Saturday, May 15, 2010

Game Changer?

For eons, the Red China Navy has been not unlike a glorified Coast Guard of sorts.

And that is sooo last millennium!

Check out the world's oldest and most biggest Collectivist regime's desires for more

"In order to defend China's territory and sovereignty, and secure its maritime rights and interests, the navy decided to set its defense range as the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

"This range covered the maritime territory that should be governed by China, according to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, as well as the islands in the South China Sea, which have been its territory since ancient times."


Whoa!

"To discourage the U.S. or any other foreign navy from intervening in Beijing's declared sphere of influence around Taiwan and in the South and East China Seas in a crisis, Chinese military strategists have developed a set of weapons and tactics to deny hostile forces access. Among the weapons are submarines that are increasingly difficult to detect and an array of long-range anti-ship missiles that are increasingly difficult to defend against.

"The latter include what would be the world's first operational ballistic missile and maneuverable warhead guided by satellite and land-based over-the-horizon radar to strike aircraft carriers at up to 12 times the speed of sound far out at sea. U.S. military officials and analysts regard it as a serious threat to American naval operations in the Western Pacific.

"U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on May 3 warned that "the virtual monopoly the U.S. has enjoyed with precision guided weapons is eroding — especially with long-range, accurate anti-ship cruise and ballistic missiles that can potentially strike from over the horizon."

"China's anti-ship ballistic missile, with a range of 1,500 km, would be fired from mobile launchers on land. Adm. Robert Willard, the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, told Congress in March that China was "developing and testing" the missile.

"He added that it was "designed specifically to target aircraft carriers." Gates said that such a weapon could potentially put at risk a modern nuclear-powered U.S. carrier with a full complement of the latest aircraft — an asset worth as much as $20 billion.

"He added that a combination of lethal missiles and stealthy submarines "could end the operational sanctuary our navy has enjoyed in the Western Pacific for the better part of six decades."

"It is not the first time that Gates has spoken about this threat. Last September, he said that China's "investments in anti-ship weaponry and ballistic missiles could threaten America's primary way to project power and help allies in the Pacific — particularly our forward bases and carrier strike groups."

"The U.S. Naval Institute cautioned a year ago that "the mere perception that China might have an anti-ship ballistic missile capability could be game-changer, with profound consequences for deterrence, military operations and the balance of power in the Western Pacific."

Pic "Future Game Changer"

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi.
Very good topic!
Keep up the good work!
have a great Week-end.

Peter said...

China once had a blue water Navy and merchant marine, the rise of England, Spain and Portugal as seafaring nations ended that, away back when. China's rulers have wanted that back ever since.

Trouble is, I don't really think China's present rulers have thought their ideas through. Submarines and shore to ship missiles cannot really project power the way a carrier battle group can. They can only prevent someone else from projecting power. A CBG can protect the sea lanes, a submarine can only close them. A CBG can lurk, just over the horizon and keep a city-state's rulers worried about trying to close a choke point, a ballistic missile can only kill everyone. If China ends the Pax Americana in WesPac she will regret it for generations.