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[sinbad]

I came across both of these two, interesting news articles, today on defence subjects.

When we will, as a Nation, wake up to ourselves. Our Pollies do it time & time again. I think the items speak for themselves.

Posted Fri Sep 28, 2007 2:42pm AEST

Defence Minister Brendan Nelson has welcomed a goodwill visit to Australia by two Chinese naval ships which marks a 35-year anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

Members of the Chinese expatriate community waved Australian and Chinese flags as the destroyer Haerbin and supply ship Hongzehu docked at Garden Island in Sydney this morning.

The ships will be in Sydney until Tuesday before conducting search and rescue exercises with Australia and New Zealand for the first time.

Chinese Defence Attache Senior Colonel Zhang Jiyuan says the visit is one of friendship and cooperation.
"We want to have a closer relations because this will help to build mutual trust," he said.

It is the third time the Chinese navy has visited Australia. The first time was in 1998.

Posted on: Saturday, 29 September 2007, 03:00 CDT

US Official Notes China's Military Gains
By ERIC TALMADGE

KADENA AIR BASE, Japan - While the U.S. has been tied up in Iraq, China is modernizing its military and its air defenses are now nearly impenetrable to all but the newest of American fighters, the senior U.S. military official in Japan said.

Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright, commander of the roughly 50,000 U.S. forces in Japan, Washington's biggest ally in Asia, said in an interview with The Associated Press this week that the Iraq war is reducing the availability of U.S. troops and equipment to meet other contingencies.

It's also eating funds that could go toward replacing or upgrading planes that are being pushed to their operational limits, he said.

China, meanwhile, is rapidly filling the skies with newer, Russian-made Sukhoi Su-27 "Flankers" and Su-30s, along with the domestically built J-10, a state-of-the-art fighter that Beijing just rolled out in January.

China has also improved its ballistic missile defenses and its ability to take the fight into space - as it proved in January by shooting down an old weather satellite at an orbital height similar to that used by the U.S. military.

Wright stressed he is "positive" about the current efforts to increase diplomatic and political engagement with Beijing. But he said the Chinese military buildup is disconcerting.

China says spending for its People's Liberation Army, the world's largest standing army with 2.3 million members, grew 17.8 percent this year to nearly $45 billion.

The Pentagon estimates China's actual defense spending may be much higher, because the official budget does not include money for high-priced weapons systems and some other items.

In the U.S., the Senate is wrapping up debate on a $672 billion defense policy bill that would authorize more than a half trillion dollars in annual defense spending and $150 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"Are we in trouble? It depends on the scenario," Wright said Thursday. "But you have to be concerned about the small number of our forces and the age of our forces."

Wright noted the Air Force's fleet is older than ever before.
The average age of the F-15 fighters, for example, is about 24 years, while that of the KC-135 Stratotanker, a mid-air refueling plane that is a key element in the Air Force's ability to conduct long-range missions, is 46 years.

Wright, who was at this air base on Japan's southern island of Okinawa to meet with local commanding officers, said the improvement in Chinese air defenses has made China's airspace "difficult if not impossible" to penetrate with the kind of U.S. fighters - F-15s and F-16s - now deployed in Japan.

Doing so would require the F-22 or the Joint Strike Fighter, which both have stealth capabilities. The Air Force sent a dozen F-22s to Japan earlier this year, but only for a temporary deployment. It has no plans to bring more here permanently.
The Joint Strike Fighter, or F-35, is not yet combat-ready.
"Our planes are much older than the planes they would be matched against," Wright said. "For the first time in history, we are seeing another nation, in this case China, with newer fighters than we have. We know that they continue to invest at a level that is unprecedented. We need to be watchful of Chinese military capabilities."

He said the demands of supporting ground troops in Iraq has pushed the Air Force to draw on its fighters from virtually anywhere they can be found. Two U.S. F-16 fighter squadrons from the northern Japan base of Misawa are currently rotating in and out of Iraq.
"The question is how much more are they going to need," he said. "They are already pulling them out of Misawa, so where else are they going to come from?"

Wright noted Beijing is also at an advantage because it is not now at war, and can thus devote more of its resources to building up new capabilities.
"China is not engaged in a tough ground war in southwest Asia so they have the freedom to maneuver to modernize forces that are not current," he said.

Air Force officials have sent up alarms recently regarding funding.
Although the Army and Marines are increasing their troop levels by 92,000, the Air Force had announced plans to cut its costs by reducing 40,000 personnel. That plan had to be scaled back, however, because of the need for support for the larger number of ground troops.
In May, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said drastic action was needed.

"I'm concerned for the future," he said. "We're simply not funded to maintain and do everything that everyone wants us to do."
Wright, who is also commander of the 5th Air Force, which is based just outside of Tokyo, said the crunch is being felt in the Pacific.
"It's not just boots on the ground that's fighting the war right now," he said. "There's a funding top line for the Department of Defense, and the Air Force needs more of it."

Source: Associated Press/AP Online
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Fleet Air Arm Avionics & Naval Forward Scout. A Gentleman &. Vung Tau Sailing & Flying Club member

["Doc" Rice]

8) 8)

Ron
I think it important that we, and the USA, have an accord with China as it will have a great bearing on the re-unification issue on the Korean peninsular, and there still is the question of Taiwan.
Diplomatic resolutions are preferable to military actions
Personally I would prefer them as an ally and not an enemy.

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R53838 Rice C.D. L/REM
Commissioning crew "Stuart" 1963

Skype me........ doc_rice

[sinbad]

Dock R

Some good points too Doc, which I also agree with, but...., one should sleep with one eye open just in case. I think that this area in question is the contentious point. Those SE asian Countries mentioned would be a walkover . I think that the natural resourses are in this case, the issue of the day.

The Spratly Islands of the South China Sea are a potential tinder box in the region. Approximately 44 of the 51 small islands and reefs are claimed or occupied by China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei. The conflict is the result of overlapping sovereignty claims to various Spratly Islands thought to possess substantial natural resources -- chiefly oil, natural gas, and seafood. Disputes have been propelled by an aggressive China, eager to meet growing energy demands that outstrip its supply capability. Overlapping claims resulted in several military incidents since 1974 and in several countries awarding foreign companies exploration rights in the same area of the South China Sea. Regional nation-states not directly involved in the Spratly disputes became concerned about regional stability and established a regional forum to discuss the peaceful resolution of the disputes. Sovereignty and exploration disputes were thought to be resolved with the drafting of ASEAN's 1992 declaration which committed members to resolve disputes peacefully and to consider joint exploration of the territory. Military aggression and exploration endeavors conducted by China since 1992, however, have brought into question the validity of the 1992 joint declaration and raises the question of what long-term, peaceful solution could prevent the region from erupting into a continuum of military incidents over sovereignty rights to the natural resource-rich Spratly Islands.
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Fleet Air Arm Avionics & Naval Forward Scout. A Gentleman &. Vung Tau Sailing & Flying Club member