Chinese Military,Political and Social Superthread

[CougarKing]

Don't some Chinese frigates and destroyers also use a variant of the French-made Crotale SAM?

EU firms help power China's military rise
Tom Hancock
AFP News - 9 hours ago

China's air force relies on French-designed helicopters, while submarines and frigates involved in Beijing's physical assertion of its claim to vast swathes of the South China Sea are powered by German and French engines

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced stepped-up production of the Airbus EC175 helicopter in China during his visit to France this month -- a deal analysts said could result in technology transfers to the military.

"European exports are very important for the Chinese military. Without European technology, the Chinese navy would not be able to move."

- Andrei Chang, Kanwa Asian Defense Review


EU arms makers received licences to export equipment worth three billion euros ($4.1 billion) to China in the decade to 2012.

Other EU licences included:
- almost three million euros' worth of "smooth-bore weapons" and accessories - approved for export by Britain.
- nearly 18 million euros' worth of "vessels of war" or their accessories and components - authorised by the Netherlands.

Most of Beijing's military imports last year came from Russia while France, Britain and Germany supplied 18 percent.

When a Jiangwei-class Chinese frigate was accused of locking fire-control radar on a JMSDF destroyer and a helicopter near disputed islands, military experts believe the ship relies on diesel engines produced by German firm MTU.

Another accused ship, a Jiangkai-class vessel, uses engines made by SEMT Pielstick, a French diesel engine manufacturer owned by German firm MAN Diesel and Turbo.

MAN told AFP that its Chinese licensees have supplied about 250 engines to China's navy.

German-designed engines chosen for their quietness power virtually all non-nuclear Chinese submarines and several classes of Chinese frigates deployed in the South China Sea.

(...EDITED)

AFP / Yahoo

 

[CougarKing]

From fake Apple stores and fake Ikea stores to fake government offices...  :

Fake government busted in China

quote:
State media recently reported that a “People’s Government of Dengzhou” set up in central Henan province was toppled after it was found, in fact, to be a fraud.

According to reports, the government was set up late last year by three residents who had gone so far as to counterfeit fake government seals and issue papers in the bogus government’s name. They also tried to build up their own “civil service,” sending out recruitment ads that attracted more than 10 applicants before the real government shut it down.

Apparently the trio wanted to independently annul their existing government on the basis of its “nonperformance.” They located the headquarters of their faux government adjacent to the real one.

This isn't the first time Dengzhou has made headlines for unusual political news. Four years ago, government mouthpiece China Daily wrote a story about the city titled “Democracy takes root in rural areas.” It chronicled Dengzhou’s measures to involve more residents in the vetting of proposals relating to villages in the region, in what the publication called an “innovative experiment” that was also hailed at the time by then-Vice President Xi Jinping.

(...EDITED)

Yahoo Finance

 

[CougarKing]

I wonder if words will remain civil once the discussion in the room turns to the subject of the Diaoyus/Senkakus...

Agence-France-Presse

Japanese delegation flies to Beijing on mission to mend fences with China
By: Agence France-Presse
May 4, 2014 2:40 PM

TOKYO - A delegation of senior Japanese lawmakers left for Beijing Sunday on a mission to mend ties between the two neighbors amid a territorial dispute, which has prevented a leaders' summit

The bipartisan delegation, led by Masahiko Komura, former foreign minister and vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, departed from Tokyo's Haneda airport Sunday morning on a three-day visit to China, officials said.

The mission consisted of nine lawmakers of both ruling and opposition parties belonging to the Japan-China Friendship Parliamentarians' Union.

(...EDITED)

 

[Edward Campbell]

I wonder if words will remain civil once the discussion in the room turns to the subject of the Diaoyus/Senkakus...

Agence-France-Presse

One hopes so ... the obvious 'right' answer, for all these boundary disputes, is some sort of joint management of island or the sea bed. There is nothing to be gained, by either China or Japan, in a dispute that threatens their long term peace and prosperity.

The Japanese, infamously, proclaimed a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere back around 1940. It is possible that some combination of ASEAN, China and Japan can, 75+ years later deliver on that notion ... without a destructive regional war.

 

[CougarKing]

One hopes so ... the obvious 'right' answer, for all these boundary disputes,

Speaking of the boundary disputes, here's an update on another one in the South China Sea:

From the AP via the Philippine Star:

China begins drilling for oil in disputed sea

By Chris Brummitt (Associated Press) | Updated May 5, 2014 - 2:26pm

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam protested a Chinese decision to begin drilling for oil in disputed Southeast Asian waters, calling the move illegal Monday and demanding that Beijing pull back from the area.

Beijing's deployment of its first deep sea rig was the latest in a series of provocative actions aimed at asserting its sovereignty in the South China that have raised tensions with Vietnam, the Philippines and other claimants.

The United States shares many of the regional concerns about China's actions in the seas, which are potentially rich in gas and oil. Last week, President Barack Obama signed a new defense pact with the Philippines aimed at reassuring allies in the region of American backing as they wrangle with Beijing's growing economic and military might.

The China Maritime Safety Administration posted a navigational warning on its website advising that the CNOOC 981 rig would be drilling in the South China Sea from May 4 to Aug. 15, in an area close to the Paracel Islands, which are controlled by China but Vietnam claims as their own.

It said ships entering a 3-mile (4.8-kilometers) radius around the area are prohibited.

Vietnam's foreign ministry said the area where the rig was stationed lay within Vietnam's exclusive economic zone and continental shelf as defined by the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

(...EDITED)

Many analysts believe China is embarking on a strategy of gradually pressing its claims in the water by seeing what it can get away with, believing that its much smaller neighbors will be unable or unwilling to stop them. Vietnam has accused Chinese ships of cutting cables to its exploration vessels and harassing fishermen, as has the Philippines.

(...EDITED)

 

[CougarKing]

There goes one source of intelligence within the PLA...

China Says It Unearthed a Military Spy Ring Involving 40 People

quote:
China sentenced a man to 10 years in prison for providing military secrets to overseas spy organizations as part of an espionage ring that involved 40 people in China, state media said.

A man surnamed Li became a tool for providing secret information to intelligence agencies under the guidance of a foreign spy given the name “Feige,” or Flying Brother in Chinese, the China News Service reported yesterday, citing the Guangdong provincial department of state security.

The sentencing comes two weeks after President Xi Jinping and the Central Military Commission he heads issued a document calling for better protection of military secrets. The state media report did not identify the countries involved in Li’s case or the nationality of the spy.

For “a long time” Li provided internal military publications, observation of military bases at specific times, as well as photos of equipment, China News Service said. This was a “serious threat” to national security, the report said.

(...EDITED)

Bloomberg

 

[CougarKing]

China strengthening its position in the South China Sea:

From WantChinaTimes

PLA may build airfield on disputed South China Sea island

(...EDITED)


Citing military experts, Duowei said that China may soon construct a new airfield on Johnson South Reef to increase its force projection ability over the South China Sea region.

According to the report, China has learned valuable lessons from the Johnson South Reef Skirmish with Vietnam in 1988, when Beijing found that it would be close to impossible to drive Vietnam out of the Spratlys without a strong air force.

After its victory in the 1988 skirmish, China occupied six reefs and atolls in the Spratly islands, including John South Reef. However, Vietnam still controls 29 islands in the Spratly chain. China will now look to build an airfield for the PLA Navy, Duowei said, while it will be necessary to send warships to complete the project amid the territorial tensions.

 

[CougarKing]

China sending a message to the US to back off its disputes with its neighbours in the South China Sea?

USS Blue Ridge Encounters Chinese Ships Near Disputed Scarborough Shoal

Stripes.com

By Erik Slavin

Stars and Stripes
Published: May 9, 2014

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — A USS Blue Ridge-embarked helicopter photographed two Chinese navy ships May 5 near the site of a heavily contested shoal that has sparked a months-long standoff between China and the Philippines in 2012.The Navys photo release of two Chinese Navy ships near Scarborough Shoal sparked some online news outlets to label the encounter a confrontation, which 7th Fleet officials disputed Friday.USS Blue Ridge, the Japan based 7th Fleets flagship, transited without incident near the two ships, Navy officials said.All parties acted professionally, said 7th Fleet spokesman Cmdr. William Marks, who is embarked aboard Blue Ridge.

There wasn’t any communication [with the Chinese] due to both Blue Ridge and its helicopter being a safe distance away, Marks said.Hull numbers in the Navy photos indicate the Chinese ships were the destroyer Lanzhou and the frigate Hengshui.The visit near Scarborough was not a freedom of navigation operation, Marks said in response to a Stars and Stripes question.

(...EDITED)

 

[CougarKing]

Another reason why China is so sensitive about maintaining that ADIZ over the East China Sea?

Defense News

China's Achilles' Heel: Air Defense Gap
May. 10, 2014 - 03:19PM | By WENDELL MINNICK

TAIPEI — Only days after China declared an air defense identification zone on Nov. 23 over the East China Sea, the US Air Force flew two B-52 bombers over the area in what appeared to be a challenge to China’s claim.

A former US Air Force official is suggesting this was a message of deterrence to Beijing that the US is aware of China’s weak links along its air defense network.

Two separate groups control the coastal radar perimeter along China’s coast: the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and the PLA Air Force (PLAAF), said Mark Stokes, a China military specialist at the Project 2049 Institute.

The weakest link in China’s air defense network is where these two meet — PLAN’s Second Radar Brigade in Zhejiang province’s Cangnan City, and PLAAF’s Fourth Radar Brigade in Fujian province’s Fuding City, along the border of Zhejiang province.

This gap runs along the southern line of the East China Sea air identification zone.

China’s new zone is both “figuratively and literally a military ‘line in the sand,’ ” said Paul Giarra, president of Global Strategies and Transformation.

(...EDITED) 

 

[tomahawk6]

Their real weakness is the lack of an anti-ballistic missile defense.On the other hand they may have the edge in space based weapons.

 

[CougarKing]

Another part of China's "Silent Army"?

Resort opponents: Chinese invade Mexico coast
Associated Press
MARK STEVENSON May 10, 2014

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Environmentalists say the only living hard coral reef in the Gulf of California is once again under threat, just two years after activists persuaded the government to block construction of a huge 30,000-room resort nearby.

But environmentalists are alarmed by renewed plans for a 22,000-room resort, this time led by Chinese investors. Jeering and arguments erupted at a public comment session this week on the proposal, which is at the earliest stage in the approval process.

The developers, in one of their few public statements about the Cabo Dorado resort, say they have eliminated about one-third of the hotel and condo rooms proposed in the earlier project, and abandoned plans for a marina and a desalinization plant that caused controversy. They offer to treat, and re-use water from existing aquifers.

But opponents say there isn't enough fresh water available on the bone-dry peninsula to support even the reduced plan, and that the project gives little consideration to how the reef could be affected by resort wastes and runoff from golf courses.

Critics of Cabo Dorado say just as worrisome is what they don't know about their deep-pocketed opponents: Chinese companies whose relationship with that country's government is unclear.

(...EDITED)

AP / Yahoo

 

[CougarKing]

Another interesting tidbit from Bloomberg, that was mentioned in another thread:

Bloomberg

China’s demography is a disaster. About 2015, the seemingly boundless labor pool will begin to shrink. One reason is rapid aging, which presages that China will become old before it becomes rich. By 2050, China will have lost one-third of its working-age population. Meanwhile, the U.S. will bestride the earth as the youngest industrialized nation after India.

(...EDITED)

 

[CougarKing]

China "not giving an inch" over the South China Sea despite tension with Vietnam and other neighbours...

Pentagon Press Conference Turns Into Heated Debate Between Top Generals From US And China

A top Chinese general Thursday strongly defended Beijing's territorial claims over disputed islands in the South and East China Seas and charged that the U.S. rebalance of forces to the Pacific was encouraging unrest in the region.

Gen. Fang Fenghui, chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army, said "the rebalancing strategy of the U.S. has stirred up some of the problems which make the South China Sea and the East China Sea not so calm as before."

Fang warned that China would respond to any attempts by Vietnam, Japan or other neighbors to assert their own claims over the disputed islands and reefs.

"We do not create trouble but we are not afraid of trouble," Fang said at a Pentagon news conference after meetings with Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Dempsey appeared to be slightly irritated as he waited to comment while listening to a long-winded response by Fang on the current dispute with Vietnam over offshore oil drilling rights.

"Thank you for giving me the time to formulate my answer," Dempsey told Fang.

When his turn finally came, Dempsey dismissed Fang's objections to the so-called "Pacific pivot" and said the U.S. was committed to the policy.

(...EDITED)

Business Insider

China blames Vietnam for deadly riots, will not cede inch of disputed territory
By: Phil Stewart and David Alexander, Reuters

WASHINGTON -- China’s top general on Thursday defended the deployment of an oil rig that has inflamed tensions in the disputed South China Sea and triggered deadly protests in Vietnam, blaming Hanoi and saying China cannot afford to "lose an inch" of territory.

General Fang Fenghui also pointed blame at US President Barack Obama's strategic "pivot" to Asia as Vietnam and China grapple with one of the worst breakdowns in relations since the neighbors fought a brief border war in 1979.

Anti-China riots in Vietnam erupted after China's towing of an oilrig into waters claimed by both countries. Up to 21 people have been killed and a huge foreign steel project has been set ablaze.

Fang said some Asian nations had seized on Obama's vows to rebalance military and diplomatic assets to Asia as an opportunity to create trouble in the South and East China Seas.

(...EDITED)

Reuters

 

[CougarKing]

Again with the looming property downturn...

Agence-France-Presse

China goes local to soften hit from property downturn
BY KEVIN YAO

(Reuters) - China will increasingly manage its troubled property sector at a local level as it seeks to avoid sparking either an abrupt slowdown that undermines the economy or another surge in prices, according to government economists involved in policy discussions.

After increasing at double-digit rates through most of last year, home prices started cooling in late 2013 as a sustained campaign to clamp down on speculative investment and easy credit gained traction.

Annual growth in average new home prices slowed to an 11-month low in April, official data showed on Sunday. Existing home prices dropped from a month earlier in 22 of 70 cities in April, compared with 14 in March.

Data last week showed property sales dropped 6.9 percent in the January-April period from a year earlier in terms of floor space, and fell 7.8 percent in terms of value.

Authorities know a severe property crunch could worsen a build-up of debt, but also that a blanket easing of restrictions could set off another round of credit-fuelled house price rises.

"There is no sign that the central government will relax property controls on a nationwide scale even though the economy is slowing," said Zhao Xijun, deputy head of the Finance and Securities Institute at Renmin University in Beijing.

"The pressure is mainly on local governments, because some of their debts are maturing and they need to repay."

Local governments rely heavily on revenues from land sales to fund debts that official data show total 17.9 trillion yuan ($2.9 trillion), so price falls and slowing sales have sparked concerns about their ability to service their debts.

(...EDITED- FULL ARTICLE AT AFP MAIN SITE)

 

[CougarKing]

Another aspect of foreign espionage: industrial/corporate spying.

From REUTERS:

(Reuters) - A U.S. grand jury has indicted five Chinese individuals with cyber espionage charges for allegedly targeting six American companies and stealing trade secrets, the U.S. Justice Department said, publicly accusing China of cyber spying for the first time.

The hackers targeted U.S. companies in the nuclear power, metals and solar products industries to steal information useful to competitors in China, the department said on Monday.

The companies targeted include Alcoa Inc, United States Steel Corp, Allegheny Technologies Inc, Westinghouse Electric Co and U.S. subsidiaries of SolarWorld AG, U.S. officials said.

The hackers also targeted United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied-Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW), officials said.

The hackers targeted U.S. companies in the nuclear power, metals and solar products industries to steal information useful to competitors in China, the department said.

(...EDITED)

 

[CougarKing]

While Washington officials were aware these 5 PLA officers would never have been turned over by China, some say the US did this more to bring public attention/awareness to the issue, as well as make Beijing officials aware that the MSS/PLA may have reached too far.

Reuters

China confronts U.S. envoy over cyber-spying accusations
BY SUI-LEE WEE
BEIJING Tue May 20, 2014 9:19am EDT

(Reuters) - China summoned the U.S. ambassador after the United States accused five Chinese military officers of hacking into American companies to steal trade secrets, warning Washington it could take further action, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.

The U.S. Ambassador to China, Max Baucus, met with Zheng Zeguang, assistant foreign minister, on Monday shortly after the United States charged the five Chinese, accusing them of hacking into American nuclear, metal and solar companies to steal trade secrets.

(...EDITED)

According to the indictment, all five defendants worked with Unit 61398 of the People's Liberation Army ", which had been "hired" by Chinese state-owned companies to provide information technology services" including assembling a database of corporate intelligence. The Chinese companies were not named.

 

[Edward Campbell]

The Financial Times is reporting that there has been another bomb attack in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Autonomous region. The reports says 30+ are dead. This follows hard on the heels of an announcement by Xi Jinping that he would crack down on domestic terrorists ... it will be even tougher to be a Uyghur from now on.

 

[CougarKing]

On the economic front:

Al Jazeera

RUSSIA, CHINA SIGN DEAL TO BYPASS U.S. DOLLAR

In a symbolic blow to U.S. global financial hegemony, Russia and China took a small step toward undercutting the domination of the U.S. dollar as the international reserve currency on Tuesday when Russia’s second biggest financial institution, VTB, signed a deal with the Bank of China to bypass the dollar and pay each other in domestic currencies.

The so-called Agreement on Cooperation — signed in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is on a visit to Shanghai — was followed by the long-awaited announcement on Wednesday of a massive natural gas deal 10 years in the making.

“Our countries have done a huge job to reach a new historic landmark,” Putin said on Tuesday, making note of the $100 billion in annual trade that has been achieved between the two countries.

(...EDITED)

 

[CougarKing]

To think there was a time when defections across the Taiwan Strait were more expected to go the other way...

Taiwan News

Taiwanese remote sensing scientist defects to China

Taipei, May 23 (CNA) Taiwanese Chen Kun-shan, a leading expert on remote sensing technology, has secretly defected to China, the Ministry of Education confirmed Friday. The ministry is expected to hold a meeting soon to approve a decision by National Central University (NCU) to dismiss Chen from his position as a professor, according to Wang Tso-tai, chief secretary of the ministry.


(...EDITED/SNIPPED)

In a front-page story, the Liberty Times cited an intelligence source as saying that Chen's case posed a "serious threat" to Taiwan's national security. As head of the Center for Space and Remote Sensing Research, Chen had access to satellite images covering Taiwan and China's military deployments and was in a category of government employees privy to state secrets and restricted from visiting China, the report said.

 

[tomahawk6]

The PRC has launched an anti-terror operation in Xinjiang region after a bomb killed 43 people at a market.The area is home to the Muslim Uighurs.I guess they dont like the Han Chinese assimilation.