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| Plans afoot: Rear Admiral Steve Koehler (facing camera), commander CSG-9 of the ‘USS Theodore Roosevelt’, briefing top Philippine generals in international waters off South China Sea. — AP US carrier sails in disputed sea as China displays force ASEAN/EAST ASIA Thursday, 12 Apr 2018 ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (South China Sea): As fighter jets streaked overhead, a US aircraft carrier sailed through the South China Sea in the latest display of America’s military might after China built a string of islands with military facilities to assert its claims in the strategic waters, sparking regional alarm. The US Navy flew a small group of Philippine generals, officials and journalists to the USS Theodore Roosevelt, where fighter jets landed and took off by catapult with thunderous blasts. The nuclear-powered carrier, and its 65 supersonic F18 jets, spy planes and helicopters, was en route to Manila. Recent US deployments of aircraft carriers, backed by destroyers, to perform freedom of navigation exercises to Beijing’s territorial claims are reassuring allies but also prompting concerns with China’s own show of force in the busy waterway … for more, go to https://www.thestar.com.my/news/regional/2018/04/12/us-carrier-sails-in-disputed-sea-as-china-displays-force/ |
Extremely dangerous provocations, mounting military tensions in SCS
KUALA LUMPUR (April 2018): There is no doubt that the rest of the world is aware of mounting in the South China Sea (SCS) between the US and China.
The growing military presence and activities in the SCS is more profound with the ongoing global trade war between the US and China.
Then comes this Reuters report titled “China's first home-built carrier looks set to start sea trials”.
Whether the timing of the news is coincidental or planted by the US or China, the animosity between the world’s top two super powers are for the rest of the world to worry.
The 21st Century Cold War - the US vs China-Russia - is set to be a devastating clash if the tensions and emotions boil over by any one of the three nations.
The question is who is provoking who in the SCS?
On April 12, the AP filed the report titled “US carrier sails in disputed sea as China displays force” and Reuters reported “China's Xi presides over large-scale naval display in South China Sea”.
Now, doesn’t China have the right to be present in the SCS to protect its coast and waters? Even the SCS is named after China!
What business is it of the war-waging US to sail across the globe to be so close to China and expect the Chinese not to be provoked?
I Love Malaysia-China Silk Road is now curious what sort of armoury are stored and fitted in the yet to be named 100% China-made aircraft carrier?
We are sure the US military is equally curious but they must stop “playing with fire” lest they set the world ablaze.
"China's first home-built carrier looks set to start sea trials
WORLD
Monday, 23 Apr 2018
6:14 PM MYT
BEIJING (Reuters) - China first domestically developed aircraft carrier looks set to begin sea trials after pictures appeared on the Chinese internet on Monday of it leaving its dock in the northeastern port of Dalian.
The still-unnamed carrier was launched this time last year but since then has been undergoing fitting of weapons and other systems and has not yet entered service.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is overseeing an ambitious military modernisation scheme, including stealth jets and anti-satellite missiles, as China ramps up its presence in the disputed South China Sea and around self-ruled Taiwan, an island it considers its own.
Online Chinese news portals, including Sina, showed pictures on their sites on Monday of the ship being eased out of its dock by tugs, though it was unclear where it might be heading. Monday is the 69th anniversary of the founding of modern China's navy.
China's Defence Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Pictures of the carrier have been widely leaked on the Chinese internet, with little apparent concern from the government.
State media has previously quoted military experts as saying the carrier, China's second, is not expected to enter service until 2020, once it has been fully kitted out and armed.
Little is known about China's aircraft carrier programme, which is a state secret.
But the government has said the new carrier's design draws on experiences from the country's first carrier, the Liaoning, bought second-hand from Ukraine in 1998 and refitted in China.
The new conventionally powered carrier will be able to operate China's Shenyang J-15 fighter jets.
Unlike the U.S. navy's longer-range nuclear carriers, both of China's feature Soviet-design ski-jump bows, intended to give fighter jets enough lift to take off from their shorter decks. But they lack the powerful catapult technology for launching aircraft of their U.S. counterparts.
The Liaoning has taken part in military exercises, including in the South China Sea and Western Pacific, but is expected to serve more as a training vessel.
Taiwan has said China is actually building two new aircraft carriers, but China has not officially confirmed the existence of another carrier.
Chinese state media has quoted experts as saying that the country needs at least six carriers. The United States operates 10 and plans to build two more.
Most experts agree that developing such a force will be a decades-long endeavour for China but the launch of the second carrier holds a certain prestige value for Beijing, seen by many analysts as keen to eventually erode U.S. military prominence in the region.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Nick Macfie)"
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| China's Xi presides over large-scale naval display in South China Sea Thursday, 12 Apr 2018 10:08 PM MYT BEIJING (Reuters) - President Xi Jinping presided over the Chinese navy's largest-ever military display on Thursday, state media reported, the country's latest show of force in the disputed South China Sea. State broadcaster China Central Television showed footage of Xi boarding the destroyer Changsha before sailing to an unspecified location in the South China Sea and watching the procession, which involved more than 10,000 naval officers, 76 fighter jets, and a flotilla of 48 warships and submarines. Xi told the assembled troops that China's need for a world-leading naval force "has never been more pressing than today" and urged them to devote their unswerving loyalty to the party, before watching through binoculars four J-15 fighter jets take off from the Liaoning, China's sole operational aircraft carrier. He said the People's Liberation Army should work to develop its naval forces, build up modern maritime combat system and strengthen its capability in diversified military missions … for more, go to https://www.thestar.com.my/news/world/2018/04/12/chinas-xi-presides-over-largescale-naval-display-in-south-china-sea/ Exclusive - Satellite images reveal show of force by Chinese navy in South China Sea WORLD Tuesday, 27 Mar 2018 5:23 PM MYT HANOI/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Dozens of Chinese naval vessels are exercising this week with an aircraft carrier in a large show of force off Hainan island in the South China Sea, satellite images obtained by Reuters show. The images, provided by Planet Labs Inc, confirm a Chinese carrier group has entered the vital trade waterway as part of what the Chinese navy earlier described as combat drills that were part of routine annual exercises. The Liaoning carrier group last week traversed the Taiwan Strait, according to the Taiwanese defence ministry. The photos, taken on Monday, show what appear to be at least 40 ships and submarines flanking the carrier Liaoning in what some analysts described as an unusually large display of the Chinese military's growing naval might … for more, go to https://www.thestar.com.my/news/world/2018/03/27/exclusive--satellite-images-reveal-show-of-force-by-chinese-navy-in-south-china-sea/ |
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