The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN)’s East China Sea Fleet has drawn attention in recent years over its growing number of modern destroyers. The destroyer flotilla, as part of the frontline group guarding the East China Sea, conducts regular patrol missions and provides strategic support in political and diplomatic disputes in the area.
Can they adapt to new developments brought by the strategic shifts facing the Chinese navy? The Global Times reporter visited the flotilla recently to hear its stories.
“As a combat troop, the fundamental mission is our ability to win. There is no doubt about our fighting strength,” Xu Haihua, the captain of the flotilla, told the Global Times.
Iron fist in the sea
The flotilla, established early this century, is a relatively young troop. Since its debut, it has guarded the East China Sea and has been dubbed the “iron fist in the sea.”
The flotilla’s equipment and crewmen have been the most elite the PLAN has to offer since its establishment. At that time, the flotilla was equipped with up-to-date destroyers including the Fuzhou and the Hangzhou. Those destroyers were at the cutting edge of PLAN technology in their overall size, firepower, seaworthiness, survivability, and especially in air defense and anti-ship capabilities.
Meanwhile, the founding crewmen were the cream of the crop, though even they faced challenges grasping all the needed operational skills in a short time.
Wang Hongmin, who was among the soldiers who collected the destroyers from Russia and is now the vice chief of staff of the flotilla, told the Global Times that everyone tried to seize each opportunity to communicate with their Russian coaches despite the language barrier and the sheer number of courses.
Xu said that introducing the vessels benefited the navy’s development in many aspects. “First, it boosted our modernization and equipment development; second, we learned a whole new set of skills through operating the vessels; last, we cultivated lots of elite seamen,” Xu said.
Meanwhile, the flotilla changed its commanding vessels from destroyers to frigates, as the new PLAN frigates are equipped with modern command and control information systems. The change reflects the trend that a modern navy should be more information-oriented than mechanization-oriented.
Close combat
Eight Chinese characters that read “Drop illusions and be armed for battle” are on display in the flotilla’s shore camp. New recruits are told that they should be ready for battle once they are enlisted.
Several years ago, the troop went to patrol the sea for the first time, and then this patrol became a regular event. The seamen started to think about how to correctly carry out their superiors’ orders when facing formidable opponents, and how to improve their combat effectiveness during a close encounter, said Lü Dongfang, the flotilla’s commissar.
Xu’s answer was to use missions to boost his troops’ transformation from being training-oriented to being mission-oriented. “First we should make clear what mission the troops are undertaking, and what environment and opponents the troops will face before they receive training on how to defend and attack,” He said.
Not long ago, three destroyers guided by Xu including the newly commissioned Jingzhou conducted training far offshore, of which the main subject was to conduct a long-range attack while cooperating with naval air power.
“We have been conducting regular strategic patrols in the East China Sea for years, which provided strategic support to deal with political and diplomatic frictions in the area,” Xu said.
The support covers many aspects, including investigation and evidence-collecting. To cope with complicated situations in both sea and air, the destroyer Wenzhou amended its investigation and evidence-collecting rules and introduced evidence-collecting into its regular drills.
In a drill scenario involving the provocations of foreign vessels, soldiers on the Wenzhou collected evidence on the target, environment, operating process and paper material, and also recorded videos.
Sailing internationally
The PLAN has proposed a new development strategy of “building the navy with open eyes,” which has led to deepened communication and cooperation with other navies.
Xu said that the PLAN acquired a lot of good experience by communicating with the Russian navy, and for the flotilla, “introducing the destroyers brought lots of progress, including training methods, combat conception and equipment upgrading.”
Missile frigates the Zhoushan, the Xuzhou and the supply ship Qiandaohu went to the Gulf of Aden for an escort mission in July 2009, the first such mission carried out by the East China Sea Fleet.
The Chinese navy is playing a growing role in serving the nation. In February 2011, Wang Hongmin directed the frigate Xuzhou to escort ships evacuating Chinese nationals from war-torn Libya. This was the first time that the Chinese navy went abroad to help evacuate Chinese citizens.
The development of the Chinese navy has attracted the attention of some countries. Xia Zimin, the chief of staff of the flotilla, said that some soldiers were nervous when they first encountered foreign military vessels, but now soldiers know that there are no strong or weak parties. What is behind this change is the growth of comprehensive national and military strength.
Xu said using international rules highlights the soft power and prominence of the Chinese navy, and in the meantime, it also contributes to maritime peace and stability.
www.globaltimes.cn
Need growing for China to take greater military role in Middle East, analysts say
By Kristin Huang in South China Morning Post, Sept 18, 2016 ay 11pm
As China expands its interests in the Middle East, some experts are calling for Beijing to eschew its long-standing policy on non-interference in other countries’ affairs and set up permanent military bases.
A more comprehensive engagement would ensure better protection for Chinese nationals working in the region and the significant investment by Chinese companies there, they said.
Until recently, Beijing’s foreign policy in the Middle East has been overwhelmingly concerned with building relationships with governments while avoiding any overt demonstrations of influence. But that reluctance is fading.
In January, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Saudi Arabia and Iran when the two nations broke off diplomatic ties, in a bid to stay friendly with both sides on the Sunni-Shiite divide. He brought with him US$55 billion in loans and investments for the region, including a US$20 billion fund for the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
China is also taking a greater role in Syria, where Russia and the United States have brokered a fragile truce. Rear Admiral Guan Youfei, director of international cooperation at the Central Military Commission, said last month Beijing would provide Damascus with aid and training.
Observers said the stepped up engagement in the region reflected Beijing’s increasing eagerness to take a stake in global affairs and ensure its construction projects or other investments remained protected in conflict zones.
“The recent sudden increase of Chinese military activity in the Middle East reflects that Chinese policymakers have realised the nation needs to react better to developments in the troubled region,” said Wang Lian, a Middle East affairs expert at Peking University.
Chinese residents living in the region say security risks are always a concern for them and Beijing should take stronger steps to ensure their safety. “Although we received anti-terrorism training before coming here, we are really afraid of unexpected conflicts,” said Cai Guoxin, an engineer at China Huanqiu Contracting and Engineering Corporation in Saudi Arabia. “What if someone rushes into our building and takes us hostage?”
The company, under China National Petroleum Corporation, is extracting phosphorite in Saudi Arabia’s northwestern corner, bordering Jordan to the west and Iraq to the north. The project employed as many as 5,500 people at its peak.
“If there was a special kind of organisation set up to better safeguard our life and property, that would be ideal. The more militarised the organisation, the better,” Cai said.
The shift in engagement comes as China has increased arms sales to the region, although the size pales in comparison to what the US supplies. America continues to dominate the trade, delivering more than 58 per cent of the arms imports between 2001 and 2014, according to a report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. Western Europe was the second largest supplier, and Russia third.
China supplied just 3.5 per cent between 2007 and 2010, according to the institute. But even at that level, the region accounted for a sizeable amount of China’s weapons exports, receiving about 27 per cent between 1970 and 2015, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Zhou Chenming, who worked for a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology
Corporation that he didn’t want named, said Chinese arms were welcomed in some Middle East countries due to their lower price.
“Arms sales to the Middle East is a good business. But problems arise as many Middle East countries do not know how to use Chinese weapons, so the Chinese government has to provide training to countries like Syria, which is also a form of military cooperation,” Zhou said.
Observers said Beijing’s military engagement with the Middle East and North Africa should be more comprehensive, even if that entails a change in diplomatic fundamentals.
While US installations and bases are sprinkled throughout the region, China has only one military facility, in the northeast African nation of Djibouti.
“To shore up protection of overseas Chinese interests, Beijing needs to drop such an obsolete mindset as refusing to send any troops to foreign countries or interfering with other countries internal affairs,” said Li Jie, a Beijing-based military expert.
A mechanism for security responses could ensure Beijing had a window of opportunity to act in the critical hours after events unfolded.
In the absence of that option, many Chinese businesses relied on local government forces for protection, Zhou said.
“But this is neither sufficient nor timely during emergencies, for some Middle East governments are not stable,” he said. http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2020329/need-growing-china-take-greater-military-role-middle
Comments are closed.