Thursday, May 31, 2012

Photo of the day: J-20 2002's head up display

Just in case you might get confused, only one bird below is the J-20

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

4th 056 hull emerges

As Guangzhou HuangPu's Type 056 getting ready to launch, the silhouette a 056 hull under construction emerges.   This marks four known 056 hulls thus far. As for the speculation on how many 056s the China navy will eventually procure, it it anyone's guess at this point.


Photo of the 3rd hull (left) taken on May 19th at Shanghai Hudong Shipyard together with the pre-launched 1st hull (right)


Photos taken today at Guangzhou HuangPu with silhouette of the fourth hull showing.






056 Class Corvette Project Update

http://china-defense.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2012-05-24T22:49:00-07:00

According to folks from Hudong Shipyard in Shanghai, the lead boat of the 056 Class Corvette will be launched "within days".  Given Hudong's track record, this should come as no surprise.  



Second boat from Guangzhou HuangPu shipyard is not far behind




Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Could this be the first photos of Type 056 light corvette under construction?

We will know soon enough.


MSA 74 to the left, Type 054A number 15 (17th overall) at the right,  Type056 in the middle?
  Guangzhou's Huangpu Shipyard


Photos taken from Shanghai 






Cambodian, Chinese defense ministers ink military cooperation pact





PHNOM PENH, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Tea Banh and Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie on Monday signed a military cooperation agreement in Phnom Penh.


Under the deal, signed after a one-hour meeting between the two ministers, China will continue receiving Cambodian military personnel for training in China, Tea Banh told reporters after the signing ceremony at Cambodia's defense ministry.


Tea Banh said Liang's visit would strengthen and expand friendship and traditional relations and cooperation between Cambodia and China in all fields, especially the military sector.
"Cambodia and China have close and invaluable cooperation," he said. "Chinese assistance is greatly contributing to building Cambodian army's capacity in national defense."

During the meeting, Tea Banh reiterated Cambodia's stance to support the "one-China" policy forever and the two ministers also pledged to support each other on the international arena.
Liang said that China saw Cambodia as a close and honest friend and China would continue supporting Cambodia in military capacity building, military training schools and hospitals.

Liang arrived here on Sunday for a four-day official visit. Besides meeting with Tea Banh, he is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Prime Minister Hun Sen and to visit the Angkor Archeological Park, one of the world heritage sites, in Siem Reap province.

According to Tea Banh, Liang will also hold a 30-minute consultative meeting with ASEAN defense ministers on Tuesday evening in a bid to build closer cooperation between China and southeast Asian countries and to explain China's stance on the South China Sea issue. 


Sunday, October 25, 2009

Cambodia's Chinese Weapon on Parade.

Soldiers of the 70th Royal Cambodian Brigade celebrated the 15th anniversary of its establishment with a parade attended by Prime Minister Hun Sen. The parade also provided a glimpse into the Royal Cambodian Army's inventory of Chinese weapons.

Since 1997, China has became the biggest source of military aid to Cambodia, contributing more than 5 million U.S. dollars a year. A large sum by the Cambodian standard. China also facilitated the construction of the High Command HQ on National Highway 4, commissioned a Combined Arms Officer School in Kampong Speu province and other military projects. China also sponsors 40 Cambodian officers to study in China on a yearly basis.

As always, there is "no strings attached" with all those Chinese military aid.

PF89 Light Anti-tank Weapon


Type 56 assault rifle




FN-6/FN16 MANPAD





Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Cambodia demos their Type83 122mm (BM-21 "Grad" clone) MRL.

As the PLA slowly phases out this dated 122mm Multiple Rocket Launcher, it has phased its way into the Royal Cambodian Army.  It's noteworthy that a number of Chinese 122mm MRL systems were also imported by the Royal Thai Army during the 1980s.  Just hope they don't shoot at each other in their current stand off (here) with the same rocket.










Monday, May 28, 2012

LSM 966 decommissioned.

Unlike her LSM 978 she is to be scrapped near pier number 2 at Zhanjiang, the same spot where her sisters of the 2nd landing ship squadron LSM 958 and LSM959 met the same fate in 1998.




Friday, February 19, 2010

LSM 978 decommissioned.

LSM978, a Type079 Yulian class LSM, was decommissioned on January 14, 2010 in a ceremony at the Haikou Naval Base before heading to the Naval Museum in Sanya. (here)

LSM978 was built in January 1980 by the Huangpu Shipyard in Shanghai and commissioned into the South Sea Fleet in January 1981.  It was a rather small LSM by today's standard with a capacity for only 5 tanks or 8 vehicles.





It's sister ship, LSM 959

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Will Republic of China Join the South China Sea Fray?


In response to larger number of intrusions by the Vietnamese fisherman, the Republic of China is stepping up its military deployments in the South China Sea islands under their control.   However, the idea of a joint ROC-PRC initiative on the South China Sea is not on the table for now.



Taiwan sets up airborne unit for Spratlys
Agence France-Presse
3:16 pm | Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/35497/taiwan-sets-up-airborne-unit-for-spratlys


TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s defence ministry said Wednesday that it has formed a special airborne unit capable of scrambling to the contested Spratly islands in just hours, as tensions in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) mounted.

The unit has been set up under a plan named “airborne fast response and maritime support” which was unveiled for the first time in a report by the ministry to parliament, officials said.

No details of the unit, such as its size, were released to the public, but local media said that if needed, it can arrive on Taiping Island, the biggest in the disputed waters, onboard C-130 transport planes within four hours.

Despite protests from other countries with claims in the area, Taiwan in 2006 built a 1,150-metre (3,795-foot) runway on the fortified island, which is about 860 miles (1,376 kilometres) away from Taiwan.

Also on Wednesday, Taiwan’s coastguards said its troops stationed on Taiping will be armed with mortars with a range of 6,100 metres (20,000 feet), nearly doubling the range of mortars currently in use.

The moves come as an increasing number of Vietnamese fishing boats have been reported by Taiwan authorities to intrude into the restricted waters of Taiping.

The number of intruding Vietnamese boats surged to 106 last year, up from 42 the previous year, according to the coastguards, which added 41 Vietnamese fishing vessels had intruded into the waters in the four months to April.

Tensions in the West Philippine Sea have risen recently, with China and the Philippines locked in a maritime dispute over Scarborough Shoal (Panatag Shoal), a reef off the Philippine coast.

The tensions began when Chinese maritime vessels blocked the Philippine navy from arresting the crews of eight fishing vessels which had entered the area.

Taiwan, Vietnam, Brunei, China, Malaysia, and the Philippines claim all or part of the potentially oil-rich Spratlys.

All claimants except Brunei have troops based on the archipelago of more than 100 islets, reefs and atolls, which have a total land mass of less than five square kilometres (two square miles).



Taiwan will not work with China on South China Sea issues: official
2012/05/21 15:32:32


http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?Type=aALL&ID=201205210010

Taipei, May 21 (CNA) It is impossible that Taiwan will cooperate with China on issues related to the disputed South China Sea region at present, an official told lawmakers Monday.

"We will not cooperate with China on such issues at present," National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai De-sheng said, when asked on the possibility of Taiwan-China collaboration to address disputes in the region, which is seeing growing tensions.

How Taiwan should respond to any flare-up in the South China Sea was the focus at the Legislature's Foreign and National Defense Committee meeting, during which Tsai fielded many questions from lawmakers across party lines.

Recent confrontations in the region include an ongoing standoff between China and the Philippines that erupted on April 10 over the Scarborough Shoal off the coast of the Philippines.

Asked by opposition Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ming-wen on whether Taiwan would help China in the event of conflict in the region, Tsai dismissed such a possibility.

"It is impossible at the moment," Tsai said, adding that Taiwan has advocated that disputes over islands in the South China Sea should be resolved peacefully.

Tsai added that countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines have also asked Taiwan not to cooperate with China on South China Sea issues.

Tsai also said the bureau is aware of the recent visit by Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Fu Ying to the South China Sea area.

Meanwhile, ruling Kuomintang Legislator Lin Yu-fang said there was a trend of more and more Vietnamese ships entering the restricted waters near Taiwan-controlled Taiping Island recently.

Citing it as a sign of Vietnam's growing aggression amid competing claims in the region, Lin urged the government to establish permanent infrastructure on Ban Than Reef, which is near Taiping, to further defend Taiwan's sovereignty.

In response, Tsai said he backed any measure to safeguard Taiwan's territory.

The bureau has also been closely monitoring situations near Taiping recently by taking more satellite images, he added.

Taiping Island is the largest of the Spratly Islands, which lie about 1,600 kilometers southwest of Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan.

Taiwan also controls Pratas Island, which is located 450 km off Taiwan's southwestern coastline.

The South China Sea region, thought to be rich in oil deposits and marine biodiversity, is claimed either entirely or in part by Brunei, China, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines.

(By Elaine Hou)
ENDITEM/npw




Not enough police in China!

As concluded by a recent CCTV report on policing in China: where apparently criminals are allowed to roam freely