As we've documented again and again (and again and again), China's military buildup in the Pacific, particularly surrounding the Spratly Islands, a collection of small islands, cays and atolls in the South China Sea, is one of the greatest long-term risks to peace and stability in the US and many of China's neighbors, who have territorial claims in the region that may conflict with China's.
While the trade disparity between the US and China has garnered most of the attention in the press since then-candidate Trump began railing against the world's No. 2 economy during the early days of his campaign, military commanders and other experts have repeatedly warned that a military conflict in the region over the coming decades is looking increasingly unavoidable.
Roughly two weeks ago, satellite images showed China had deployed its only aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, for a series of live-fire drills in the South China Sea (the ship was flanked by 40 other warships and submarines) - an unprecedented exercise of naval force that immediately prompted a US response (not to be outdone, the Navy sent three aircraft carrier battle groups to the region to try and check Beijing's influence).
Those drills took place between March 24 and April 5, and were aimed at improving the Navy's conflict-readiness - though Beijing insisted they weren't intentionally targeted at any one country. They followed a series of aerial exercises earlier this year involving Su-35s and H-6s over the South China Sea - another unprecedented escalation. Taken together, these are China's largest military exercises to date.
Improving the People's Liberation Army's capacity for US-style joint combat operations - involving all the armed services - is one of the main goals of a four-year military-restructuring plan authorized by Xi Jinping.
Amid all of this, the US has engaged in at least one military escalation of its own: The US has already carried out two "freedom of navigation" - or "freeop" - missions in the area. These exercises entail sending a US destroyer or some other warship to sail within 12 miles of the Spratly Islands. That's compared with four freeops for all of last year. They're meant to assert the US's right to travel freely in the South China Sea, but they've reportedly angered Beijing.
Now, in the latest galling assertion of its dominance over the region, the Wall Street Journal has reported that China installed equipment on two Spratley outposts capable of scrambling military communications and radar systems used by US ships - a clear rebuke to the US and China's neighbors.
The Chinese leadership is sending a clear message to the US: Despite what you might believe, you don't have the "freedom" to navigate in the South China Sea. The scrambling technology will strengthen China’s ability to assert its extensive territorial claims in the region, while hindering US military operations in a contested region that includes some of the world’s busiest shipping routes.
A US official confirmed to WSJ that "China has deployed military jamming equipment to its Spratley Island outposts." Furthermore, the equipment was likely installed during the last 90 days.
The U.S. assessment is supported by a photo taken last month by the commercial satellite company DigitalGlobe and provided to The Wall Street Journal. It shows a suspected jammer system with its antenna extended on Mischief Reef, one of seven Spratly outcrops where China has built fortified artificial islands since 2014, moving sand onto rocks and reefs and paving them over with concrete.
China’s Defense Ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The US's biggest concern regarding China's Spratleys presence is that building outposts on the islands is allowing it to control crucial trade routs, consolidate its claims to the South China Sea, reduce the US's capability to defend Taiwan and enable the People's Liberation Army to launch an attack or counterattack with little or no warning.
Beijing claims "indisputable" sovereignty over all South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters and demarcates its claims with a U-shaped line stretching from the Chinese coast almost as far south as Malaysia.
China says its island-building is for defensive purposes only, but the activity has stirred fears that it could use the outposts to enforce territorial claims that overlap with those of Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam, as well as the Philippines, which is a U.S. treaty ally. In the last year or so, China has tried to smooth relations with other claimants while continuing work on the islands.
Three of its outposts in the Spratlys—Fiery Cross Reef, Mischief Reef and Subi Reef—now feature 10,000-foot runways, hangars for fighter planes, ammunition bunkers, barracks and deep-water piers for ships.
While Chinese military personnel are at the Spratly outposts and Chinese ships dock there, China has yet to station ground units or fighter planes on the artificial islands, U.S. officials say. Nor have surface-to-air missiles or antiship cruise missiles been deployed in the Spratlys, though spots to install such weapons have been prepared, U.S. officials said.
But China’s ability to quickly shift military assets to the outposts is a serious concern for the Pentagon since it could enable China to control vital trade routes, exclude other claimants from disputed areas and interfere with the U.S. military’s plans to defend Taiwan.
"China has built a massive infrastructure specifically—and solely—to support advanced military capabilities that can deploy to the bases on short notice," Adm. Harry Harris, the head of the U.S. Pacific Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee last month.
According to U.S. intelligence, the new jamming equipment was deployed within the past 90 days on Fiery Cross Reef and Mischief Reef.
China has been building up its military presence in the area since Beijing deployed HQ-9 surface-to-air missiles and J-11B jet fighters in the disputed Paracel Islands back in 2016. Those islands are about 500 miles north of the Spratlys. Recently, Beijing established a Southern Theater Command to supervise Chinese forces responsible for controlling the South China Sea.
But aside from bulking up its military forces, China's escalation in the region has served a political purpose as well.
Timothy R. Heath, a senior analyst at the Rand Corporation, said that while the main purpose of the exercise was to improve the readiness of China’s forces, it was also sending a political message.
"To Chinese domestic audiences, Beijing is signaling strength and readiness to defend the country’s interests, which may bolster nationalist support for the government," Mr. Heath said. "To the region and the United States, Beijing is signaling that it has been acting with restraint, but that it is willing to meet confrontational policies with its own confrontational policies."
Maj. Gen. Jin Yinan of China’s National Defense University said the South China Sea drills weren’t connected to the recent U.S. deployment of three aircraft carriers to the region. The USS Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Singapore last Monday. The USS Carl Vinson visited Vietnam last month and did joint exercises with Japan in the South China Sea. The USS Ronald Reagan is currently based in Japan.
"Even if all three carriers came to the South China Sea, what about it?" Gen. Jin told state-run China National Radio. U.S. carrier operations in the area gave China a chance to study their operations and their radar and other electronic signals, he said.
"What else can you do apart from a show of strength? Can you attack me? Do you dare to open fire?" he said.
Given all this, the fallout from another yuan devaluation appears inconsequentially mild.
Comments
Just get it over with. I'm so sick of this fucking shit. Kick us right in the nuts, China. I don't care...I'm waving the fucking white flag already....Just get me out of this fucking declining shit soceity
Fixed it for you.
So what's wrong with that? As the US government is the greatest threat to humanity, I think China is doing the right thing.
Hopefully those scramblers can induce US naval vessels to run into each other instead of running into harmless freighters.
In reply to Just get it over with. I'm… by Labworks
I fail to see how this is the US' business. Oh, Empire, right. Gotcha.
In reply to … by Shemp 4 Victory
they are so effective that even Chinese planes can't find the islands.
In reply to I fail to see how this is… by dirty fingernails
lol...its also never a good idea to be manning a fixed position in a mobile war.
Just ask an old, stuck up, over confident Frenchman ;-)
In reply to they are so effective that… by two hoots
In Direct Rebuke To US, China Installs Radar Scramblers On Spratly Islands
TRANSLATION:
As Israhell's slave you hit those who can't hit back. But come and hit us if you can.
In reply to lol...its also never a good… by nmewn
Oh a Frenchie! Should have known! Just teasing! As long as you stay with your Frenchie people we'll be fine!
In reply to lol...its also never a good… by nmewn
I'm sitting here reading Tyler tell me that a sovereign nation defending its nearby shipping channels "is one of the greatest long-term risks to peace and stability in the US". When did Zerohedge get acquired by the Council on Foreign Relations?
In reply to they are so effective that… by two hoots
when did the zero hedge comment section get taken over by people cheering for fucking china?
In reply to I'm sitting here reading… by Helena Bonham-Carter
I can't hear you because I'm too busy right now shouting:
GO CHINA! GO CHINA! GO CHINA!
In reply to when did the zero hedge… by buzzsaw99
Hell I'm even starting to see Kim Jong in a new light.
In reply to I can't hear you because I'm… by directaction
When it got sold to China.
In reply to when did the zero hedge… by buzzsaw99
It's all in the perspective buzzsaw.
I come from a small country and I'm not especially fond of either China or America. At the present time I'm concerned about the future. I feel like a small dog in a pen where a couple of bull elephants are chesting each other.
I'm less concerned about Russia, as they don't have a history creating problems in the South Pacific, and the translations I read of Vlad Putin's remarks seem reasonable in the context of the current situation that the Russian's find themselves.
In reply to when did the zero hedge… by buzzsaw99
"China's biggest concern regarding the US's presence in Latin America is that patrolling the Panama Canal is allowing it to control crucial trade routes, consolidate its influence in the Americas, reduce China's capability to defend Cuba, and enable the Pentagon to launch an attack or counterattack with little or no warning."
In reply to I'm sitting here reading… by Helena Bonham-Carter
The USA sent a number of carrier groups in the region.
That was a trap.
Now let's cook em...
---
It's okay not to be a Jew.
In reply to they are so effective that… by two hoots
You know there are so many posters here rolling over and showing their bellies,
I have to think that some of them have to be those uber sophisticated chinky trolls I've been reading about,
moonlighting from their cyber attacks and intellectual theft.
In reply to X by Adolph.H.
Oh, didn't have the grades to make into secondary indoctrination school?
Pity Puppy.
Port of Los Angeles might be available.
Certainly Port of Baltimore is.
In reply to You know there are so many… by Arnold
Drop dead, Adolf. Oh wait, you already did.
In reply to X by Adolph.H.
Young hasbara prostitute. You should quit saying nonsensical and useless thoughts and embarrassing yourself like all stupid women usually do during their periods.
I love the way Moslems and orthodox Jews shut up their stupid wives. Don't you, diversity whore-shipper ?
----
It's okay not to be a Jew.
In reply to Drop dead, Adolf. Oh wait,… by Helena Bonham-Carter
Yes, and what about the 800+ USSA bases around the world infringing on the territorial rights of other nations...
In reply to I fail to see how this is… by dirty fingernails
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/16/philippines-reopens-subic…
Clark is still under the Volcano, so to speak.
In reply to Yes, and what about the 800+… by Yellow_Snow
I'm hoping for a blackout...
I don't wish any harm on the good goys...it's not their fault
In reply to … by Shemp 4 Victory
Some say on the 18th of this month. Some have not been right yet.
In reply to I'm hoping for a blackout… by Labworks
It's right there in the first paragraph;
"China's military buildup in the Pacific, particularly surrounding the Spratly Islands, a collection of small islands, cays and atolls in the South China Sea,"
... so right on China's doorstep. Wake me up when they start kicking the locals out and building settlements so I can point out the hypocrisy.
In reply to … by Shemp 4 Victory
Sorta like the Gulf of Mexico?...lol.
I guess the "other natives" didn't get a vote ;-)
In reply to It's right there in the… by curbjob
Like when someone makes aggressive, nose-to-nose eye-contact with someone else in a bar.
"Jump, little froggy!"
"Bring it, you little bitch!"
It's time to either throw down...
...or be a pussy and back down.
You can't treat a World Power like that! Don't they know that we're Exceptional???
Oy vey.
Culture in fucking decline.
Kill the parasites and free the host.
Cultures re-birth after evil is purged, when a sense of justice prevails.
In reply to You can't treat a World… by TalkToLind
love the flag. says it all
In reply to You can't treat a World… by TalkToLind
I don't give a fuck if y'all blow the whole damn world up.
I am still going to plant these 26 red and white, 12' tall crepe myrtles.
Quickly, before too far from dormant.
Gonna be a sweet looking curtain across here when the bomb goes off.
Well it looks like that real estate is gonna get a spring cleaning tsunami soon.
Way to go China...thats your backyard!
US should just go advertise free islands and housing subsidies to the first 10000 Philippinos that settle these new found islands.
The Chinese would be insane to instigate something with these poor people on their own islands.
Why would anyone believe it?
In reply to US should just go advertise… by The_Dude
it's on like donkey kong bitchez.
Radar about to be jammed. [/Barf, Spaceballs ]
rick moranis and dick van patten do their donald trump impression:
Spaceballs - Fooled You! - YouTube
In reply to it's on like donkey kong… by buzzsaw99
Raspberry! Only one man would dare to give me the raspberry!
In reply to it's on like donkey kong… by buzzsaw99
Lone Starr!
In reply to Raspberry! Only one man… by dirty fingernails
Hey Hillary, how to the Chinese know which frequencies to jam? FUCK YOU CUNT!
Because they built every component and shipped them to the DOD contractor?
In reply to Hey Hillary, how to the… by navy62802
And how did they get those contracts?
In reply to Because they built every… by dirty fingernails
Because those contractors only care about using the cheapest components that meet specs? Hillary isn't the only corrupt person willing to sell anything for a buck suckling on the DC teat, ya know.
In reply to And how did they get those… by navy62802
Because Lockheed Martin gave them access to the frequencies so they could get a contract to build the Radar Jammer Jammer for the Navy! Now THAT'S ingenuity!
In reply to Because those contractors… by dirty fingernails
All we have to do is simply end trade with China; immediately. Most of our allies will cooperate. What will happen is the Communist Government in China will be deposed.
As would our corporatist/facist government. Win win?
In reply to All we have to do is simply… by truthalwayswinsout
Didn’t we do something like that to Japan to start WWII in the Pacific?
In reply to All we have to do is simply… by truthalwayswinsout
I think everything with a name that includes "China" should be owned by China. The South China Sea? Take it. The China Syndrome movie? Yup. Chinese Checkers? You own it. Anything with "America" in it goes to the USA. So... South America, check. Central America... OK, we get that. American Pie... yum. American Airlines, American Idol, Billy Idol, no wait... the band America, and good ol' American Cheese. OK, that about settles it. See? Easy peasy.
I hope the UN carefully reviewed the Spratley Islands environmental impact statements before granting approval.
Fuck it. Let's just create a tsunami and wipe those slants right off of those islands.
Pagination