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China tightening grip on Spratlys; merge threads, updates
Topic Started: Jun 25 2012, 06:46 PM (30,279 Views)
MSantor
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Hong Nam
Jun 23 2015, 10:43 AM
China may be trying to hide its submarines in the South China Sea


Aren't many areas of the South China Sea a bit too shallow for the PLA-Navy to use it as a "boomer bastion" for its Jin class SSBNs?
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." - Henry Ford

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."
- Winston Churchill


"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking"- Gen. George S. Patton
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Hong Nam
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Bought by China

MSantor
Jun 23 2015, 11:12 AM
Hong Nam
Jun 23 2015, 10:43 AM
China may be trying to hide its submarines in the South China Sea


Aren't many areas of the South China Sea a bit too shallow for the PLA-Navy to use it as a "boomer bastion" for its Jin class SSBNs?

A common misconception.

The Abyssal plain of the South China Sea, covers a total area of 400 thousand square meters, is located east to the central part of South China Sea. Encompassed by the continental slope or island slope, Bashi Strait boasts a channel of 2000-meter-deep connecting with the Philippines. Stretching in the direction of northeast-southwest direction, Abyssal plain of South China Sea runs up to 1500 kilometers with the broadest area of 820 kilometers. The plain stretches towards southeast part from the northwest with a 3400-meter-depth in the north part while 4200 meters in the south, quite a few parts exceeds 4400 meters in depth.

There are distributed isolated submarine mountains up to 3400-3900 meters high, which is composed of all the isolated peaks dotted in the basin area. There are 27 sea mounts over 1000 meters high as well as more than 20 sea knolls with the heights ranging from 400 meters to 1000 meters on the abyssal plain.

Respectively on the northeast end and southwest end of the abyssal plain lie two deep-water valley floors. At the valley entrance, as at the ends of all submarine valleys, are piled with different abyssal caves. Some of them have been erected to be northeast-toward small scale ridges.


Source



Posted Image


- It is the deepest sea in the world with a recorded depth of 16,456 ft or 5,016 metres. It has a mean depth of around 1,200 metres.


Quote:
 

- The Sunda shelf covering the area between Borneo, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsula (Including the Gulf of Thailand) is a shallow broad trough about 40 metres deep at the periphery and about 100 metres at the centre.

- The deep portion, called the China sea Basin, has a maximum depth of some 14,000 feet or 4,300 metres. Along the eastern side of the basin, the continental shelf falls of sharply near Luzon and Palawan forming the Palawan Trough.

- The Luzon Strait (Bashi Channel), which is the main deep water channel connecting the SCS with the Pacific Ocean has a depth of about 8,500 feet or 2,600 metres.

Global Britannica



And right smack in the China Sea Basin is Reed Bank, Philippine controlled Islands and features - well basically the entire Spratly Island group.



Shown are the depth soundings around some of the Islands and features of concern:
It clearly show a steep drop all round the islands. Most importantly.... It isn't shallow.

Posted Image



Posted Image


Posted Image


If the Ruskies can play tag with the Yanquis at the Reykjanes Ridge... The Chinese can play it here too.


Edited by Hong Nam, Jun 25 2015, 11:38 PM.

Posted Image
Constructions Mecaniques de Normandie - C Sword 90



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MSantor
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It was only a matter of time before Beijing would want to stop one of Manila's key revenue sources:

ABS-CBN

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Malampaya workers fear harassment from Chinese ships

Working at the Malampaya natural gas facility in the waters off Palawan is no easy task: the place is isolated and there's a looming threat from the Chinese. - ANC, The World Tonight, June 26, 2015

(...FULL VIDEO REPORT AT LINK ABOVE)
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." - Henry Ford

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- Winston Churchill


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Bastion
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[ *  * ]
It really is ironic that The Malampaya Gas Fields Funds cannot be used to protect it's account holder because the small Group of Filipino friends of China said so.
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MSantor
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Reuters

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Images show Chinese airstrip on man-made Spratly island nearly finished

(Reuters) - China has almost finished building a 3,000-metre-long (10,000-foot) airstrip on one of its artificial islands in the disputed Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea, new satellite photographs of the area show.

A U.S. military commander had told Reuters in May that the airstrip on Fiery Cross Reef could be operational by year-end, although the June 28 images suggest that could now be sooner.

The airstrip will be long enough to accommodate most Chinese military aircraft, security experts have said, giving Beijing greater reach into the heart of maritime Southeast Asia.

(...SNIPPED)

"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." - Henry Ford

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."
- Winston Churchill


"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking"- Gen. George S. Patton
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MSantor
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I'm not so sure this is a realistic alternative to resolve the SCS/WPS tensions; besides, China was reluctant to send its hospital ship to help the Philippines during the Typhoon Haiyan disaster aftermath

Diplomat

Quote:
 
An HA/DR Solution to South China Sea Tensions
Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief could offer innovative approach to territorial conflict.


China’s extensive land reclamation in the South China Sea poses a challenge to the security environment of the Asia-Pacific. Territorial conflicts are difficult to resolve given complex and deeply rooted sovereignty and historical interpretation issues. However, the essence of the issue is not the Chinese land reclamation itself (many other countries in the region have engaged in land reclamation), but rather the legal and political consequences that could escalate into a security issue, which in turn could destabilize a region that has the potential to drive the world economic growth.

No matter how much international criticism it receives, or how much organized opposition it faces in Southeast Asia, China is likely to continue to expand its physical presence in the region. Given the change in the strategic environment exemplified by the economic development of ASEAN nations, China’s growing clout, and the ambiguity of the U.S. rebalance to the Asia-Pacific, regional stakeholders like the U.S., China, Japan, and South Korea must pursue a new and innovative approach to regional peace and stability.

A new approach would acknowledge China’s land reclamation under the condition of joint usage for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) operations by all stakeholders in the region. What to resolve is not the territorial conflict itself but the increasing mistrust of Chinese behavior, reflected in the use of coercion, intimidation, threats, or force. Allowing sovereignty claims to be debated peacefully is acceptable, but regional stability the stakeholders must discover a means to separate territory utilization from its ownership. This new perspective would involve China more deeply in regional peace and stability.


(...SNIPPED)
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." - Henry Ford

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."
- Winston Churchill


"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking"- Gen. George S. Patton
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ganymede09
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MSantor
Jul 18 2015, 09:35 PM
I'm not so sure this is a realistic alternative to resolve the SCS/WPS tensions; besides, China was reluctant to send its hospital ship to help the Philippines during the Typhoon Haiyan disaster aftermath

Diplomat

Quote:
 
An HA/DR Solution to South China Sea Tensions
Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief could offer innovative approach to territorial conflict.


China’s extensive land reclamation in the South China Sea poses a challenge to the security environment of the Asia-Pacific. Territorial conflicts are difficult to resolve given complex and deeply rooted sovereignty and historical interpretation issues. However, the essence of the issue is not the Chinese land reclamation itself (many other countries in the region have engaged in land reclamation), but rather the legal and political consequences that could escalate into a security issue, which in turn could destabilize a region that has the potential to drive the world economic growth.

No matter how much international criticism it receives, or how much organized opposition it faces in Southeast Asia, China is likely to continue to expand its physical presence in the region. Given the change in the strategic environment exemplified by the economic development of ASEAN nations, China’s growing clout, and the ambiguity of the U.S. rebalance to the Asia-Pacific, regional stakeholders like the U.S., China, Japan, and South Korea must pursue a new and innovative approach to regional peace and stability.

A new approach would acknowledge China’s land reclamation under the condition of joint usage for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HA/DR) operations by all stakeholders in the region. What to resolve is not the territorial conflict itself but the increasing mistrust of Chinese behavior, reflected in the use of coercion, intimidation, threats, or force. Allowing sovereignty claims to be debated peacefully is acceptable, but regional stability the stakeholders must discover a means to separate territory utilization from its ownership. This new perspective would involve China more deeply in regional peace and stability.


(...SNIPPED)
china is more likely to take advantage of natural calamities when it unfortunately happens to us again since our attention and resources will be diverted. so all to more reason to strengthen our garrisons to prevent a very easy and quick territorial grab by them bullies
LET'S RAISE OUR MIDDLE FINGERs TO THE MIDDLE KINGDOM.
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MSantor
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Mandate of heaven? What a LOAD of CR*P!!!!! :headbang:

Diplomat

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Mandate of Heaven: An ADIZ in the South China Sea
Might China seek to amend customary international law in relation to air defense identification zones?


By Roncevert Almond
July 20, 2015

Cabo Verde, an island nation off the coast of West Africa, holds a unique distinction. According to a report issued by the U.S. Congressional Research Service, Cabo Verde is one of just 27 nations (including China) of the 167 states party to the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS) that claim the ability to regulate or prohibit foreign military activity beyond the territorial sea and within an exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The United States has long maintained otherwise: UNCLOS, which established EEZs and reflects existing customary international law, only codified sovereign rights that are related to regulating economic activities within EEZs and are subject to the high seas freedoms, particularly navigation and overflight. As I ambled across the cobble stone streets of Praia, it seemed peculiar that the legal claim of a tiny island nation in the Atlantic Ocean could make waves in the South China Sea (SCS), but such is the dynamic and complexity of this geopolitical flashpoint.

One test of a rising power is its ability to effectively bend international law to legitimize tactical maneuvers and strategic objectives. Customary international law accommodates such an approach given its evolutionary nature and “bandwagoning” propensity (as revealed through state practice and opinion juris). In response, status quo powers are more likely to rely on treaty regimes, which are characterized by rigidity, institutionalization, and contractual consent. In the case of the SCS disputes, China is wielding custom like a sword and shield, while the United States and its Pacific allies seek refuge in the fixed terms and procedures of treaties like UNCLOS.

(...SNIPPED)
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." - Henry Ford

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."
- Winston Churchill


"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking"- Gen. George S. Patton
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MSantor
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Diplomat

Quote:
 
China Should Not Declare New South China Sea ADIZ: Top Chinese Expert
One of the country’s leading experts admits this should be on Beijing’s ‘should not do’ list.


By Prashanth Parameswaran
July 22, 2015

China should avoid unilaterally declaring an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) over the South China Sea in order to help reduce tensions in the area, a leading Chinese scholar said Tuesday.

With growing concerns about China’s extensive land reclamation activities and the further militarization of some of its facilities, some have feared that Beijing will soon impose an ADIZ in the South China Sea similar to the one it declared over the East China Sea in November 2013 (See: “How Close is China to Another South China Sea Airstrip?”). An ADIZ, which would effectively broaden Chinese airspace and impose restrictions on aircraft flying through the zone, would be the latest in a string of assertive moves that would strengthen Chinese sovereignty over the area.

But asked what China should and should not do in the South China Sea, Wu Sichun, head of the influential National Institute for South China Sea Studies in China, told an audience at a think tank conference in Washington, D.C. that Beijing should try not to unilaterally declare an ADIZ. Wu suggested that not doing so would be one way for China to signal restraint and reduce tensions in the South China Sea.

(...SNIPPED)

"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." - Henry Ford

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."
- Winston Churchill


"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking"- Gen. George S. Patton
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MSantor
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China practices invasion drills with its new Zubr class LCACs:

Diplomat

Quote:
 
Beijing Practices Invasion of South China Sea Islands
The Chinese Navy just deployed the world’s biggest hovercraft for an assault drill on Hainan Island.


A host of Chinese landing crafts and assault vehicles were unable to breach the defenses and establish a beachhead on an island during a recent amphibious assault drill conducted in the South China Sea due to “effective measures” by the defending forces, Chinese Central Television (CCTV) lamented, according to defenseworld.net.

All hopes of victory were lost until the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) decided to send in its newest weapon, the Zubr-class air cushioned landing craft (LCAC), a move that (surprise! surprise!) ended up turning the tide and winning the day for the assault force.

“The CCTV report described the exercise as testing the PLAN’s ability to land an amphibious assault force in collaboration with other parts of the armed forces. Screen grabs from the report show what appears to be a PLA Type 99 main battle tank (MBT) emerging from the LCAC,” is IHS Janes 360′s sober assessment of the military drill.

(...SNIPPED)

"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." - Henry Ford

"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm."
- Winston Churchill


"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking"- Gen. George S. Patton
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