In this handout photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, a view of a Tu-95 strategic bomber of the Russian air force taxiing before takeoff for a joint air patrol with Chinese bombers at an airbase in an unspecified location in Russia. Russian and Chinese strategic bombers on Wednesday flew a joint patrol over the western Pacific in a show of increasingly close defense ties between the two countries. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
Tag: Chinese armed forces
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Chinese coast guard seizes rocket debris from Filipino navy
MANILA, Philippines — The Chinese coast guard forcibly seized floating debris the Philippine navy was towing to its island in another confrontation in the disputed South China Sea, a Philippine military commander said Monday. The debris appeared to be from a Chinese rocket launch.
The Chinese vessel twice blocked the Philippine naval boat before seizing the debris it was towing Sunday off Philippine-occupied Thitu Island, Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos said Monday. He said no one was injured in the incident.
It’s the latest flare-up in long-seething territorial disputes in the strategic waterway, involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
Chinese coast guard ships have blocked Philippine supply boats delivering supplies to Filipino forces in the disputed waters in the past, but seizing objects in the possession of another nation’s military constituted a more brazen act.
Carlos said the Filipino sailors, using a long-range camera on Thitu island, spotted the debris drifting in strong waves near a sandbar about 800 yards (540 meters) away. They set out on a boat and retrieved the floating object and started to tow it back to their island using a rope tied to their boat.
As the Filipino sailors were moving back to their island, “they noticed that China coast guard vessel with bow number 5203 was approaching their location and subsequently blocked their pre-plotted course twice,” Carlos said in a statement.
The Chinese coast guard vessel then deployed an inflatable boat with personnel who “forcefully retrieved said floating object by cutting the towing line attached to the” Filipino sailors’ rubber boat. The Filipino sailors decided to return to their island, Carlos said, without detailing what happened.
Maj. Cherryl Tindog, spokesperson of the military’s Western Command, said the floating metal object appeared similar to a number of other pieces of Chinese rocket debris recently found in Philippine waters. She added the Filipino sailors did not fight the seizure.
“We practice maximum tolerance in such a situation,” Tindog told reporters. “Since it involved an unidentified object and not a matter of life and death, our team just decided to return.”
Metal debris from Chinese rocket launches, some showing a part of what appears to be Chinese flag, have been found in Philippine waters in at least three other instances. Such discovery of Chinese rocket debris has opened China to criticism.
Rockets launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Center on China’s Hainan island in recent months have carried construction materials and supplies for China’s crewed space station.
The Philippine government has filed a large number of diplomatic protests in recent years against China over such aggressive actions in the South China Sea but it did not immediately say what action it would take following Sunday’s incident. The Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila would usually wait for an official investigation report before lodging a protest.
Thitu island, which Filipinos call Pag-asa, hosts a fishing community and Filipino forces and lies near Subi, one of seven disputed reefs in the offshore region that China has turned into missile-protected islands, including three with runways, which U.S. security officials say now resemble military forward bases.
The Philippines and other smaller claimant nations in the disputed region, backed by the United States and other Western countries, have strongly protested and raised alarm over China’s increasingly aggressive actions in the busy waterway.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is visiting Manila, is scheduled to fly to the western province of Palawan, which faces the South China Sea, on Tuesday to underscore American support to the Philippines and renew U.S. commitment to defend its longtime treaty ally if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under attack in the disputed waters.
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US, others hold joint naval drills amid China concerns
BEIJING — U.S., Japanese, Australian and Canadian warships are currently staging extensive joint drills in Japanese and international waters, the U.S. Navy said Wednesday.
Without mentioning China directly, the 7th Fleet said the two-week biennial “Keen Sword” exercises include scenarios designed to “challenge the critical capabilities required to support the defense of Japan and stability of the Indo-Pacific region.”
Growing Chinese assertiveness is seen by the U.S. and its allies as the key military challenge in the region.
The drills also come as heads of the Group of 20 leading economies were meeting in Indonesia, among other high-profile regional forums.
The G-20 gathering allowed the first face-to-face meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping since Biden took office, leading to hopes of a start of a reduction of tensions that have lately spiked over trade, technology and Taiwan.
The drills include extensive anti-submarine warfare drills, and the guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold fired its 5-inch gun on Sunday as part of live-firing exercises, the 7th fleet said in a statement. Three Japanese destroyers, two Canadian frigates and one Australian destroyer also took part, it said.
Participation by the Australian and Canadian navies this year helped “enhance readiness and interoperability to support the security interests of allies and partners in the region,” it said.
“Regional security is a team effort now more than ever,” Cmdr. Marcus Seeger, commanding officer of the Benfold, said in the statement. “We share a sense of collective resolve. The first wave of crisis response will share the same allies present in this year’s Keen Sword.”
China has the world’s largest navy by number of ships, which it has been using to assert its claim to virtually the entire South China Sea, a crucial route for global trade.
China has eschewed formal alliances but has taken part in some multinational drills on a very limited level. It has established its first overseas base in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti and is believed to be working with Cambodia on establishing another such facility facing the Gulf of Thailand. Both countries have denied the allegation.
China has also signed a security agreement with Solomon Islands, raising concerns that Chinese forces will gain a foothold in the South Pacific.
Mutual exchanges between China and the U.S. have been especially tricky for reasons including deep mutual suspicion and Washington’s support for Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary.
China reacts strongly when the U.S. sails naval ships close to Chinese-held islands in the South China Sea, many of which Beijing has equipped with landing strips and other military facilities.
Attempts to implement agreements on avoiding unexpected incidents at sea and in the air have had limited success, and the U.S. disinvited China from a major biennial exercise known as Rim of the Pacific because of the militarization of its South China Sea islands.
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Australia to block former military pilots flying for China
CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s defense minister said on Wednesday he had told the nation’s military to review secrecy safeguards in response to concerns that Beijing was recruiting pilots to train the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
Defense Minister Richard Marles ordered the review after asking the Defense Department last month to investigate reports that China had approached former Australian military personnel to become trainers.
“In the information that has now been provided to me by Defense, there are enough concerns in my mind that I have asked Defense to engage in a detailed examination about the policies and procedures that apply to our former Defense personnel, and particularly those who come into possession of our nation’s secrets,” Marles told reporters.
Marles declined to say whether any Australian had provided military training to the Chinese.
He said a joint police-intelligence service task force was investigating “a number of cases” among former service personnel.
“What we are focused on right now is making sure that we do examine the policies and the procedures that are currently in place in respect of our former Defense personnel to make sure they are adequate,” Marles said. “And if they are not, and if there are weaknesses in that system, then we are absolutely committed to fixing them.”
Australia‘s allies Britain and Canada share Australia’s concerns that China is attempting to poach military expertise.
Britain’s Defense Ministry last month issued an intelligence alert warning former and current military pilots against Chinese headhunting programs aimed at recruiting them.
Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said authorities will make it a legal offense for pilots to continue with such training activities.
Sky News and the BBC reported that about 30 British former military pilots are currently in China training PLA pilots. The reports said the pilots are paid annual salaries of 240,000 pounds ($272,000) for the training.
Canada’s Department of National Defense was also investigating its own former service personnel, noting they remained bound by secrecy commitments after they leave the Canadian Armed Forces.
The Australian Defense Department will report to the minister by Dec. 14.
Neil James, chief executive of the Australian Defense Association think tank, said Australian laws on on treason, treachery and secrecy protection were convoluted and depended on circumstances.
“For example, it’s pretty hard to charge anyone with treason outside wartime,” James told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
James said there were no circumstances in which former Australian military personnel should be working with the Chinese.
“Most people in the Defense Force would be disgusted if people are actually doing this, because you’re potentially training people to kill Australians in the future,” James said. “That’s just not on. It’s a moral obligation and a professional one as much as it’s a legal one.”