing at all.

Oh before you ask it, I will answer it for you. Yes Mongolia too can reunified with china if they wish so, although just like Kublai they need to convert themselves to Chinese first for such reunification to be legal and possible.

 

[TaiShang]

S.China Sea island construction strengthens defense, helps locals

By Zhao Yusha Source:Global Times Published: 2017/12/24 20:43:22

Island residents enjoy stable power supply, fresh water

China has accelerated construction and enhanced its military presence on South China Sea islands and shoals over the past year as territorial tensions with neighboring countries are subsiding.

China's construction projects in the South China Sea region covered about 290,000 square meters in 2017, including new facilities for underground storage, administrative buildings and large radar, according to a report released on nanhai.haiwainet.cn, a website jointly run by the National Marine Data and Information Service and the People's Daily Overseas Edition.

The report added that China has reasonably expanded the area of South China Sea Islands, in order to enhance military defense capability within its sovereign scope and improve the lives of people living on the islands.

One of the most outstanding achievements of South China Sea's island-building is the increase of civilian facilities in these islands. These improve their public service capacity and help to maintain sovereignty over the islands, Chen Xiangmiao, a research fellow with the National Institute for the South China Sea, told the Global Times.

Residents of Sansha city on Yongxing Island, South China's Hainan Province will have a more stable power supply once a floating nuclear power platform has been put into use. People on some islands have installed seawater desalination facilities.

A fleet of offshore nuclear platforms, a civilian-military integration project, are reportedly to be commissioned before 2020, the Chinese news site thepaper.cn reported in November.

The website's report said that the defense capability on these islands has also been improved with more professional troops being stationed there.

The number of students in Yongxing's school in Sansha, which is located in the southernmost point of China, has increased from six to 23 this year, said the report, adding that Sansha's government has also built libraries and stadiums to enrich people's lives.

The size of some South China Sea Islands will be further expanded in the future with more dredging vessels, such as the Tiankun working on the land reclamation projects in the South China Sea region, said Chen, adding that a regional transportation network in South China Sea has also begun to shape up in recent years. Over 680 flights have taken off from Yongxing airport since the end of 2016, China News Service reported in December.

The island-building also helps China to fulfill its international responsibility, including maritime search and rescue, navigation safety and environment protection, Chen added.

Sansha city for the first time held "sea-sky three-dimensional" joint search and rescue exercises in June, a move to improve Sansha's ability to respond to maritime rescue and ensure safe navigation of passing ships.

Necessary military deployment

However, some foreign media and governments continue to hype China's moves in this region, stirring unnecessary worries from neighboring countries and posing a threat to China's island-building activities, experts noted.

The US think tank Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative on December 14 published satellite photos, which allegedly were taken in the South China Sea region, showing airbases, radar towers and missile defense systems. "Carrying out peaceful construction and deploying necessary defense equipment in our own territory is part of China's sovereignty," said Liu Feng, a Hainan-based expert on the South China Sea.

Liu added China's deployment of defense equipment is necessary for defense and control of the maritime situation.

"It's a necessary move for China to have defense equipment considering that we are now facing threats from the US and other countries because of the US fighters' frequent visits to the area and other countries constantly holding military drills in this region," Liu said.

The relationship between China and other Southeast Asia countries, such as the Philippines, has calmed in recent years, providing a golden opportunity for China to upgrade these areas, said Chen, while urging China and other Southeast Asia countries to conduct more effective dialogue and cooperation on the South China Sea issue.

Newspaper headline: China develops island bases

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1081802.shtml

 

[cochine]

Tsai does have the right to declare independence, but mainland will also has the right to invoke anti-secession law and declare military reunification on rogue province Taiwan.

As for whether she is Taiwanese or not that doesn't contradict with her Chinese nationality. I am a half-hokkien (real taiwanese) half Cantonese and I am a legit han Chinese national. If Tsai and her DAP want to declare independence they should choose another better reason, using geographical naming is not convincing at all.

Oh before you ask it, I will answer it for you. Yes Mongolia too can reunified with china if they wish so, although just like Kublai they need to convert themselves to Chinese first for such reunification to be legal and possible.

when you accepted that Kublai had divorced from Mongolian Empire created new country, if it's legally, you have also to accept that Taiwan Hokkien people could do in the same manner to escape from rule of Han Chinese from mainland China and also legally to creat new state in Taiwan. Madam Tschai hás owned her pasport òf Taiwain, not China mainland nationality.

 

[FlowerSummer]

when you accepted that Kublai had divorced from Mongolian Empire created new country, if it's legally, you have also to accept that Taiwan Hokkien people could do in the same manner to escape from rule of Han Chinese from mainland China and also legally to creat new state in Taiwan. Madam Tschai hás owned her pasport òf Taiwain, not China mainland nationality.

It is not us (Chinese) that accepted Kublai partitioned yuan from mongol empire, but golden horde. It is the golden horde that failed to reclaim their lost land before they get destroyed. However we Chinese will never let such things happen to us, unification is the upmost importance for Chinese civilization.

LOL hokkien (min) is a sub-culture of han ethnic, there is no escape from the rule of han Chinese because the entire taiwan island has 95% of han Chinese. Also there is no such things as "Taiwan" passport, the official name of state that ruling Taiwan province is Republic of China. Taiwanese is just a regional name for Chinese that living in Taiwan province, there is no such country name Taiwan exist on this world.

And viets better don't play fire on issues about Chinese reunification, don't forgot there used to be a country commonly known as south Vietnam existed just a few decades ago, and viets better don't forgot which country help Vietnam reunification and which countries try to prevent Vietnam reunification.

I will stop here now as our discussions had derailed from the topic of this thread.

 

[UMNOPutra]

Now .... We know who is the real winner in the South China Sea ...
-----
Hainan No, 1 Satellite constellation system provides shield for South China Sea
2018-01-04 11:06

The ChinaRS Geo-informatics Co., Ltd (ChinaRS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) announced the official launch of the "Hainan No. 1" satellite project on Dec.14, 2017. Hainan will launch its first satellite in 2019 and the Hainan satellite constellation system will be completed within the next four to five years.

According to the plan, there will be six optical satellites in the Hainan No. 1 project as part of the future Hainan satellite constellation, while the Sanya No. 1 project will have two hyper spectral satellites and two SAR satellites.

According to calculations, once the number of satellites in the constellation has increased to eight, the system will be able to achieve non-stop all-weather observations of all tropical and marine areas between the 30th south and north latitudes. The satellite constellation project will achieve full uninterrupted observations of the South China Sea.

Yang Tianliang, director of the project, said that the initiative was proposed by Guo Huadong, chief scientist of the project and a CAS academician.

"Hainan has the advantages of low latitude and wide range, so we need to clarify our thinking and formulate measures to find the right point of development," said Guo Huadong at the launching ceremony. Relying on Sanya's natural advantages, the CAS established a space station there in 2001 and added an institute within the following two years.

At present, the project has completed its overall demonstration and system design. The testing of satellite systems and ground systems will be gradually carried out starting from next year.

Launching low latitude satellites is of great significance to China.

On the global scale, more than 90 percent of the remote sensing satellites are located above the north and south poles, but have a lower frequency of observation in low latitude areas.

Through repeated simulations and projections, experts of the ChinaRS found that constellations of three satellites at low latitudes can achieve daily observations and multiple observations each day in key areas.

"This area covers not only all the countries on the Silk Road, but also 92 percent of the world's rice acreage. The system can help monitor the growth of rice but also can help marine dynamics research," said Guo.

More importantly, the Hainan satellite constellation will become a huge "skynet" covering the South China Sea.

"There are more than 50 islands, reefs and beaches scattered in the South China Sea. The monitoring and management of such vast oceans, the safeguarding of our national sovereignty and the building of a strong maritime province require the assistance of remote sensing technology," said Yang Tianliang. He added that the Hainan No.1 satellitescan monitor every island and reef and every ship of the South China Sea.

Li Xiaoming, member of the project, said at the launching ceremony that Hainan is the strategic base of the South China Sea and therefore developing a satellite system in Hainan is a responsibility and requirement of the strategy of strengthening China's maritime power. It can provide effective information assurance for China's South China Sea management and control.

Through the Hainan constellation system, China can gain a wide range of observational capabilities over the South China Sea and its surrounding areas. The system can help China realize real-time dynamic observation and meet the needs of development and effective control in the South China Sea.

In the meantime, accurate and rapid response can also be achieved in the event of an emergency.The system is a guarantee for China's strategy of becoming a maritime power.

"People will pay more and more attention to the sky in Hainan with the completion and use of the launch site in Wenchang. The launch today is just the beginning. I believe there will be more moves in the future," said Yang Tianliang.

http://www.ecns.cn/military/2018/01-...4/286964.shtml

 

[Adam WANG SHANGHAI MEGA]

Yongshu 永暑岛 of Today 1 Jan 2018

 

[UMNOPutra]

PH plans to repair Pag-asa Island 'illegal', says Chinese envoy
Chiara Zambrano, ABS-CBN News

The flag of the Philippines and China are raised at the bridge of China's guided missile destroyer Chang Chun (DDG 150). Chiara Zambrano, ABS-CBN News
They were supposed to dock in Manila, as most visiting fleets on a goodwill visit often do. But the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy decided to move their port call to Davao City, hometown of the Philippine President who has taken a great liking to them.

On Sunday, in an impressive display of both troop discipline and military capability, three Chinese warships -- the guided missile destroyer Chang Chun (DDG 150), the guided missile frigate Jin Zhou (FFG 532), and replenishment ship Chao Hu (890) -- docked in Davao City's Sasa Wharf, with the men of the Chinese Navy manning the rail fully armed and impervious to the blinding heat of the sun.

"We especially choose the Philippines as the first port call for the oceanic voyage of the Task Group 150, and made a short-notice change of the destination from Manila to Davao to meet the schedule of His Excellency President Duterte," said Admiral Miao Hua, Political Commissar of the China People's Liberation Army Navy (PLA Navy).

Task Group 150's visit to the Philippines is the first time China has returned for a port call since the maritime row began. The last goodwill visit by the Chinese Navy was in 2010, two years before the navy standoff in Scarborough Shoal that marked the start of hostile relations between the Philippines and China over the West Philippine Sea.

The Philippine Navy says PLA Navy's Task Group 150 is based in Shanghai, China, and may not be the actual vessels patrolling the West Philippine Sea. However, it is these Chinese warships that - with complements from the China Coast Guard create the blockades against the Philippine Navy, chase down Filipino fishermen from traditional fishing ground, and are present in the 7 man-made military islands that China has built in the South China Sea.

Now that they come in the name of friendship, the Philippine Navy has no choice but to be the welcoming party for them.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/01/17/ph-plans-to-repair-pag-asa-island-illegal-says-chinese-envoy

 

[TaiShang]

China’s new landing ship useful in island dispute: expert

(Global Times) 08:16, January 11, 2018

Another Type 071 landing ship from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy came into the limelight on Wednesday with military experts saying such ships could enhance military advantages in dealing with potential island disputes.

With a maximum displacement of 29,000 tons, the 210-meter-long, 28-meter-wide Longhushanis the largest domestically designed amphibious warfare ship in China, news site thepaper.cn reported on Wednesday.

Longhushanwas named after a mountain in Yingtan, Jiangxi Province. The civil affairs bureau of the East China city released a notice on January 2 in an effort to collect a song for the new ship from the public.

The song needs to represent thoughts of enhancing the PLA and display the image of Longhushan, according to the notice.

"China is developing Type 071 ships to meet requirements of possible wars involved with islands in the future, which could help it gain advantages in solving disputes on islands as well as questions involved with Taiwan," Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

China owns four or five amphibious warfare ships, Song said.

Type 071 have helicopters that can land on islands from the sea.

The Type 071 can work with Type 075 amphibious assault ships and help the navy win control of the air during landing operations, according to Song.

"The Type 071 ships are equipped with defensive weaponry to deal with enemy attacks," said Song.

"It could also deliver the navy and the army to the target island. The expanding number of this type of ships could greatly enhance the PLA Navy's amphibious warfare capability," Song said.

Zhang Junshe, a senior research fellow at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, told the Global Times on Wednesday that aside from its use in landing operations, Type 071 ships have joined PLA Navy escort missions since the year of 2008.

"China has fewer landing ships than that of the US. And the PLA Navy is expanding the groups as it develops," Zhang said.

 

[cochine]

Vietnam has legal basis to dismiss illegal joint exploration in East Sea
Vietnam has legal basis to dismiss any proposal for joint exploration illegally enabling violations to her continental shelf, said Dr. Nguyen Hong Thao, a Vietnamese lecturer, at a workshop on territorial disputes in the East Sea recently held in the UK.

Dr. Nguyen Hong Thao, a professor from the Diplomacy Academy of Vietnam, speaks at the UK's workshop providing new approaches to disputes in the East Sea.



The University of Oxford’s China Centre hosted the panel discussion entitled “New Approaches to the South China Sea Conflicts”, bringing together policymakers, lawyers in practice specializing in laws of the sea, experienced arbitrators, and leading academics from ASEAN nations, China, Canada, the US and Europe.

The conflicts in the East Sea pose a regional threat to peace, maritime security and economic progress in ASEAN, the littoral states along the sea and global trade. The five major claimants, including China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, have ratified the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

UNCLOS contains specific mechanisms for dispute resolution but the application of these mechanisms in the case of the East Sea disputes over the past time has not yet proven effective.

Some said that the full implementation and following of UNCLOS principles and international law by the countries having declared their sovereignty in the East Sea are fundamental requirements for tackling the disputes.

As a speaker, Nguyen Hong Thao, a professor from the Diplomacy Academy of Vietnam, said Vietnam always supports a flexible approach to settlement of the disputes in accordance with international laws and her legitimate national interests.

Vietnam agrees with the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s final judgment in 2016 declaring that no features in the Spratly Archipelago could be considered an island and so are not entitled to a 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) under UNCLOS, Thao noted.

The country backs finding an appropriate zone for joint exploration activities in compliance with UNCLOS and international laws, Thao stressed.-VNA

Vietnam has legal basis to dismiss illegal joint exploration in East Sea
Vietnam has legal basis to dismiss any proposal for joint exploration illegally enabling violations to her continental shelf, said Dr. Nguyen Hong Thao, a Vietnamese lecturer, at a workshop on territorial disputes in the East Sea recently held in the UK.

Dr. Nguyen Hong Thao, a professor from the Diplomacy Academy of Vietnam, speaks at the UK's workshop providing new approaches to disputes in the East Sea.



The University of Oxford’s China Centre hosted the panel discussion entitled “New Approaches to the South China Sea Conflicts”, bringing together policymakers, lawyers in practice specializing in laws of the sea, experienced arbitrators, and leading academics from ASEAN nations, China, Canada, the US and Europe.

The conflicts in the East Sea pose a regional threat to peace, maritime security and economic progress in ASEAN, the littoral states along the sea and global trade. The five major claimants, including China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, have ratified the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

UNCLOS contains specific mechanisms for dispute resolution but the application of these mechanisms in the case of the East Sea disputes over the past time has not yet proven effective.

Some said that the full implementation and following of UNCLOS principles and international law by the countries having declared their sovereignty in the East Sea are fundamental requirements for tackling the disputes.

As a speaker, Nguyen Hong Thao, a professor from the Diplomacy Academy of Vietnam, said Vietnam always supports a flexible approach to settlement of the disputes in accordance with international laws and her legitimate national interests.

Vietnam agrees with the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s final judgment in 2016 declaring that no features in the Spratly Archipelago could be considered an island and so are not entitled to a 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) under UNCLOS, Thao noted.

The country backs finding an appropriate zone for joint exploration activities in compliance with UNCLOS and international laws, Thao stressed.-VNA

 

[Cybernetics]

Subi Reef 渚碧礁 10 October, 2017 on going construction.

https://twitter.com/x/status/960332220421599233

 

[TaiShang]

China continues to distribute regional public goods in East Asia. Compare that with US warmongering and hitting commercial large vessels in open seas.

**

China-led tsunami warning center for South China Sea region launched

By Wang Mengzhen
9km to Beijing
2018-02-08

China's maritime regulator said on Wednesday a UN-led tsunami warning center for the South China Sea region is now under trial operation in Beijing.

The system will help issue alerts in the event of a major earthquake measuring magnitude-6 in the region.

In the wake of the deadly Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in 2004, the United Nations built the Pacific Tsunami warning and mitigation system. This serves as an international network to exchange data for rapid tsunami detection. In 2011, China decided to build its own early-warning center under the UN framework.

China's State Oceanic Administration (SOA) announces the establishment of the tsunami warning center at a press conference. /CGTN Photo

After seven years of international coordination and updates, now the tsunami warning center has expanded to cover the main body of the South China Sea, the Sulu Sea and the Celebes Sea, spanning over a total of nine countries.

The past efforts saw coordination on forecasting skills such as tsunami scenario database, as well as real-time numerical modeling based on rapid CMT solution and GPU & OpenMP hybrid parallel computing technology.

"We faced some challenges in international coordination during the process. It takes a great deal of efforts to incorporate and share massive data and resources among different countries and regions," said Yu Fujiang, director of the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center (NMEFC).

"Meanwhile, the international coordination meeting under the UN framework is a biennial event, so it is not easy for us to set up the warning center for the South China Sea region within a short time," he added.

UN-led tsunami warning center for the South China Sea region in Beijing /CGTN Photo

"A tsunami warning is a race against time. After the earthquake occurs, we must complete the entire warning procedure within 10 minutes. And, we can complete the whole task within 8 minutes," said Dr. Yuan Ye, head of the tsunami warning division, NMEFC.

"It is comparable with other warning systems such as the Northwest Pacific Tsunami Advisory Center (NWPTAC), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) in regards to the delay time of issuing tsunami warning."

 

[Suika]

USS Carl Vinson and JS Ise cruised together from the South China Sea up to the waters around Okinawa.

SOUTH CHINA SEA - The Carl Vinson Strike Group began a bilateral exercise with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), March 11, during a regularly scheduled deployment in the Western Pacific.

Aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) and destroyer USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) are conducting combined operations with Japanese destroyer JS Ise (DDH 182) to enhance maritime interoperability between longstanding allies.

“Strong maritime partnerships maintain security, stability and prosperity, which the Indo-Pacific region has enjoyed for more than 70 years,” said Rear Adm. John Fuller, the strike group commander. “Collaborating with a close maritime partner promotes regional cooperation.”

As part of the exercise, four JMSDF liaison officers have embarked Carl Vinson to support combined operations. The operations will include formation steaming as well as anti-submarine and air-defense training. Ise will also conduct a replenishment-at-sea with Carl Vinson.

The 646-foot Japanese destroyer displaces 18,000 tons and sails with three Y (60 K/J) helicopters. The ship’s primary missions include anti-submarine warfare, mine countermeasure, logistics, and search and rescue.

The Carl Vinson Strike Group also includes Carrier Air Wing 2 and a complement of more than 70 aircraft, Destroyer Squadron 1 and guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112).

Michael Murphy conducted a passing exercise with the French frigate FNS Vendémiaire while operating in the Western Pacific and South China Sea in January and February. Sailors practiced communication and shiphandling techniques.

The strike group completed a historic port visit to Vietnam, March 9, which marked the first time an aircraft carrier visited in more than 40 years.
http://www.cpf.navy.mil/news.aspx/110461

http://www.sankei.com/politics/photos/180316/plt1803160030-p4.html

http://www.sankei.com/politics/photos/180316/plt1803160030-p3.html

https://www.dvidshub.net/image/4221548/180314-n-mt837-0085

https://www.dvidshub.net/image/4221185/180314-n-mt837-0018

https://www.dvidshub.net/image/4221383/180314-n-jn391-0022

https://www.dvidshub.net/image/4221530/180315-n-lk571-0025

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10156228189432402

 

[terranMarine]

Exclusive: Satellite images reveal show of force by Chinese navy in South China Sea

HANOI/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Dozens of Chinese naval vessels are exercising this week with an aircraft carrier in a large show of force off Hainan island in the South China Sea, satellite images obtained by Reuters show.

The images, provided by Planet Labs Inc, confirm a Chinese carrier group has entered the vital trade waterway as part of what the Chinese navy earlier described as combat drills that were part of routine annual exercises.

The Liaoning carrier group last week traversed the Taiwan Strait, according to the Taiwanese defense ministry.

The photos, taken on Monday, show what appear to be at least 40 ships and submarines flanking the carrier Liaoning in what some analysts described as an unusually large display of the Chinese military’s growing naval might.

Sailing in a line formation more suited to visual propaganda than hard military maneuvers, the flotilla was headed by what appeared to be submarines, with aircraft above.

Jeffrey Lewis, a security expert at the California-based based Middlebury Institute of Strategic Studies, said the images showed the first confirmation that the carrier was joining the drills.

“It’s an incredible picture,” he said. “That’s the big news to me. Confirmation that, yes, the carrier participated in the exercise.”

While the Liaoning has previously entered the South China Sea as part of drills in uncontested training grounds south of Hainan, its annual exercises are closely watched by regional and international powers eyeing Beijing’s growing military might.

It is unclear where the flotilla was headed, or how long operations will last. China’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.

Collin Koh, a security expert at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, described the deployment as unusual for its size and scope.

“Judging by the images, it does seem they are keen to show that elements of the South Sea Fleet are able to routinely join up with the carrier strike group from Dalian in the north,” he said.

“It does seem they want to show inter-fleet interoperability - something the (Chinese) navy has been quietly working on for some time.”

Chinese naval and coast guard forces have expanded rapidly in recent years and now patrol the vast swathes of the South China Sea, but little is known about their combat readiness and co-ordination.

Koh said as well as the destroyers, frigates and submarines that would ordinarily support a carrier, the flotilla appeared to include a large oiler for re-supply as well as smaller corvettes and possibly fast attack catamarans.

“While it highlights an extensive ability to deploy, we are still left to guess at the PLAN’s combat readiness,” Koh said.

As well as Vietnam, China’s claims in the South China Sea are disputed by the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei while Taiwan also has claims.

The exercises come amid fresh signs of tension in the resource-rich waterway, with Vietnam recently halting oil exploration off its coast by Spanish firm Repsol under pressure from Beijing.

Beijing also objected to a so-called freedom of navigation patrol by a U.S. warship last week close to one of its artificial islands in the Spratlys archipelago further south.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...chinese-navy-in-south-china-sea-idUSKBN1H3135

 

[dy1022]