The South China Sea NEWS ONLY

[Grey Havoc]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqXV5OLyIfc

 

[Grey Havoc]

Beijing has pierced Washington’s deterrence bubble. How can the US recover?

The Whitsun Reef spectacle lays bare that the United States' continued embrace of a costly, conventional deterrence strategy is alone unlikely to prevent China from achieving many of its security objectives.

www.defensenews.com

 

[bobbymike]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/china-hypersonic-missiles-american-technology/2021/04/07/37a6b9be-96fd-11eb-b28d-bfa7bb5cb2a5_story.html#click=https://t.co/46reszthGj

 

[Grey Havoc]

China’s Message to America: We’re an Equal Now

President Xi Jinping is confronting the Biden administration with a new world view, that Beijing’s decades of not challenging the U.S. as the global leader are over; “no room for compromise” on Taiwan.

www.wsj.com

US and China deploy aircraft carriers in South China Sea as tensions simmer | CNN

Military activity in the South China Sea spiked over the weekend as a Chinese aircraft carrier entered the region and a US Navy expeditionary strike group wrapped up exercises.

edition.cnn.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

Taiwan: 'Record number' of China jets enter air zone

Beijing sends 25 military aircraft into Taiwan as the US warns against an 'increasingly aggressive' China.

www.bbc.com

 

[aonestudio]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1381901493037539329

View: https://twitter.com/MoNDefense/status/1381901493037539329

Launch of a new amphibious transport dock by Taiwan

The Taiwanese Navy's new amphibious transport dock, the Yushan, was launched at Kaohsiun.

www.navyrecognition.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49M5R0LjPvU

 

[sferrin]

China tests Biden resolve with pressure on Japan, Taiwan, Philippines

China is stepping up provocative activities targeting regional American allies in Asia in recent days, with an escalating number of military flights around Taiwan and the massing of more than 200 fishing ships near a disputed Philippines reef.

www.washingtontimes.com

"Fishing ships"

 

[Grey Havoc]

Naval trawlers and Q-ships/spyships by any other name.

 

[Grey Havoc]

From a few days ago:

U.S. And Chinese Carrier Groups Mass In The South China Sea

The northern reaches of the South China Sea have become very busy as of late with two U.S. carrier groups and one Chinese carrier group in the region.

www.thedrive.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

Don't play with fire on Taiwan, China tells U.S.

USA-TAIWAN/DIPLOMACY (UPDATE 1):UPDATE 1-Don't play with fire on Taiwan, China tells U.S.

news.trust.org

U.S. spy chiefs warn of 'unparalleled' China threat in return to Congress

USA-SECURITY/ (PIX):U.S. spy chiefs warn of 'unparalleled' China threat in return to Congress

news.trust.org

China is Paying a High Price for Its Ban on Australian Coal

By Clyde Russell LAUNCESTON, Australia, April 9 (Reuters) – China is paying a high price for its unofficial ban on coal imports from Australia, with the cost of domestic and...

gcaptain.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

HMS Queen Elizabeth will steer clear of provoking China on first major voyage

Senior Tories urge government to 'rethink journey' as it is revealed Navy's new aircraft carrier will not sail through the Taiwan Strait

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[Grey Havoc]

Taiwan launches new amphibious vessel with anti-ship missiles

Unusually for a landing platform dock, the Yu Shan is fitted with a pair of missile launchers believed to be capable of holding eight indigenous Hsiung Feng II anti-ship or 16 Hai Chien naval surface-to-air missiles, giving the ship a combat capability.

www.defensenews.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

First spotted over at SNAFU:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1384249319780339720

View: https://twitter.com/Telegraph/status/1384249319780339720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1384249319780339720%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.snafu-solomon.com%2F


Full story in case the tweet glitches:

New Zealand pushes aside Five Eyes to pursue closer ties with China

South Pacific nation puts itself at odds with UK and others in intelligence-sharing network by pursuing closer ties to the Communist state

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[Foo Fighter]

How is that considered news?

 

[bobbymike]

Taiwan says seeking long-range cruise missiles from U.S.

Taiwan is seeking to acquire long-range, air-launched cruise missiles from the United States, a defence official said on Monday, as the Chinese-claimed island bolsters its forces in the face of increasing pressure from Beijing.

www.reuters.com

 

[bobbymike]

China to US: Back Off and Calm Down

Foreign Minister Wang Yi just delivered a raw, propaganda-tainted rebuke of Washington’s leaders for stoking “fears” of China’s rise.

www.defenseone.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

Via the Geopolitics reddit:

Australia cancels belt and road deals; China warns of further damage to ties

China's embassy in Australia voiced its "strong displeasure and resolute opposition" to the cancellations late on Wednesday.

www.hindustantimes.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

Again via the same reddit:

Beijing’s Military-Heavy Approach to Taiwan Locks the US and China in a Security Dilemma

Beijing’s non-military options for coercing Taiwan are showing dwindling returns, meaning China is increasingly using military signaling to respond to any perceived provocation.

thediplomat.com

 

[TomcatViP]

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Corp. was awarded a $138 million contract modification for the development and fielding of capabilities for the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System and AGM-88 High Speed Anti-radiation Missile; improvements in radar software maturity; an update to the Data Acquisition System; and Advanced Identification Friend or Foe for the Taiwan Retrofit Program F-16 Block 20 fleet, the Department of Defense announced.

Lockheed Martin to provide Taiwanese Air Force with improved AGM-88 missiles

The U.S. Department of Defense had announced the contract, a modification to a previous award, for Peace Phoenix Rising 2 (PPR2) program of the Taiwanese Air Force, also known as the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF). Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Corp. was awarded a $138 million contract...

defence-blog.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

Australia security official warns staff of 'drums of war'

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A senior Australian security bureaucrat warned his staff that free nations “again hear the beating drums” of war, as military tensions rise in the Asia-Pacific region.

apnews.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

Taiwan's new coast guard flagship to counter China's 'grey-zone' threat

Taiwan commissioned into service a new coast guard flagship on Thursday to help counter China's "grey zone" war tactics against the island. Taiwan's civilian-run coast guard, which would operate as a branch of the navy during wartime, is often involved in confrontations with Chinese fishing and...

ca.news.yahoo.com

China says US increasing military activity directed at it

BEIJING — Activity by U.S. military ships and surveillance planes directed toward China has increased significantly under President Joe Biden's administration, a spokesperson for the Chinese Defence Ministry said Thursday. As an example, Wu Qian said the Navy destroyer USS Mustin had recently...

ca.news.yahoo.com

 

[bobbymike]

China's launch of new assault ship raises fears

The type 075 amphibious assault ship Hainan is now China's largest, and most ambitious project in the PLA Navy.</p> <p>With an estimated displacemen

menafn.com

 

[bobbymike]

China Features Heavily in the Army’s Next Big Emerging Tech Experiment

The Army’s connect-everything experiment is about to get much bigger, and looks across the Pacific.

www.defenseone.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

From a few days ago:

Biden spy chief: China would find change in US policy toward Taiwan ‘deeply destabilizing’

Beijing would find it “deeply destabilizing” if the United States were to explicitly state it would come to Taiwan’s defense in the event of a Chinese invasion, the Biden administration’…

thehill.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

Beijing’s ‘Little Blue Men’ spread across South China Sea as Britain sends strike group

Maritime militia have been secretly embedded into China’s fishing fleet to intimidate and squeeze out rival claimants to the waters

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[Grey Havoc]

Bloomberg - Are you a robot?

 

[Grey Havoc]

From yesterday:

US vows to approach Taiwan with 'clarity and resolve'

Biden national security adviser warns against unilateral changes to status quo

asia.nikkei.com

All at sea, I fear.

 

[Grey Havoc]

Global microchip shortage has China eyeing Taiwan

One hundred miles off the coast of China is the largest and most sophisticated microchip maker in the world – Taiwan. These chips power the world's cars, phones, and computers.

www.foxbusiness.com

 

[dannydale]

Global microchip shortage has China eyeing Taiwan

One hundred miles off the coast of China is the largest and most sophisticated microchip maker in the world – Taiwan. These chips power the world's cars, phones, and computers.

www.foxbusiness.com

I thought China always wanted TSMC.

 

[Grey Havoc]

On a darkly hilarious note:

New Zealand’s Ardern says differences with China becoming harder to reconcile

Differences between New Zealand and its top trading partner China are becoming harder to reconcile as Beijing's role in the world grows and changes, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday.

www.reuters.com

Ardern has made her own grave, now she will have to go lie in it.

 

[Grey Havoc]

I thought China always wanted TSMC.

Yes, though to varying degrees over the years. During the late 2010s for example there were a number of PRC government backed attempts to create domestic counterweights to TSMC which were intended to ultimately supplant the latter on the global market altogether. Those plans haven't worked out, to put it mildly.

 

[TomcatViP]

Myanmar:

Myanmar's anti-junta unity government says forming defence force

Myanmar's National Unity Government, set up by opponents of army rule, said on Wednesday it had formed a "people's defence force" to protect its supporters from military attacks and violence instigated by the junta.

www.reuters.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

Looks like civil war then. It will be interesting to see just which way the PRC will jump, given that they have being steadily losing influence over Burma to the Russians in recent times.

 

[Grey Havoc]

China 'indefinitely' suspends key economic dialogue with Australia

The announcement is the latest in a growing diplomatic rift between both countries.

www.bbc.com

 

[TomcatViP]

Symphony of destruction, construction: Airmen practice rapid runway repair in Tokyo

www.stripes.com

 

[Grey Havoc]

China plans to revive strategic Pacific airstrip, Kiribati lawmaker says

China has drawn up plans to upgrade an airstrip and bridge on one of Kiribati's remote islands about 3,000km southwest of Hawaii, lawmakers told Reuters, in a bid to revive a site that hosted military aircraft during World War Two.

www.reuters.com

On a related tangent:

General: China’s Africa outreach poses threat from Atlantic

China is moving behind-the-scenes toward establishing a major naval port on the west coast of Africa that would host Chinese submarines and aircraft carriers capable of projecting Beijing’s military power directly into the Atlantic, a top U.S. military official warned on Thursday.

www.washingtontimes.com

 

[Foo Fighter]

Seems we are another step towards a shooting match, not something I really want to see tbh.

 

[DrRansom]

China isn't aiming at regional power, it wants to Rule the Waves and the rest with it.

 

[Grey Havoc]

China Bans Some Australian LNG Cargoes

By Stephen Stapczynski (Bloomberg) At least two of China’s smaller liquefied natural gas importers have been told to avoid buying new cargoes from Australia, a further example of the impact...

gcaptain.com