Australia will commit approximately $400 million over five years to ensure the PPI delivers on the aspirations of Pacific countries…reports Asian Lite News
In a move aimed at countering China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, along with other Pacific leaders, endorsed the Pacific Policing Initiative (PPI) on Wednesday, marking a significant regional effort to bolster peace and security throughout the region.
The PPI announced on the sidelines of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders’ Meeting in Tonga, aims to enhance the capacity of Pacific nations to address law and order challenges, fulfil internal security needs, and provide mutual support in times of crisis.
Australia will commit approximately $400 million over five years to ensure the PPI delivers on the aspirations of Pacific countries. The country’s contribution will include infrastructure costs associated with new policing Centres of Excellence in the region.
“This is one of the occasions where the Pacific family essentially believe that one plus one plus one equals more than three. That if you have more effective engagement, coordination and interoperability, you’ll get better outcomes. So a common sense approach tells you that that’s right, and it’s something that has the support, not just of the leaders in the Pacific Island Forum, but has the support as well of the police, the respective police agencies themselves,” said Albanese.
Under the new initiative, Brisbane will host the PPI Policing Development and Coordination Hub, and four regional police training Centres of Excellence will be set up around the region, with one such facility already there in Papua New Guinea.
The Pacific Police Support Group (PPSG) – a multi-country police capability with a ready pool of trained Pacific police to deploy in response to Pacific country requirements, such as for major event management or additional capacity in times of crisis – will also be established.
Albanese stressed that PPI is a Pacific-led, Australia-backed initiative, reflecting the collective strengths of the region.
“Everyone who spoke in the plenary session spoke in favour of the agreement, not just those people who were at the press conference, but there were other contributions as well, from the Solomon’s, from Nauru, from other nations, from the Marshall Islands and more. Everyone spoke in favour of it because this is something that has come, not Australia, come out with an idea and then seeking to get everyone on board. This is something that has come from the Pacific itself,” the Australian PM said.
The PPI aligns with the Pacific Islands Forum’s 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, contributing to the peace and security vision outlined in the strategy. The initiative also builds on recent experiences, such as the Solomons International Assistance Force.
“We are stronger together. The security of the Pacific is the shared responsibility of the Pacific region, and this initiative benefits each of our nations,” added the Australian PM.
Discussions regarding an integrated regional policing capability began at the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police meeting in 2023. The final design of the PPI, developed by the Pacific police, ensures that it will be a truly Pacific-focused and Pacific-led initiative.
Fawcett explained that the motion aims to uphold the current regional order …reports Asian Lite News
Australian Senator David Fawcett recently defended a motion he co-led that criticizes China’s attempts to assert sovereignty over Taiwan, Nikkei Asia reported.
Fawcett explained that the motion aims to uphold the current regional order and counter any potential unilateral actions by China to forcibly take over Taiwan, according to Japan-based Nikkei Asia report.
“Allowing a nation to disregard others simply because of its economic or military strength will ultimately have negative consequences for everyone,” Fawcett told Nikkei Asia.
The motion, passed last week, asserts that United Nations Resolution 2758 “does not establish the People’s Republic of China’s sovereignty over Taiwan and does not determine Taiwan’s future status in the United Nations.”
Australia is the first country to pass such a motion concerning Resolution 2758, Nikkei Asia reported. Taiwan, a self-governing democracy, is claimed by China, which has used the 1971 Resolution to restrict Taiwan’s international presence and involvement with the United Nations and its affiliated bodies, such as the World Health Organization.
Although Resolution 2758 acknowledges the People’s Republic of China as “the only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations,” the Australian Senate clarified that it neither grants Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan nor dictates Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, Nikkei Asia reported.
Despite speculation that the motion might provoke a reaction from Beijing, there has been no public condemnation from Chinese state media or the Chinese embassy in Australia. Senator David Fawcett’s action comes amid rising tensions between China and Taiwan.
Recently, Taiwan issued a travel advisory urging its citizens to avoid trips to China, Hong Kong, and Macao due to Beijing’s threats against those who support Taiwan’s independence, Central News Agency (CNA) reported.
Liang Wen-chieh, a spokesperson for Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, issued the warning in response to heightened tensions with China. Beijing regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has refused to engage with Taiwan’s government since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016, CNA reported.
The advisory aimed to alert Taiwanese travellers regarding the risks posed by China’s new regulations targeting independence supporters. While travel was not prohibited, citizens were advised to avoid expressing political views or participating in activities that could lead to detention or prosecution by Chinese authorities, according to Central News Agency report.
Previously, Taiwan condemned Beijing’s threats of severe penalties, including the death penalty, for those advocating Taiwan’s independence. Beijing’s notice stated that leaders of independence efforts causing significant harm to the state could face the death penalty, while other prominent advocates might receive prison sentences ranging from 10 years to life.
Taipei had rejected these new Chinese guidelines, asserting that Beijing had no legal authority over Taiwan and dismissing the regulations as non-binding on Taiwanese citizens. (ANI)
The latest development could fuel tensions between the two countries following repeated maritime provocations by China in the region…reports Asian Lite News
Japan on Monday said that a Chinese military plane had violated its airspace, local media reported that it was the first such move by a Chinese aircraft.
Japan’s defence ministry said an Y-9 surveillance aircraft at 11.29am on Monday “violated the territorial airspace off the Danjo islands in Nagasaki prefecture” in the East China Sea and lasted two minutes. It prompted Japan to deploy “fighter jets on an emergency basis”, Kyodo news outlet reported.
The latest development could fuel tensions between the two countries following repeated maritime provocations by China in the region, the state media said.
The aircraft circled above waters southeast of the islands multiple times before and after entering Japan’s airspace, eventually heading toward China around 1:15 p.m. Japanese ministry of Defence said that the Japanese Air Self-Defence Force (ASDF) fighters did not use weapons or signal flares.
Japan’s Vice foreign minister Masataka Okano summoned China’s acting ambassador late on Monday to lodge a “extremely serious protest,” and called for measures against a recurrence, the Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement.
As per the NHK, the Japanese public broadcaster, there were previous incursions by non-military aircraft involving a propeller-powered Chinese marine surveillance plane and a small drone that had taken off from a China Coast Guard vessel and went into airspace near the disputed Senkaku islands in 2012 and 2017.
Kyodo news agency cited a Japanese defence Ministry source as saying that China “might be trying to provoke a reaction from Japan,” while a government source said the airplane merely grazed the territorial airspace and possibly strayed off course.
China’s increasing aggressive actions in the region, especially with Taiwan, has been a growing cause of concern for US and its allies.
Japan is part of the Quad alliance with India, Australia and the US, which is seen as a counter to Beijing’s assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Senkaku islands in the East China Sea administered by Japan has been claimed by China and there has been confrontations between Japanese and Chinese vessels. The group of disputed islands, Uotsuri island , Minamikojima and Kitakojima are known as the Diaoyu in china.
Meanwhile, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is set to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing today. (ANI)
Yuanjun Tang is charged with relaying details about events in New York intended to commemorate the Tiananmen Square massacre in 2021…reports Asian Lite News
Federal prosecutors in New York have filed criminal charges against a Chinese dissident living in the US, accusing him of secretly working for China’s Ministry of State Security and spying on pro-democracy activist groups.
Yuanjun Tang, who had previously protested against the Chinese Communist Party during the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations and later sought refuge in Taiwan and the US, is accused by prosecutors of agreeing to work for China’s intelligence agency decades later. Court documents reveal that Tang’s motivation was to facilitate his family’s relocation to mainland China.
Yuanjun Tang is charged with relaying details about events in New York intended to commemorate the Tiananmen Square massacre in 2021. Additionally, a year later, he allegedly provided the Chinese intelligence officer with information about the campaign team and fundraising efforts of a Congressional candidate who was also a Chinese dissident and human rights advocate.
According to court records, Tang also assisted the Chinese agent in monitoring a group chat among Chinese dissidents living in the United States. He faces three charges: acting as an agent of a foreign government, providing false statements to investigators, and another unspecified count.
Earlier this month, a jury in New York found a naturalized US citizen of Chinese descent, who led a pro-democracy organization, guilty of covertly collaborating with Chinese intelligence officers to monitor dissidents.
Chinese espionage in the United States has a complex and evolving history, marked by a series of high-profile cases and ongoing concerns about intelligence and cyber activities.
During the Cold War, early instances of Chinese espionage included efforts to infiltrate US scientific and military research. The 2010s brought increased scrutiny, highlighted by the indictment of former CIA officer Kevin Mallory in 2017, who was charged with spying for China.
Current concerns involve technological theft, intellectual property theft, and political influence operations. The US government has responded with heightened counterintelligence measures to address these challenges. (ANI)
Trudeau stated that the decision was taken to spur electric vehicle manufacturing in Canada…reports Asian Lite News
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that Canada will introduce higher tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EV) and Chinese steel. He made the remarks while speaking to reporters in Halifax on Monday. Speaking at the Liberal cabinet retreat, Justin Trudeau stated, “Shortly, we will be introducing a 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles and a 25 per cent tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum.”
Trudeau stated that the decision was taken to spur electric vehicle manufacturing in Canada. The decision brings Canada in line with the recent US trade policy changes.
Earlier in May, US President Joe Biden announced that he was increasing tariffs on Chinese EVs from 25 per cent to 100 per cent this year. However, there is only one Chinese EV currently available in the US.
In June, Canada’s Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said that the federal government was concerned by “unfair” Chinese trade practices in the electric vehicle manufacturing sector. She announced the beginning of a consultation process into potential response measures.
Freeland had hinted at what the restrictions being considered by the government might look like. Currently, the only Chinese-made EVs imported into Canada are Teslas manufactured in Shanghai.
At the time, Freeland stated, “The potential policy actions we are consulting on include a surtax on imports of Chinese EVs under Section 53 of the Customs Tariff Act, changes to which cars are eligible for the existing federal incentives for Zero Emissions Vehicle Program, and potentially broader investment restrictions in Canada.”
Earlier in May, Biden announced an increase in tariffs on Chinese imports across a handful of sectors deemed strategic to national security.
The increase in tariffs was announced on imported steel and aluminium, legacy semiconductors, electric vehicles, battery components, critical minerals, solar cells, cranes and medical products. The new tariff rates – 100% on electric vehicles, 50 per cent on solar components and 25 per cent for all other sectors – will take place over the next two years.
Lael Brainard, director of the White House National Economic Council, said, “China’s using the same playbook it has before to power its own growth at the expense of others.” Brainard said, “China’s simply too big to play by its own rules.”
While announcing the new tariffs in the Rose Garden, Biden said he seeks “fair competition with China, not conflict.”
He stated, “The fact is, American workers can out-work and out-compete anyone, as long as the competition is fair.” He said, “For too long, it hasn’t been fair.” (ANI)
China’s import of seafood right after it halted shipments from Japan has decreased by about 10 per cent….reports Asian Lite News
A year after China banned imports of seafood from Japan, the country is now turning to South America to keep up with its demand. Beijing banned importing seafood from Japan in response to Tokyo’s decision to release treated wastewater from the disaster-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Since, then China has attempted to fill the gap with purchases of seafood from South America, Asia and elsewhere. According to Nikkei Asia, China’s import of seafood right after it halted shipments from Japan has decreased by about 10 per cent. As per the data released by China’s General Administration of Customs, imports of mollusks, which include scallops, were down 11 per cent and imports of fresh fish saw a 4 per cent decline.
Before the release of the treated water, China had imported $290 million worth of scallops during the first eight months of the year 2023.
From last September to July this year, mollusk shipments to China rose 42 per cent from Indonesia, about 150 per cent from the United Kingdom and almost tripled from Argentina. “This is similar to how imports from South America grew when imports from the US decreased due to US-China trade friction,” Toru Nishihama, chief economist at Japan’s Dai-ichi Life Research Institute told Nikkei Asia.
Since the ban, the Japanese government has been trying to improve its trade relations with China. Japanese Prime Minister Yoko Kamikawa has been asking his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to drop the import ban. While the discussions are still ongoing, there is no prospect of China lifting the ban, anytime soon.
“The precautionary measures taken by China and some other countries in response to Japan’s move are aimed at protecting food safety and people’s health,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a news conference Friday. “These measures are entirely legitimate, reasonable and necessary,” she added.
Meanwhile, Japanese seafood companies have been trying to venture out in search of alternatives. Those based in Hokkaido, where about 90 per cent of Japan’s scallops are produced, have increased exports to the US and Southeast Asia.
From January to June this year, the scallop shipments to the United States has doubled on the year to 3.6 billion yen. The Japanese companies have also increased their export to Vietnam. However, losing China as a customer affected Japan as well.
The country’s overall scallop exports during those six months fell 37 per cent to 24 billion yen. The US has now replaced China to be the biggest buyer of Japanese scallops.
The CFU also questioned how can the “criminal communist regime” justify this arrest…reports Asian Lite News
Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU), a Washington-based Uyghur rights organisation, has highlighted the case of Elijan Ismail, a Uyghur entrepreneur who was arrested and sentenced to 18 years of imprisonment for performing ‘Zakat’, the yearly donation practice underscored in Islam.
“Uyghur businessman Elijan Ismail, founder of East Turkistan-based business Xinjiang Sadaqet Bio-Technology Co. Ltd., in fulfilling his duty as a Muslim to perform Zakat, has been sentenced to 18 years imprisonment,” the CFU stated in a post on X.
The CFU also questioned how can the “criminal communist regime” justify this arrest.
“How does the criminal communist regime of CCP-controlled China justify this? Some of the recipients of his charity were political prisoners and as such, in the name of “anti-terrorism” and “anti-separatism,” they imprisoned him”,” it stated.
A profile piece by Radio Free Asia highlighting the case of Elijan Ismail claimed that several donations by the Uyghur businessman went to China’s political prisoners and people who needed medical attention in his city.
According to RFA, he had made a name for himself as a prominent Uyghur entrepreneur in the year 2000. The Uyghur individual founded Xinjiang Sadaqet Bio-Technology Co., Ltd., in his hometown of Maralbexi in Xinjiang. He later on moved to Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi in 2008.
Abduweli Ayup, founder of Uyghur Help, or Uyghuryar, a Norway-based nonprofit organization, said that Ismail joined a group of businessmen in Urumqi who made charitable donations.
According to the RFA report, China had forbidden the practice of ‘Zakat’ a religious obligation for Muslims to donate a portion of their wealth each year to charitable causes in Xinjiang since 2016. Hence, police branded them an “ethnic separatist group,” Ayup said.
The report quoted an officer at the Maralbexi market police station in Kashgar prefecture who claimed, that after an investigation of Ismail’s charity, the authorities arrested Ismail and the others.
Ismail, 49, was arrested in Urumqi in 2017 and was sentenced later to 18 years in prison for “inciting separatism” because the recipients of his donations included families of political prisoners.
The case again shows how Chinese authorities target and arrest numerous Uyghur businessmen to monitor, control and assimilate members of the Uyghur ethnic group in Xinjiang. The Chinese authorities have used bogus charges of separatism and terrorism as an excuse to target the Uyghurs.
According to the RFA report, Ismail along with other entrepreneurs “provided financial support to the poor and promoted the care of the wives and children of those who were arrested,” the police officer said. They had collected and distributed money and in-kind goods to more than 10,000 people since 2014, he added.
“I’m not exactly sure what the issue is with distributing money. Under my division, there might be 12 families he helped who are families of political prisoners.” the policemen stated.
Additionally, around 20 people were arrested in connection with Ismail’s case, and none of them have been released, and the length of their sentences is unknown, he added. (ANI)
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said Deputy Foreign Minister Tien Chung-kwang would hold a summit with its three Pacific allies to strengthen its partnership…reports Asian Lite News
A Deputy Taiwan Foreign Minister will attend this week’s meeting of Pacific Islands leaders in Tonga, Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, as China and the US jostle for influence in the region.
The Pacific is also an area of competition between Taipei and Beijing, as China whittles away at the number of countries which maintain formal diplomatic relations with Chinese-claimed Taiwan.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said Deputy Foreign Minister Tien Chung-kwang would hold a summit with its three Pacific allies to strengthen its partnership with them and other “like-minded countries”, a reference to Western democracies such as the US and Australia.
In January, shortly after Lai Ching-te won the election as Taiwan’s new President, Nauru switched ties from Taipei to Beijing, in what Taiwan’s government said was part of a sustained Chinese pressure campaign.
Three countries – Palau, Tuvalu and the Marshall Islands – have stuck with Taiwan.
In 2018, Nauru, then still an ally of Taiwan’s, blasted an “insolent” China for speaking out of turn at the Pacific Islands Forum. Nauru had recognised China before, between 2002 and 2005.
Taiwan has taken part in the forum since 1993 as a development partner under the name of “Taiwan/Republic of China”.
China says democratically governed Taiwan is one of its provinces with no right to state-to-state ties, a position hotly disputed by the government in Taipei.
Climate change and security are expected to dominate discussions at this week’s meeting of the 18 Pacific Islands leaders. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell will also be going.
Taiwan and Tonga had diplomatic ties from 1972 until 1998 when the country switched recognition to Beijing and broke off relations with Taipei. Only 12 countries now maintain official diplomatic ties with Taiwan.
Taiwan reports increased military activity
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND) said that that it detected 12 Chinese military aircraft and six naval vessels from 6 am (local time) on Sunday.
Six of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southeastern and southwestern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ), Taiwan’s MND said.
In a post on X, Taiwan’s MND said, “12 PLA aircraft, 6 PLAN vessels and 5 official ships operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 6 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s southwestern and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly.”
This adds to a series of similar provocations by China in recent months. Reportedly, China has increased its military activities around Taiwan, including regular air and naval incursions into Taiwan’s ADIZ and military exercises near the island.
Earlier on Sunday, the Taiwanese MND detected 12 PLA (People’s Liberation Army) aircraft and eight PLAN (People’s Liberation Army Navy) vessels around its territory.
The MND stated that seven aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s Eastern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).
“12 PLA aircraft and 8 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 7 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly,” the Defence Ministry stated.
China’s naval expansion outpaces the world, fuelling tensions in the Pacific. Experts warn of rising conflict as the PLAN’s fleet grows rapidly and aggressively…reports Asian Lite News
China is building naval vessels at a fantastic rate, eclipsing any other nation on earth by far. If the metric of the sheer number of naval hulls is used, then the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is already a larger navy than its US counterpart. Of course, this is a poor measure of naval capability, but the fact nonetheless remains that the PLAN is growing at a tremendous clip.
Beijing is well within its rights to do so, but Thomas Shugart, Adjunct Senior Fellow for the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security, warned, “The problem fundamentally comes down to the fact that, although China is ultimately attempting to defend its regional waters, defend itself from attack from the Pacific and so on, it’s doing that in a coercive way towards other nations … The way that China is approaching this is in a very harassing and coercive manner, and it’s that behavior that I think is going to be what drives the march towards conflict,” Shugart was speaking at a webinar discussing the growing might of the PLAN, held by the Brookings Institute in the USA on 26 July.
Using satellite imagery of China’s principal shipbuilding yards, Shugart revealed the stunning capacity of its naval shipbuilding. China builds nuclear-powered submarines at Huludao, and he believes a new Type 093B attack submarine was visible there a couple of months ago. Three similar nuclear-powered submarines were also docked there, though it is difficult to differentiate those returning from repairs and others that are new-builds. However, Shugart believes he may also have identified a stern section for the new Type 095 class, since its hull had a larger diameter than existing designs.
Moving to Dalian Shipyard, Shugart pointed out that five Type 052DL destroyers are simultaneously under construction there. “Pretty amazing,” he exclaimed. At the nearby Lushun Shipyard is a new advanced corvette, possibly a test platform. Farther south in Shanghai’s Jiangmen Shipyard are five surface combatants in various stages of construction. Shugart believes this is where China’s next Type 004 aircraft carrier will be built. “I’m not able to find it yet, but still looking there,” he related.
In various shipyards, Shugart highlighted how China is utilizing dual civilian and naval shipbuilding. “People should understand that it’s Western companies that are, to a significant extent, funding these shipyards.” For example, when China was constructing its Shandong aircraft carrier in 2021, right next to it was a massive Taiwanese container ship.
“We have to have no illusions about what this allows the Chinese to do,” he said. China’s fungible workforce can shift between naval and civilian ship construction, the latter in a fiercely competitive international market. “I worry that they may be even more efficient than our naval shipyards are. Because they’re having real competition all the time, that’s honing their edge.”
Nearby, at the new Hudong Shipyard in Shanghai, three frigates are under construction alongside what appears to be a Type 076 landing helicopter dock (LHD) ship optimized for drone operations thanks to an installed catapult. “This is the kind of thing that – when people say, ‘Oh, well, the Chinese just copy what we do and there’s nothing new there’ – well, this is a class of ship that has no equivalent in the US. We have LHDs, we don’t have any that have catapults for drones. I mean, that’s a new thing the Chinese are doing.
Quite frankly, I wish we saw more of that from our navy…” Wuchang Shipyard in Wuhan is “pumping out their conventional submarines and also civilian vessels,” including a Type 039 for Pakistan. Next, at Huangpu Shipyard in Guangzhou are five frigates under construction at the same time.
Emma Salisbury, a Seapower Research Fellow at the Council on Geostrategy in the UK, added, “The thing that really strikes me is to see a shipyard with five destroyers being built at the same time, five frigates being built at the same time, five submarines being built at the same time. That does not happen in the US. It does not happen anywhere else.”
She described the PLAN as “arguably the second most-capable blue-water navy, after that of the United States”. Salisbury also noted the PLA “has the ambition of fully transforming into a world-class force by 2049, which is the centenary of the establishment of the People’s Republic. While the Chinese leadership has not publicly defined what this means in practice, the strategic context implies that China is aiming to develop military forces which are at least equal to those of the great powers it views as a threat, most notably those of the United States.”
From China’s point of view, the so-called First Island Chain is a barrier around its adjacent waters that constrains its access to the Pacific Ocean. This chain is dominated by US allies such as Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines. Salisbury said, “Control of the seas within the First Island Chain serves a dual purpose, to defend China from external attack through those waters, and to prevent others from being able to deny China access to the high seas beyond. Gaining control of Taiwan, the Senkaku Islands, Paracel Islands, Spratly Islands and other land features within the First Island Chain is viewed as the best way to secure those objectives.”
Nor does the PLAN work alone. The China Coast Guard is the largest maritime law enforcement fleet in the world, with an estimated 500+ vessels. Salisbury said, “China has tended to use the Coast Guard and the maritime militia in regional maritime disputes so far, and this trend is likely to continue given the close links between the PLAN, the Coast Guard, the militia and civilian vessels, plus their interwoven use in the maritime domain.” She said full consideration of overall Chinese naval buildup must cover all these forces.
Regarding the use of civilian vessels such as roll-on/roll-on ferries, Salisbury explained, “As there are no official numbers available, estimates vary wildly on how many civilian vessels could or would be made available to the PLAN during a conflict, much less how quickly they could be usefully integrated into military operations. However, some estimates contend that, if China requisitioned its entire dual-capable civilian fleet, that alone would give it more tonnage than the total American amphibious assault.”
Last year, China completed 42.3 million deadweight tons of merchant shipping, up 11.8% on the year before. This phenomenal total of ship construction equaled 50.2% of global output. China obviously has an extreme overmatch in shipbuilding, but China must be as worried as the USA about risks to its merchant fleet.
Bruce Jones, Director of the Project on International Order and Strategy at the Brookings Institute, posited, “If you look at Chinese naval doctrine, if you look at what they’re thinking about, if you look at how they write, it’s clear that the first impulse, not necessarily the only one, but the first impulse, is to defend against potential foreign invasion, and to deny anybody else, namely us, from denying them the ability to flow goods through the through the South China Sea, East China Sea, to kind of choke off their imports.”
He speculated whether there will be a future of “mutually assured denial,” where China cannot deny the US Navy (USN) from operating, but nor can the USA prevent China from operating at sea. “It sounds very bumpy to get there, but whether it might ultimately be stable, since neither of us have the slightest interest in denying the flow of goods through those waters, it strikes me as sort of a little bit illogical that we’re at loggerheads over the question of denial.”
Chinese warships are generally smaller than their American counterparts. The Chinese fleet was traditionally mostly corvettes and frigates, but that is changing as larger ships are fielded. Shugart said, “If you look now where the average Chinese ship was 30-40% the size of the average American warship, now it’s more like 60-70%. So they’ve closed that gap.”
Furthermore, the Type 055 cruiser is the world’s largest surface combatant. He boldly predicted that by about 2035, the PLAN will equal the USN in terms of ship tonnage. He said the USA should therefore consider building naval hulls in Japan or South Korea if its own shipbuilding capacity cannot improve.
China does not really have allies, whereas the USA does. Countries like Japan and South Korea provide a network of support and bases for the USN, as does the US territory of Guam. NATO navies can also take up the slack in the Atlantic, to a limited degree, to free up American ships to the Indo-Pacific region too.
China does have vassals, however, and Shugart displayed a satellite image of Ream Naval Base in Cambodia. Despite China and Cambodia vociferously denying this is a base being used by the PLAN, there is evidence to the contrary. Two Chinese corvettes have been stationed there for months, and Shugart pointed out that a 140m-long dry dock built there by China is too large for Cambodia’s own patrol vessels, especially since a ramp is situated nearby that can pull Cambodian naval vessels from the water.
Interestingly, Shugart found an identically sized dry dock in Qingdao, which the PLAN uses for submarine maintenance. Referring to the Cambodian one, he said, “It’s big enough for a submarine, which I think is kind of interesting. They definitely don’t need it for the Cambodian patrol craft.” Shugart added, “I’m not saying it’s 100% sure this is going to be a submarine base, but it’s interesting to me that there are some similarities there.”
There are qualitative differences between American and Chinese submarines. Nonetheless, Shugart said “all bets are off” regarding the future Type 095. “I have no idea how loud or quiet that one’s going to be.” He continued, “Different nations’ submarine forces can be used for different things. We should remember that, whether we win or not, even in the undersea, it isn’t so much a matter of whether our submarines beat their submarines, it’s which side can more effectively use the undersea environment to achieve its defense objectives.”
He asserted that Chinese submarines could not be used to hunt American ones, describing it like hunting a deer with a Harley Davidson – “It’s not going to work, they’re going to hear you coming!” Instead China may use its submarines to blockade Taiwan, make life difficult for American aircraft carriers, or launch cruise missiles against Guam and Hawaii.
He worries about insufficient money for new American submarines, plus 40% of the USN submarine fleet is in maintenance when that figure should be closer to 20%.
However, the AUKUS fleet of submarines will help ease the USN’s workload in terms of submarines, but these are going to take decades to build. Other allies add complementary
capabilities to the USA too; Shugart said nobody would want to be in a “dark alley” against a Japanese submarine in a strategic chokepoint in the First Island Chain, for instance.
China has been sending anti-piracy naval task forces to the Gulf of Aden for the past 16 years. However, Salisbury highlighted: “This isn’t through any charitable wish to destroy pirates to the good of the international community. It’s a laboratory for them to practise blue-water operations. It’s a way for their officers to get command experience on blue water, and it’s a way to test their logistics lines and so on.
That should give you an inkling of the fact that they’re looking to expand outside of regional operations onto blue water, whether that’s in the Pacific or the Indian Oceans or beyond.”
The Houthi missile and drone attacks in the Red Sea have also exposed the hollowness of Chinese promises, “because clearly they have not helped at all with trying to protect international shipping. And their ships, by agreement with the Houthis, are getting a free pass along with the Russian ones,” warned Shugart. (ANI)
This joint manoeuvre follows heightened tensions due to China’s aggressive stance toward Taiwan and the South China Sea…reports Asian Lite News
The Philippines commenced two days of joint sea and air exercises with the United States, Canada, and Australia on Wednesday, as Beijing continues to assert its territorial claim over the South China Sea, according to a joint statement.
The exercises, taking place “within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone,” aim to demonstrate “our collective commitment to strengthening regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” as stated by top military officials from the four nations.
This joint manoeuvre follows heightened tensions due to China’s aggressive stance toward Taiwan and the South China Sea, raising concerns about a potential conflict involving the United States.
Beijing claims the majority of the strategic South China Sea, despite an international tribunal ruling that invalidates its claims.
Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said this is the first Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity of the four countries.
“The activity, the first involving all four countries, was conducted in our EEZ and within the bounds of international law. It supports the 2016 Arbitral Tribunal ruling of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Trinidad was quoted as saying by the Philippine News Agency (PNA).
The Armed Forces of Philippines in a statement citing Trinidad said, “We can, however, confirm the presence of three PLA Navy vessels, namely PLA-Navy Wuzhou (FSG-626) Jiangdao II class corvette, PLA-Navy Huangshan (FFG-570) Jiankai II class corvette, and PLA-Navy Quijing (FSG-668) Jiangdao II Class Corvette, that tailed the ongoing MMCA.”
Trinidad also said the MMCA is “not aimed against any particular country” but a collective expression of support for a rules-based international order.
The Philippine contingent included the missile frigate BRP Jose Rizal (FF-150) with a AW-159 “Wildcat” anti-submarine helicopter and the offshore patrol vessel, BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PS-16).
Australia has deployed a Poseidon Aircraft (P-8A) while Canada sent the HMCS Montreal (FFH-336) and a Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone helicopter.
The USS Lake Erie (CG-70) and a Sikorsky MH-60R “Seahawk” helicopter represented the US.
Last week, Manila conducted separate naval exercises in the South China Sea, initially with the United States and subsequently with Japan.
A joint coast guard exercise is also scheduled off Manila Bay on Friday between the Philippines and Vietnam.
Vietnam’s 90-meter ship CSB 8002 docked in Manila on Monday, marking the start of five days of training exercises with the Philippines’ 83-meter offshore patrol vessel, BRP Gabriela Silang. The joint drills will encompass search and rescue simulations as well as fire and explosion prevention training, according to a Nikkei Asia report.
This collaboration follows an agreement between Manila and Beijing to de-escalate tensions in the South China Sea, specifically regarding Philippine resupply missions to Second Thomas Shoal.
The timing of the exercises also coincides with a change in Hanoi’s leadership after the death of Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and the official succession of Vietnamese President To Lam as party leader on Saturday, as highlighted by Nikkei Asia.
