The South China Sea's Gathering Storm
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"Deterrence by punishment"..... Sounds a bit awkward and strange.
IMHO, all those RANDs, Heritage Foundation, etc. try to look like oracles, but often either tell trivial things (that are clear for all who know how to use brains) or make very poor predictions.
Read, e.g. what they were predicting about NK some 10-15 years ago. That it would not be a real threat for US in many decades. Now that known "enfant terrible" uses their papers in toilet.
As for China, the communist regime is doing everything according to long term plans. Not a big deal to calculate what they could build (ships, planes, etc.) with the budget they allocate. Some years ago, their budget to equip Navy sky-rocketed which meant that in some 10-15 years they would be a major player.
IMHO, all those RANDs, Heritage Foundation, etc. try to look like oracles, but often either tell trivial things (that are clear for all who know how to use brains) or make very poor predictions.
Read, e.g. what they were predicting about NK some 10-15 years ago. That it would not be a real threat for US in many decades. Now that known "enfant terrible" uses their papers in toilet.
As for China, the communist regime is doing everything according to long term plans. Not a big deal to calculate what they could build (ships, planes, etc.) with the budget they allocate. Some years ago, their budget to equip Navy sky-rocketed which meant that in some 10-15 years they would be a major player.
In The Times this afternoon:-
Beijing shows off island barracks in disputed South China Sea
Snip:-
Beijing shows off island barracks in disputed South China Sea
Snip:-
China has broadcast footage showing its troops guarding a fortified reef in the South China Sea, leading to protests from countries with competing claims to the disputed territory.
CCTV, the state broadcaster, also revealed aerial images of Fiery Cross Reef in high resolution, confirming that it has been expanded to accommodate a 3,000m runway, a port and barracks.
CCTV, the state broadcaster, also revealed aerial images of Fiery Cross Reef in high resolution, confirming that it has been expanded to accommodate a 3,000m runway, a port and barracks.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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Perfectly acceptable - inside your own territorial limits or EEZ.
Their dream - and all their neighbours’ nightmare....
Their dream - and all their neighbours’ nightmare....
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Well if the Falklands War was famously described as two bald men fighting over a comb I'm not sure what you'd call a fight over Doklam - a place so remote and so bloody useless (unless you are in the yak business) it's not true.
Google it to see the images.......
I guess if you want to fight at Doklam it has the benefit that collateral damage to civilians, civilisation and anything of value will be near zero................
Google it to see the images.......
I guess if you want to fight at Doklam it has the benefit that collateral damage to civilians, civilisation and anything of value will be near zero................
Well if the Falklands War was famously described as two bald men fighting over a comb I'm not sure what you'd call a fight over Doklam - a place so remote and so bloody useless (unless you are in the yak business) it's not true.
Google it to see the images.......
I guess if you want to fight at Doklam it has the benefit that collateral damage to civilians, civilisation and anything of value will be near zero................
Google it to see the images.......
I guess if you want to fight at Doklam it has the benefit that collateral damage to civilians, civilisation and anything of value will be near zero................
I was in a flight of Valiant tankers on Exercise Shiksha that flight refuelled some Javelins out to India in about 1963 because the same thing was going on.
We were, according to Harold Wilson, demonstrating Commonwealth Solidarity.
We were, according to Harold Wilson, demonstrating Commonwealth Solidarity.
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"Death by a thousand cuts. China had the resources to prod and poke wherever it likes, whenever it likes."
They could take a thousand areas like Doklan and it wouldn't affect anyone's strategic integrity - not even India's
Go look at it... not all acreage is of equal value
If they are willing to waste time, manpower and money in the higher Himalayas I'm all for it - far better than building new anti-ship missile sites opposite Taiwan for example.....................
We spent a fortune in the Great Game and it was a total waste.
They could take a thousand areas like Doklan and it wouldn't affect anyone's strategic integrity - not even India's
Go look at it... not all acreage is of equal value
If they are willing to waste time, manpower and money in the higher Himalayas I'm all for it - far better than building new anti-ship missile sites opposite Taiwan for example.....................
We spent a fortune in the Great Game and it was a total waste.
Last edited by Heathrow Harry; 29th Jan 2018 at 14:36.
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The Great Game I was referring to was the British efforts to keep the Russians out of Afghanistan in the days of the Empire................
We did but seeing what happened after 1979 we'd have been better off letting them have the place I think
We did but seeing what happened after 1979 we'd have been better off letting them have the place I think
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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The value of Afghanistan during the “Great Game” in the time of the British Empire was as a buffer zone to keep Russia from interfering in India - the “Jewel in the Crown” - and which it succeeded in achieving.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
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https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/02/chin...china-sea.html
China quietly installed defensive missile systems on strategic Spratly Islands in hotly contested South China Sea
China has quietly installed anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems on three of its fortified outposts west of the Philippines in the South China Sea, a move that allows Beijing to further project its power in the hotly disputed waters, according to sources with direct knowledge of U.S. intelligence reports.
Intelligence assessments say the missile platforms were moved to the outposts in the Spratly Islands within the past 30 days, according to sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The placement of the defensive weapons also comes on the heels of China's recent South China Sea installation of military jamming equipment, which disrupts communications and radar systems. By all accounts, the new coastal defense systems represent a significant addition to Beijing's military portfolio in one of the most contested regions in the world......
China quietly installed defensive missile systems on strategic Spratly Islands in hotly contested South China Sea
China has quietly installed anti-ship cruise missiles and surface-to-air missile systems on three of its fortified outposts west of the Philippines in the South China Sea, a move that allows Beijing to further project its power in the hotly disputed waters, according to sources with direct knowledge of U.S. intelligence reports.
Intelligence assessments say the missile platforms were moved to the outposts in the Spratly Islands within the past 30 days, according to sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The placement of the defensive weapons also comes on the heels of China's recent South China Sea installation of military jamming equipment, which disrupts communications and radar systems. By all accounts, the new coastal defense systems represent a significant addition to Beijing's military portfolio in one of the most contested regions in the world......
A demonstration of maritime 'soft power' as reported on the UK Defence Journal website:
HMS Albion arrives in Brunei for four-day visit
HMS Albion arrives in Brunei for four-day visit
...HMS Albion has already completed a successful port call to the Indonesian capital of Jakarta since arriving in the area, the first visit by a British warship to that nation in nearly seven years and will be hoping to keep that pattern going as it continues its tour of the region.
Speaking in Jakarta prior to their departure for Brunei HMS Albion’s commanding officer, Captain Tim Neild, described the role of his deployment to “work with the UK’s partners to promote peace, security and prosperity in a region that is growing in strategic significance.”
From Brunei HMS Albion will continue heading north towards Japan and the Korean peninsula where it will look to join the work already being undertaken by the frigate HMS Sutherland. Britain’s unprecedented year of naval commitment to the Far East will then be followed up in coming months by HMS Argyll which will arrive later in the year for naval exercises under the auspices of the Five Powers Defence Arrangements.
Speaking in Jakarta prior to their departure for Brunei HMS Albion’s commanding officer, Captain Tim Neild, described the role of his deployment to “work with the UK’s partners to promote peace, security and prosperity in a region that is growing in strategic significance.”
From Brunei HMS Albion will continue heading north towards Japan and the Korean peninsula where it will look to join the work already being undertaken by the frigate HMS Sutherland. Britain’s unprecedented year of naval commitment to the Far East will then be followed up in coming months by HMS Argyll which will arrive later in the year for naval exercises under the auspices of the Five Powers Defence Arrangements.