5th and 6th Chinese Type 94 SSBNs Possibly Commissioned

Minnie Chan at the South China Morning Post reported April 29, 2020 https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3082195/chinese-navy-puts-two-new-nuclear-submarines-service along the lines:

That it is probable China has either re-commissioned its 3^rd and 4^th Type 94 “Jin” class SSBNs or they are, newly commissioned 5^th and 6^th Type 94s.

In any case the 2 Type 94s have “upgrades to technology such as radar, sonar and torpedoes,”

Minnie Chan further reports:

“The vessels are revamped versions of the Type 094, or Jin-class, nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) and will bolster the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s underwater combat strength, two military sources told the South China Morning Post.

...China planned to build six Type 094 subs, and four were on show in a parade in Qingdao, Shandong province, in April last year to mark the 70th anniversary of the PLA Navy.

Another source close to the navy said two more Type 094s had probably been handed over to the navy since then.

...The Type 094 is designed to carry 16 [?] JL-2 ballistic missiles, which have a range of about 7,000km (4,350 miles).

But the Type 096 [next generation of SSBN, under development] will be able to carry 24 [?] JL-3s, which have an estimated range of more than 10,000km (6,200 miles), putting the United States, Europe, India and Russia within range, according to the most recent Pentagon report on China’s military.

The Post reported earlier that the PLA Navy had tested the JL-3 missile

In its “2019 China Military Power Report”, the Pentagon said that construction of the Type 096 would probably begin in the early 2020s. 

See the rest of Minnie Chan’s article where she refers to: the Shandong, the first Chinese-built aircraft carrier; the J-15 mass-produced carrier-based fighter jet; Type 055 destroyer; and the new Gaoxin-9 anti-submarine patrol aircraft (based on China’s Y-8 and Y-9 cargo planes).

SubMatts anticipated scrutiny of Admirals - re sacked Captain Crozier affair

Submarine Matters article of April 8, 2020 “Captain Crozier COVID-19 Affair - Sacking Admirals?” https://gentleseas.blogspot.com/2020/04/captain-crozier-covid-19-affair-sacking.html in naming a cast of potentially responsible Admirals (Gilday, Davidson, Baker, Merz, Aquilino) and General Milley,

has anticipated subsequent inquiry manoeuvres recorded in

US abc NEWS/Associated Press article, “New Navy carrier inquiry suggests tough scrutiny of admirals” of April 30, 2020 https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/navy-widen-carrier-probe-delaying-decision-commander-70404757. That abc article reports:

“WASHINGTON -- The Navy is launching a wider investigation of the coronavirus crisis aboard the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt, suggesting closer and deeper scrutiny of actions and decisions by senior admirals in the Pacific that led to the controversial firing of the ship's commander nearly a month ago.

...The new investigation was announced by James E. McPherson, the acting Navy secretary,

...McPherson and the top Navy officer, Adm. Mike Gilday, presented to Defense Secretary Mark Esper their recommendation that Crozier be reinstated, based on the outcome of a preliminary inquiry by the Navy's No. 2 admiral.

...Army Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested a broader, more thorough investigation was needed.

The expanded investigation is expected to examine communication and leadership actions in the Navy chain of command in the Pacific, to include events before the initial virus outbreak in late March, officials said. This likely includes the decision to make a port visit to Da Nang, Vietnam, which has been cited as a possible source of the infection aboard the Roosevelt. That decision was made by Adm. Phil Davidson, who as commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command is in charge of all forces in that region.

...In his statement, McPherson did not reveal what questions he thinks the initial inquiry left unanswered.

“I am directing Adm. Gilday to conduct a follow-on command investigation,” McPherson said.

The Gilday review probably will address Crozier's concerns that his superiors were not acting fact enough to protect the crew from the spreading virus. Those leaders would include Rear Adm. Stuart Baker, commander of the carrier strike group, who was aboard the Roosevelt with Crozier; the 7th Fleet commander, Vice Adm. William R. Merz; and the Pacific Fleet commander, Adm. John C. Aquilino, as well as Davidson, head of Indo-Pacific Command.”

Pete

Australia pursuing US ordered inquiry into Chinese origins of COVID-19

See "Australia pursuing US ordered inquiry into Chinese origins of COVID-19” of April 2020
https://beijingspread.blogspot.com/2020/04/australia-pursuing-us-ordered-inquiry.html

at my new website:

Beijing Spread https://beijingspread.blogspot.com/

Pete

ANZAC Day Songs and Photos - In Remembrance

Anzacs (or 'diggers') at Gallipoli in a rare quiet moment in 1915.

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Australia and New Zealand commemorates ANZAC Day on April 25th each year. It is our secular "holiest" day. The day commemorates the sacrifice of troops of the combined Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) in World War One and of Australians and New Zealanders who fought in all later wars (including some being waged right now). 

The following are songs and photos I've put together to remember them.

This great song And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda by Eric Bogle is about the life of a digger wounded at Gallipoli.

There is a myth that true Anzacs were and are all front line infantry. Some other occupations were more dangerous than infantry. Pilots and aircrew often suffered the highest casualties of any service. Sailors, in particular submariners, were often in great danger both from the enemy and also from accidents. Here is the Navy Hymn for Submariners.

 The hymn Abide With Me is traditionally sung at ANZAC Day services. The singer is Hayley Westernra from Christchurch, New Zealand.
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Iconic Vietnam War photo by Michael Coleridge. Diggers of 5 Platoon, B Company, 7RAR, waiting for Iroquois helicopters to land and take them back to Nui Dat at the end of an operation.

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 The song I Was Only 19 (by that under-appreciated Australian group Redgum) is in memory of Australians who fought, died and were injured in Vietnam (early 1960s to 1972).

I think Eric Bogle’s The Green Fields of France or No Man’s Land (above) is the best anti-war song ever written. As a haunting poem, march, song of love and injustice it is a fitting anthem to remember the men and women, living and dead, who are our Anzacs.

A Remembrance poppy.

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For more songs see "Rembrance Day Songs 2018" on this website.

Pete

US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Operations Middle East

Tucked into a single room on an air base in the Middle East sit rows of computer servers and data storage equipment providing combatant commands and warfighters with rapid access to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency [NGA's] catalog of imagery and information.

That OCONUS Data Center offers NGA’s most current geospatial intelligence and services for the daily, tactical and strategic missions of the U.S. Central Command and other combatant commands.

By pre-positioning and updating imagery and data in the Southwest Asian theater of operations, NGA helps partners to more securely and quickly get information in the formats they need.  Whether they are finding helicopter landing zones, conducting surveillance, locating targets, assessing damage or something else, users count on web-based access to the ODC to help them get the job done.

Combating ‘tyranny’ of distance and time

“The importance of ODC can’t be overstated,’’ said Joseph A. Smith, deputy director of the NGA Office of the Chief Information Officer and Information Technology Services' Warfighter Support Office.

The center provides network access, stability and speed for warfighters  and analysts in need of imagery and other data to view or download by overcoming “the tyranny of distance and the tyranny of time’’ required if they must connect back to the United States , Smith said.

“Sometimes, if you have to wait 30 minutes or an hour to get the information, then you can’t do the mission,’’ he said.

Rick Cowans, South Eastern Regional Manager and Technical Executive on the NGA Support Team at CENTCOM , and his team keep watch on the data center 24/7 from CENTCOM’s main headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. In addition, field representatives are on-site with CENTCOM personnel in the Middle East and travel through the Southwest Asia region.

“Analysts in theater can go to the OCONUS Data Center and get the same catalog you can get at [NGA Campus East or West,]’’ Cowans said.

Among the data center’s GEOINT offerings:

— GXP Xplorer:  a web-based application used to spatially and temporally discover, stream and retrieve imagery, foundation and vector data. It catalogs maps, satellite images, airborne tactical images, charts, vectors, terrain, features of interest, PowerPoint presentations and text documents.

— iSpy: a web-based, image-viewing application that provides tools for imagery analysis and exploitation. It was added in June.

— Map of the World: NGA’s online geospatial environment that provides shared and trusted GEOINT-related and multi-source content.

— HiPER LOOK:  a data-access solution used to catalog, organize and share large volumes of non-conventional geospatial data and imagery into web-compliant services. It also was added in June.

• — GVS: GEOINT Visualization Services’ mission is to provide visualization services that facilitate access to GEOINT data and products in an online, on-demand environment. It is commonly used for base map utilization in various GIS tools such as ArcMap and GoogleEarth.

The ODC’s services also are buoyed by a variety of valuable content uploaded from warfighters and others in the region for use by those in-theater and by analysts back in the United States.

“Most NGA people think about data from satellites and maybe some airborne assets, but there are even more sensors near ground or on ground than there are in space,’’ Smith said.

Another benefit of the data center is as a backup to facilities in the United States and elsewhere to assure continuity of operations in an emergency.

ODC’s historical and future role

The origins of the OCONUS Data Center date to 2011, when NGA set up the Southwest Asian Strategic Node for CENTCOM’s area of responsibility in the Middle East.  The data center moved into better-protected facilities in late 2016 and was renamed the OCONUS Data Center.

With its forward –placed positioning, regional approach and uniform user experience, the ODC was ahead of its time, Smith said.  He said he believes the ODC will continue to play a key role in NGA’s future as the agency moves more of its services to the cloud.

“When you talk about a hybrid cloud strategy, nodes like ODC are a critical part of extending that cloud fabric in all domains,’’ Smith said.

NGA is currently in the process of upgrading equipment for ODC that should further increase analytic capabilities in theater.

Brought to you by the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), March 2, 2020, at
https://www.nga.mil/MediaRoom/News/Pages/NGA-brings-products-closer-to-action-in-the-Middle-East-.aspx 

Photo at top is  "National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency NewsClips2" from

 https://www.nga.mil/MediaRoom/PhotoGallery/Pages/default.aspx

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Note the NGA is pushing more work to the unclassified level so its employees can avoid COVID-19 by working from home.

COMMENT

Only in America would an intelligence agency make such a depth of detail public, especially "Among the data center’s GEOINT offerings:..."

Pete

US Backed Taiwan Also Claims Most of South China Sea - So Why Not China?

From China’s official Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) website: Spokesperson Geng Shuang's Regular Press Conference, April 20, 2020 https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/t1771576.shtml

[Question] Reuters [journalist asks]: Vietnam has said China's claim to have established administrative units on islands in the South China Sea seriously violates Vietnam's sovereignty. What's your comment on this?

[Answer from] Geng Shuang: Following the approval of the State Council, Sansha City of Hainan Province has established two districts, Xisha District [Paracel Islands] and Nansha District [Spratly Islands]. This is China making administrative division adjustment within the scope of its sovereignty. It is conducive to improving and enhancing Sansha City's administrative management and promoting the coordinated development of the city's economic growth and environment protection.

China has sovereignty over the Xisha and Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters, and sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the relevant waters and the seabed and subsoil thereof. In accordance with domestic laws and regulations, the Chinese government has selected and published the names of some islands and reefs of the Xisha and Nansha Islands as well as the seabed of waters under its jurisdiction. This is what we do regularly in accordance with law to improve marine management, which also accords with international law and international practices.

China firmly opposes Vietnam's words and actions that undermine China's sovereignty and rights and interests in the South China Sea, and will continue to take necessary measures to firmly safeguard China's sovereignty and rights and interests.

The Sansha City capital, on Woody Island, is marked, as well as the Spratlys and Paracels - all claimed by China and US supported Taiwan.
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Nine-Dash Line illustrated by red line covering most of the South China Sea, is claimed by China and Taiwan. But only China has the strategic power, allied with infrastructue capability,  to enforce the claim. (Map courtesy Voice of America, 2012)
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THE TERM NINE-DASH LINE - ORIGINATED WITH US SUPPORTED ROC/TAIWAN

The term nine-dash line - at various times also referred to as the ten-dash line and the eleven-dash line – was used initially by the Republic of China (ROC, 1912–1949) and subsequently by Taiwan and China, for their claims of the major part of the South China Sea.

Taiwan has continued its claims, and the nine-dash line remains as the rationale for Taiwan's claims to the Spratly and Paracel Islands.

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SANSHA CITY

Sansha is a prefecture-level city of China’s  Hainan province. Sansha City capital is located on Woody Island and administers (actually or nominally) several island groups and undersea atolls in the South China Sea including the Spratly Islands, the Paracel Islands, Macclesfield Bank, Scarborough Shoal, and a number of other ungrouped maritime features.

In November 2016, the Hainan government started to allow large companies to register themselves in Sansha, by providing extensive tax benefits to them. This resulted in 157 large national and multinational companies registering themselves in Sansha.

In 2016, a government school and a public library were opened in the island, primarily for children of the islanders. In the same year, a desalinating plant was established to provide drinking water to the island's residents.

Airports are built on several islands in Sansha City, including Yongxing Island (Woody Island), Meiji Island (Mischief Reef, Spratlys), Yongshu Island (Fiery Cross Reef, Spratlys) and Zhubi Island (Subi Reef, Spratlys), all of which are theoretically capable of landing Boeing 777s as diversion airports. In practice, only Woody Island has scheduled commercial services, with a Boeing 737 operated by Hainan Airlines.

Sansha City capital, Woody Island above (with critical installations above - courtesy Digital Globe) and clear overhead photo of Woody Island, with later land reclamation work for civilian/naval harbours (below).

Pete