The South China Sea's Gathering Storm
In The Times.
US deploys B-52 bombers to Australia as China tensions rise
Click the link for the full article.
US deploys B-52 bombers to Australia as China tensions rise
The US will deploy up to six nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to a base near Australia’s northern coast, in a move that exacerbates tensions with Beijing.
The long-range heavy bombers, which have been operated by the US since the 1950s as part of the country’s strategic strike force and nuclear deterrent, will be stationed at the remote Australian air force Tindal base, about 190 miles south of Darwin, in the country’s Northern Territory.
The Chinese foreign ministry in Beijing criticised the move, saying the deployment “severely destroys regional peace and stability, and could trigger a regional arms race”.
The long-range heavy bombers, which have been operated by the US since the 1950s as part of the country’s strategic strike force and nuclear deterrent, will be stationed at the remote Australian air force Tindal base, about 190 miles south of Darwin, in the country’s Northern Territory.
The Chinese foreign ministry in Beijing criticised the move, saying the deployment “severely destroys regional peace and stability, and could trigger a regional arms race”.
It must be a good idea. China's having a dummy spit.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-...alia/101598442
China slams planned US Air Force deployment of six B-52 bombers to northern Australia
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-...alia/101598442
China slams planned US Air Force deployment of six B-52 bombers to northern Australia
worth pointing out that that is over 4000 km from the nearest point on the Chinese Mainland.
If they were based in Estonia, Romania or Cyprus they'd be closer
If they were based in Estonia, Romania or Cyprus they'd be closer
The original extension of RAAF Tindal was cited for max weight tanker operations ( which could have been done up the road at Darwin) The B52 op’s doesn’t appear to be a recent thought bubble at all. But part of a USAF strategy of dispersing their Pacific bomber operations for which Northern Australia sits perfectly for. As it did in WW2. Staging through Tindal, Darwin & Amberley, the USAF has the SW Pacific & beyond covered. Base hardening and long range SAM’s will be the next move. Most of which will be an Australian responsibility.
Yeah I thats why I dont get the chinese anger at it. Theres a alot easier and closer places to US to stage bombers
The message is right: They create bases - we create bases.
It deepens the area the Chinese have to worry about - which is good
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
New Light-vehicle mounting carrier Swarm weapon system with up to 18 loitering munitions in 🇨🇳Zhuhai Airshow.
The system is allegedly low-cost and modular. It can perform reconnaissance, area control, precision strike, cluster strike and damage assessment missions.
The system is allegedly low-cost and modular. It can perform reconnaissance, area control, precision strike, cluster strike and damage assessment missions.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
About those Chinese artificial islands….
All the hype about so-called "unsinkable aircraft carriers". Ever wondered why each of these outposts is so under-populated considering the infra can hold about a regiment of troops? Fact is that geomorphologically these artificial islands are unstable.…
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1...504396801.html
All the hype about so-called "unsinkable aircraft carriers". Ever wondered why each of these outposts is so under-populated considering the infra can hold about a regiment of troops? Fact is that geomorphologically these artificial islands are unstable.…
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1...504396801.html
Any earth scientist will tell you that artificial islands are unstable - because if God wanted an island there it would be there already . The issue is timing - "soon" to a geologist is normally 100-10,000 years. I'm pretty sure the Chinese would settle for 30. TBH I suspect they'll last longer than those expensive islands like the Palm off Dubai.
And of course in military terms a small N device exploded in the water a few miles away will cause a local tsunami that will solve all our (immediate) problems
And of course in military terms a small N device exploded in the water a few miles away will cause a local tsunami that will solve all our (immediate) problems
Article on the build up to an invasion of Taiwan.
https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/1...iwan-pub-88053
https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/1...iwan-pub-88053
This plus the Russian success with their 'unsinkable' Outpost called Snake Island. Worked really well...
And of course the Japanese holding onto islands right through to 1945 when the US just by-passed them and went for the jugular
they're really sacrificial markers in ongoing, low -level arguments with surrounding countries - in any sort of warm war they're sitting ducks.
they're really sacrificial markers in ongoing, low -level arguments with surrounding countries - in any sort of warm war they're sitting ducks.
Speaking of Islands, VP Harris is visiting the Philippines.
By JIM GOMEZ ASSOCIATED PRESS • November 21, 2022
MANILA, Philippines — The United States is seeking an expansion of its military presence in the Philippines under a 2014 defense pact, U.S. and Philippine officials said, one of the initiatives that will be discussed during Vice President Kamala Harris's visit that focuses on the defense of its treaty ally in the face of China's sweeping territorial claims.
Harris will hold talks with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other officials on Monday during a two-day visit that will include a trip to western Palawan province facing the disputed South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety. She was expected to reaffirm U.S. commitment to defend the Philippines under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty in case Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under attack in the disputed waters.
"The United States and the Philippines stand together as friends, partners, and allies," a statement issued by Harris's aides said. "Now and always, the U.S. commitment to the defense of the Philippines is ironclad."
A range of U.S. assistance and projects would also be launched by Harris to help the Philippines deal with climate change and looming energy and food shortages.
Reuters news agency reported dozens of protesters rallied Monday against the visit by Harris, saying the Philippines should not be dragged into U.S. and Chinese rivalry.
"We don't want our country to be used as a pin board or launching pad of the wars of the United States against China or any other country," Liza Maza, an official of the International League of People's Struggle, told Reuters.
-----skip a bit-----
In 2014, the longtime allies signed the Enhance Defense Cooperation Agreement, which allows larger numbers of American forces to stay in rotating batches within Philippine military camp, where they could build warehouses, living quarters, joint training facilities and store combat equipment, except nuclear arms. The Philippines could take over those buildings and facilities when the Americans leave. After the agreement was signed, the Americans launched construction projects in five Philippine camps and areas, including in the country's south, where U.S counterterrorism forces have helped train and provide intelligence to their Filipino counterparts for years. Many of the projects were delayed by legal issues and other problems, Philippine defense officials said.
US seeks expansion of military presence in Philippines
By JIM GOMEZ ASSOCIATED PRESS • November 21, 2022
MANILA, Philippines — The United States is seeking an expansion of its military presence in the Philippines under a 2014 defense pact, U.S. and Philippine officials said, one of the initiatives that will be discussed during Vice President Kamala Harris's visit that focuses on the defense of its treaty ally in the face of China's sweeping territorial claims.
Harris will hold talks with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and other officials on Monday during a two-day visit that will include a trip to western Palawan province facing the disputed South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety. She was expected to reaffirm U.S. commitment to defend the Philippines under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty in case Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under attack in the disputed waters.
"The United States and the Philippines stand together as friends, partners, and allies," a statement issued by Harris's aides said. "Now and always, the U.S. commitment to the defense of the Philippines is ironclad."
A range of U.S. assistance and projects would also be launched by Harris to help the Philippines deal with climate change and looming energy and food shortages.
Reuters news agency reported dozens of protesters rallied Monday against the visit by Harris, saying the Philippines should not be dragged into U.S. and Chinese rivalry.
"We don't want our country to be used as a pin board or launching pad of the wars of the United States against China or any other country," Liza Maza, an official of the International League of People's Struggle, told Reuters.
-----skip a bit-----
In 2014, the longtime allies signed the Enhance Defense Cooperation Agreement, which allows larger numbers of American forces to stay in rotating batches within Philippine military camp, where they could build warehouses, living quarters, joint training facilities and store combat equipment, except nuclear arms. The Philippines could take over those buildings and facilities when the Americans leave. After the agreement was signed, the Americans launched construction projects in five Philippine camps and areas, including in the country's south, where U.S counterterrorism forces have helped train and provide intelligence to their Filipino counterparts for years. Many of the projects were delayed by legal issues and other problems, Philippine defense officials said.
Chinese coast guard seizes rocket debris from Filipino navy (msn.com)
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — China's coast guard forcibly seized apparent Chinese rocket debris that was being towed by the Philippine navy, in the latest confrontation in the disputed South China Sea, a Philippine military commander said Monday.
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. He said no one was injured in the incident.China denied there was a forcible seizure and said the debris, which it confirmed was from a Chinese rocket launch, was handed over by Philippine forces after a “friendly consultation.”
It was the latest flareup 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 constitutes 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) off shore. They set out on a boat and retrieved the floating object and started to tow it back to the island.
As they were traveling back to the island, “they noticed that a 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 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 that the Filipino sailors did not resist 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.”
In Beijing, China's Foreign Ministry denied that the debris was seized forcibly.
“The Philippine side salvaged and towed the object first. After friendly consultation at the site, the Philippine side returned the object to China, and China expressed appreciation for that,” ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said. “There was no such thing as interception or forcible seizure at the scene.”
Metal debris from Chinese rocket launches, some showing part of what appeared to be a Chinese flag, has been found in Philippine waters in at least three other instances.
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.
China has been criticized previously for allowing rocket stages to fall to Earth uncontrolled. The Philippine Space Agency earlier this month pressed for the Philippines to ratify U.N. treaties providing a basis for compensation for harm from other nations' space debris, and NASA accused Beijing last year of “failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris” after parts of a Chinese rocket landed in the Indian Ocean.
The Philippine government has filed many diplomatic protests against China over 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 forward military 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, was 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 the U.S. commitment to defend its longtime treaty ally if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under attack in the disputed waters.
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. He said no one was injured in the incident.China denied there was a forcible seizure and said the debris, which it confirmed was from a Chinese rocket launch, was handed over by Philippine forces after a “friendly consultation.”
It was the latest flareup 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 constitutes 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) off shore. They set out on a boat and retrieved the floating object and started to tow it back to the island.
As they were traveling back to the island, “they noticed that a 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 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 that the Filipino sailors did not resist 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.”
In Beijing, China's Foreign Ministry denied that the debris was seized forcibly.
“The Philippine side salvaged and towed the object first. After friendly consultation at the site, the Philippine side returned the object to China, and China expressed appreciation for that,” ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said. “There was no such thing as interception or forcible seizure at the scene.”
Metal debris from Chinese rocket launches, some showing part of what appeared to be a Chinese flag, has been found in Philippine waters in at least three other instances.
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.
China has been criticized previously for allowing rocket stages to fall to Earth uncontrolled. The Philippine Space Agency earlier this month pressed for the Philippines to ratify U.N. treaties providing a basis for compensation for harm from other nations' space debris, and NASA accused Beijing last year of “failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris” after parts of a Chinese rocket landed in the Indian Ocean.
The Philippine government has filed many diplomatic protests against China over 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 forward military 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, was 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 the U.S. commitment to defend its longtime treaty ally if Filipino forces, ships and aircraft come under attack in the disputed waters.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
Their failures in, probably, letting Covid loose, and in trying to eliminate it rather than vaccinate against it, may yet bring down the Chinese government - as it is their economy…
I've lived in China for 30 years, and I've never seen such a brazenly open and sustained expression of rage against the PRC govt. WeChat is exploding with protest videos and furious vitriol, and civil disobedience is becoming rampant. This is a serious test of CCP governance.
I've lived in China for 30 years, and I've never seen such a brazenly open and sustained expression of rage against the PRC govt. WeChat is exploding with protest videos and furious vitriol, and civil disobedience is becoming rampant. This is a serious test of CCP governance.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
Most serious moment since Tiananmen in 89. Hard to see the genie get put back in the bottle. A soft touch needed; a hammer much more likely to come next. And then who knows…..
People were shouting: “Down with the Communist Party! “Down with Xi Jinping!” “We want freedom!”
Every of these slogans is enough to send a person to jail for 10 years or even a life risk.…
People were shouting: “Down with the Communist Party! “Down with Xi Jinping!” “We want freedom!”
Every of these slogans is enough to send a person to jail for 10 years or even a life risk.…
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...covid-strategy
Anti-lockdown protests spread in China as anger rises over zero-Covid strategy
Protests against China’s stringent Covid restrictions have intensified, as a wave of civil disobedience triggered by a deadly fire in the far west reached levels in the mainland not seen since Xi Jinping assumed power a decade ago.….
Anti-lockdown protests spread in China as anger rises over zero-Covid strategy
Protests against China’s stringent Covid restrictions have intensified, as a wave of civil disobedience triggered by a deadly fire in the far west reached levels in the mainland not seen since Xi Jinping assumed power a decade ago.….