China's first Varyag Aircraft carrier is ready for War this July in South China Sea

China is Ready for War

China could begin testing its first aircraft carrier within this second – to 3^rd week of July 2011 and is developing more advanced satellites, reports said on 12^th July, adding to concerns about its expanding military clout amid disputes over the resource-rich South China Sea & West Philippines’ Sea (WPS) in Spratlys.

Beijing has ramped up defense spending over the past few years, replacing outdated equipment and unveiling a slew of cutting-edge technologies, including a prototype stealth fighter and powerful ballistic missiles.

Its first aircraft carrier, a retrofitted ship bought from Ukraine in 1998, is expected to be mainly used for training purposes, a state-run newspaper reported, but others are believed to be in the works.

It has been news that the Varyag is supposed to be launched July 1 to control over the Spratlys in the West Philippines’ Sea (WPS) by whistle blower that leaked the news from intelligence report of Japan and Korea make the sense that neighboring countries noising to call the attention of the US and it is also the reason of their recent activity in the Spratlys as a preparation for the whole take over to the western Philippines’ waters but postpone over the Philippines-US Joint Naval Exercise called CARAT recently in the Sulu Sea.

The former Soviet carrier Varyag, once destined to become a floating casino, is now part of President Hu Jintao's push to modernize the navy.

Chinese military and political sources have said Beijing could launch the carrier this year, as China marks 90 years since the founding of the ruling Communist Party. Such a launch would be a first, exploratory step towards an operational carrier fleet.

"The ... Varyag is expected to serve primarily as a training vessel for pilots and deck crews," the English-language China Daily reported.

It "will begin initial sea trials probably either late this month, in early August or later in the year," the official newspaper added. "It is uncertain when the Varyag will be made operational and where it will be based."

The paper also reported there were "rumors" that another aircraft carrier is being built in Shanghai, but it did not elaborate.

Chen Bingde, chief of the People's Liberation Army General Staff, told the United States top military chief Admiral Mike Mullen who is visiting China that the Varyag was a "very valuable for us to research these things", the China Daily said.

Analysts say that, in practical terms, it will probably take the Chinese navy years to possess a credible carrier operation in Asia's seas, which have largely been the domain of the U.S. navy since World War II (WWII).

The cost of building a medium-sized conventionally powered, 60,000-tonne carrier similar to the Russian Kuznetsov class could exceed $2 billion. China is likely to acquire at least two, sources say.

China’s Military Modernization

The carrier will add to regional concerns about China's military modernization and arms build-up.

In recent weeks, China has been flexing its muscles more aggressively in the South China Sea, where a territorial dispute with the Philippines, Vietnam and several Southeast Asian nations, including Malaysia and Brunei, has festered for years.

China is also working on a ballistic missile that could pose a serious threat to U.S. aircraft carriers, which Washington could deploy to seas around Taiwan in the event of a crisis with the self-ruled island, which China claims as its own territory.

"The missile is still undergoing experimental testing and will be used as a defensive weapon when it is successfully developed, not an offensive one," Chen was quoted as saying.

Use of such missiles would leverage China's growing prowess in developing more advanced satellites, according to a report in October's Journal of Strategic Studies, a copy of which was obtained by the Reuters.

These reconnaissance satellites would enable China to track hostile forces in real time and guide ballistic missiles, enabling Beijing to project power far beyond its shores.

"China's constellation of satellites is transitioning from the limited ability to collect general strategic information, into a new era in which it will be able to support tactical operations as they happen," the report said.

"China may already be able to match the United States' ability to image a known, stationary target and will likely surpass it in the flurry of launches planned for the next two years."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei reiterated China's stance that they are opposed to the militarization of space.

"We believe that space should only be used for peaceful purposes, and to benefit all of mankind," he told a regular news briefing.

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Philippines' move on Spratlys conflict to the United Nations- China rejects

China pronounced rejection July 12, 2011 for Philippines move to raise the Spratlys issue to the United Nations Tribunal for the two nations conflicting claims in the West Philippines’ Sea (WPS) or also known as South China Sea.

“China always maintains that the South China Sea dispute should be resolved… through direct negotiations between directly concerned countries,” foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters.

China’s worry of the United Nation’s Tribunal is that; their based of claim is not accordance with the International Law of Sea and might reject their claim over Spratlys as their sole bases is that they been to the spartlys and the main islands of the Philippines in the ancient times which they even claim that Spratlys and the Philippines is part of China during their old dynasty.

China and the Philippines have overlapping claims to parts of the West Philippine Sea / South China Sea, which is believed to hold vast mineral resources, as do Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, who visited China First week of July 2011, said he called for the dispute to go before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in his meetings with senior officials.

The tribunal is an independent judicial body established by UNCLOS, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to handle disputes.

Speaking to reporters after his visit, del Rosario said he pointed out that the Philippines’ claims over parts of the West Philippine Sea, including the Spratly islands, were “based on international law, specifically UNCLOS”.

Chinese officials however said their claims were based on “historic rights”, the secretary said.

The Philippines and Vietnam have in recent months accused China of taking increasingly aggressive actions in staking its claims in the disputed waters, including an incident where the Chinese allegedly fired on Filipino fishermen.

US, Chinese military officials hold talks on Spratlys row

Top US and Chinese military officials held talks on Monday (July 12, 2011) in a “candid manner” amid tensions in the West Philippine Sea or South China Sea.

State-run Xinhua News Agency released a statement saying that Chen Bingde, chief of the general staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and his U.S. counterpart Adm. Mike Mullen discussed the rising tension in the South China Sea.

“We discussed four major topics, including the South China Sea, the attitude of some U.S. politicians toward China, cyber security and China’s military development,” Chen was quoted as saying after a closed-door meeting with Mullen.

“Both sides exchanged views on those issues in a candid manner,” he said.

Mullen arrived here on Sunday to start his four-day visit.

In his press conference on Sunday, Mullen raised the issue of the South China Sea, where other countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam have protested China’s renewed effort to assert its claim over the disputed territory.

Beijing maintained that the potentially oil-rich Spratly Islands had always been part of their territory.

The Philippines and the US are presently conducting naval exercises near the disputed waters, while Vietnam had just ended a similar exercise in the South China Sea.

Observers said Mullen’s arrival here is a manifestation that the Americans are renewing the call for “freedom of navigation exercise in international waters.”

Mullen said there should be a constant dialogue between US and China’s armed forces to “minimize miscalculation and boost mutual trust.”

Chen said both sides have reached several “common grounds” in their meeting.

“It’s fair to say that we found a lot of common ground while we do have different opinions on certain issues,” he said, adding that the two sides agreed to implement the consensus reached by their heads of state to push forward the development of bilateral military relations.

 

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US- Philippines joint sea drills criticized by China during Mullen Visit

July 11, 2011: A top Chinese military officer on criticized the United States for conducting joint drills with the Philippines’ Navy  in the South China Sea – West Philippines’ Sea (WPS) recently, saying the timing was "inappropriate".

On June 28 to July 8, 2011; the Philippines navy and the US Navy conducted a Joint naval Exercise called CARAT in the Sulu Sea near the West Philippines’ Sea (WPS) as part of their annual exercise.

China’s reaction and criticism to the Philippines-US joint naval exercise might add another weight that China is not just claiming the West Philippines’s Sea but including the Sea in Sulu facing Visayas and Mindanao 2 big islands of the Philippines.

Sulu Sea is not part of the West Philippines’ Sea (WPS) or also called South China Sea which claimed by Both China, Philippines, Vietnam and other ASEAN countries 200 Nautical Miles Exclusive Economic Zone. Every now and then, the of china is slowly penetrating not just in West Philippines’ Sea but the entire sea and island of the Philippines.

Top Chinese Military official said it is it is “inappropriate” "On various occasions, the US has expressed that it does not intend to intervene in South China Sea disputes," General Chen Bingde, chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army, said.

"The US is actually sending out the opposite signal," Chen said.

"We have observed the latest joint exercises between the US and other countries, for example, the Philippines and Vietnam."

Chen was speaking at a news conference after holding talks with Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, who is on a four-day reciprocal visit to China after Chen's trip to the US in May.

Mullen said that the US will maintain its presence in the South China Sea.

The US, Japan and Australia held a joint military exercise in waters near the South China Sea on Saturday, the first of its kind in the area.

The Philippines conducted an 11-day naval exercise with the US close to the South China Sea, which ended on Friday, while Vietnam and the US are scheduled to hold joint naval drills later this month.

Several Asia Pacific nations, including Vietnam and the Philippines, have competing sovereignty claims over the South China Sea, which, historically, has been Chinese territory.

Territorial spats have flared up in the past several months and China has called for the disputes to be resolved bilaterally through peaceful means.

"The timing of these joint exercises is inappropriate, as we see it," Chen said.

Chen also complained about other US moves that have irritated China, such as US planes and warships continuously engaged in spying activities off China's coast and the meeting between several US politicians, including House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, with the Dalai Lama in Washington last week.

"US unmanned aircraft have conducted reconnaissance only 16 nautical miles from China's border. This is very, very close. I hope our American friends can adopt measures in this regard that will fully consider the feelings of the Chinese people," Chen said.

Mullen acknowledged tough challenges to improving military ties and called for more communication as well as "clearer and more pragmatic expectations".

"We need to continue to work toward an understanding as these differences continue to be out there," Mullen said. "That's why it's so important that we have a robust military-to-military relationship."

Chen also said that the US is spending too much on its military in light of its recent economic troubles.

"I know the US is still recovering from the financial crisis," Chen said. "Under such circumstances, it is still spending a lot of money on its military and isn't that placing too much pressure on the taxpayers?"

China's military budget remained at $95 billion this year, while Washington planned $650 billion in defense spending, according to official figures.

Mullen received a high-level reception in Beijing.

On Sunday, he was shown around the Second Artillery Force Headquarters, a strategic missile force that controls the country's nuclear weapons.

"This is an opportunity for communication," Zhao Weibin, a researcher at the Academy of Military Sciences under the PLA, said.

"China and the US have so many common interests and the benefits of cooperation largely outweigh that of competition. A stable East Asia serves the interests of both."

Meng Xiangqing, a professor with the National Defense University, said Sino-US military ties reflect the complexity of the relationship between China and the US.

The US needs to cooperate with China to recover from the financial crisis, while its interests in East Asia require policies that will restrain China. This situation will remain for the foreseeable future, he said.

"Such policies include arms sales to Taiwan and strengthening links with Japan, Australia and Southeastern Asian countries," he added.

Mullen also met Vice-President Xi Jinping on Monday and several high-ranking military officials. He is scheduled to visit army, navy and air force units in Shandong and Zhejiang provinces before leaving for South Korea and Japan on Wednesday.

 

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