From late 2012, shortly after assuming leadership of both the Communist Party and its powerful central military commission, Xi JInping has been emphasising the need for the 2.3 million-strong People’s Liberation Army to prepare for “real combat”.
Source/Credit: The Time | UK
By David Taylor and Leo Lewis | February 22 2013
China is preparing for a “short, sharp war” with Japan with the aim of seizing a disputed chain of islands, US military intelligence chiefs have claimed.
Capt James Fanell, deputy chief of staff, intelligence and information operations, for the Pacific Fleet, based his claim on analysis of a major exercise carried out by all branches of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army last year.
The exercise, believed to have simulated the taking of the Senkaku islands in the East China Sea, was at the Mission Action 2013 event in Guangzhou last autumn, Cap. Fanell said at a conference in California last week.
“We witnessed the massive amphibious and cross military region enterprise - Mission Action 2013,” Capt Fanell said. “[We] concluded that the PLA has been given the new task to be able to conduct a short sharp war to destroy Japanese forces in the East China Sea following with what can only be expected a seizure of the Senkakus.”
Capt Fannell also told the conference of a series of aggressive actions taken by China against its neighbours in the past 12 months, including combat drills near the Philippines and the declaration of an air defence zone covering the area of the Senkaku islands.
The analysis contrasts with US pledges to forge closer military ties with China which has included recent US Navy tours of Chinese vessels.
However, while China may be engaged in nothing more than a military exercise, a security treaty between Washington and Tokyo would commit the US military to assist Japan in the event of an attack on Japanese-administered territory.
Last year, former US secretary of state Dr Henry Kissinger, said America risked sliding into a tragic cycle of constant confrontation with China if it was diverted by irritations like the disputed air defence zone in the East China Sea.
From late 2012, shortly after assuming leadership of both the Communist Party and its powerful central military commission, Xi JInping has been emphasising the need for the 2.3 million-strong People’s Liberation Army to prepare for “real combat”.
While the phrase caused nerves to prickle throughout east Asia, and confirmed the fears of more hawkish elements in Washington, the order was primarily crafted for both domestic consumption and for the bloated officer class of the PLA itself.
Unlike his predecessor, Hu Jintao, Xi appears to have the confidence to confront the PLA leadership with its many shortcomings – foremost among them the fact that the PLA is not trained for the realities of combat. Military exercises, say defence analysts, are often for show, and equipment is often not fit for purpose.
The order that the PLA prepare for “real combat” demanded wholesale changes to the way the PLA trains, procures and organises itself.
In the background to all this, say Western defence analysts based in Beijing, there are signals that the PLA is genuinely focused on the job of how it might prevail in a conflict involving small islands. While the headlines have focused on China’s development of an aircraft carrier, military sources in the region attach more significance to China’s development of new landing craft and amphibious vehicles.
Read original post here: China ready for ‘short, sharp war’ with Japan
This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Ahmadiyya Times.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments. Any comments irrelevant to the post's subject matter, containing abuses, and/or vulgar language will not be approved.