New Chinese Military Move in the South China Sea

China has deployed an advanced surface-to-air missile system on Woody Island in the South China Sea.Woody Island is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.The island,part of the Paracel archipelago,is north of the island building projects in the Spratly archipelago that have been causing much concern among the US and its allies recently.Woody Island already had a military-length airstrip on it.Now it has two missile batteries and a target-acquisition radar on it as well as the communications and radar infrastructure to support military activities.*
US Secretary of State John Kerry criticised the installation as a serious concern and said there is evidence,every day,of further militarisation in the South China Sea.When he was in Washington,the Chinese president,Mr.Xi Xinping,promised he would not militarise the South China Sea,Mr.Kerry pointed out.China responded that it has the right of self-defence on Woody Island.

Challenging China:USN Guided-Missile Destroyer

Tensions are near boiling point in the South China Sea following a US Navy guided-missile destroyer's patrol within a 12 mile limit claimed by China.The USS Lassen (DDG 82) drew shadowing from a Chinese PLA Navy guided-missile destroyer and naval patrol boat,as well as bridge-to-bridge warnings from the Chinese vessels,when it patrolled off Subi and Mischief Reefs,where China has built artificial islands.The patrol lasted two hours.*
The two reefs the Lassen patrolled off of are part of a series of island-building projects China has been working on in the region,constructing facilities on them believed suitable for military use,such as airstrips long enough for fighter jets and a harbour that can handle Chinese warships.Both Subi and Mischief Reefs have military length airstrips on them,according to satellite imagery.*
The US doesn't accept a 12 mile limit off of manmade islands.Along with other Asia-Pacific nations such as the Philippines and Vietnam,the US insists the South China Sea is international waters that are critical shipping lanes.The Lassen's patrol,which lasted two hours,is the first of a series of American freedom of navigation exercises in the face of China's territorial claims,a US official promised.*
If the US continues this,China counters,it might have to expand its capabilities.The US illegally entered the waters.The military will take all necessary steps to protect the nation's security.China criticised what it feels is the US coercive action that seeks to militarise the South China Sea region.It will firmly defend China's territory sovereignty,security and its lawful and proper maritime rights and interests.China will firmly respond to deliberate provocation from any country,said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang.*
The USS Lassen is homeported in Yokosuka,Japan.Its armament includes Harpoon,Tomahawk and Standard missiles;a Mk45 5-inch/62-caliber gun;and Mk32 dual surface vessel torpedo tube launchers.

Exercise Talisman Sabre 2015 Gains Significance From China's Posturing

The biennial US-Australian military exercise Talisman Sabre 2015,being held in mid-July this year,is always a notable event in the Asia Pacific region because of its scale alone,but this time it takes on added significance because of China's widely perceived belligerence over its expansive South China Sea territorial claims,particularly in light of its militarisation of the Spratly Islands,where it has swiftly been building reefs up into islands and constructing military airstrips on them-and a PLA Navy port on Hainan Island as well,where three ballistic missile submarines and two guided missile corvettes have been observed.Exercise Talisman Sabre 2015 is even getting an extra participant this year in that Japan will be take part for the first time,although in a small way,sending just 40 troops to exercise only with the US Marines,and not with Australia's defence forces.*
Talisman Sabre 2015 is the largest combined military exercise undertaken by the Australian Defence Force,the Australian Department of Defence said in a Media Release.It is the principal Australian and United States bilateral training activity focused on the planning and conduct of mid-intensity 'high-end' warfighting.New Zealand and Japan will also participate with their defence forces.A New Zealand contingent of over 500 personnel,including ships and aircraft,will operate as part of the Australian forces.
Australia's Chief of Joint Operations,Vice Admiral David Johnston,said the inclusion of the New Zealand and Japanese forces would enable the ADF to deepen its engagement with close defence partners in the region but did not change the bilateral nature of the exercises between Australia and the US.The primary aim of the exercise remains improving Australia-US readiness and the way we operate together through combined training,VADM Johnston explained.*
More than 28,000 US and Australian personnel will participate in drills held across Australia,US Pacific Command noted,in an effort to increase their ability to defend Australia's national interests.*
On 27 May,US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter laid out the US point of view on China's recent island-building campaign on reefs in the Spratly Islands chain of the South China Sea.Speaking at a change of command ceremony for US Pacific Command in Hawaii,Mr.Carter minced no words:
First,we want a peaceful resolution of all disputes and an immediate and lasting halt to land reclamation by any claimant.We also oppose any further militarisation of disputed features.Second,and there should be no mistake.The US will fly,sail,and operate wherever international law allows,as we do all around the world.
With its actions in the South China Sea,China is out of step with both international norms that underscore the Asia Pacific's security architecture,and the regional consensus in favour of noncoercive approaches to this and other long-standing disputes.China's actions are bringing countries in the region together in new ways.And they're increasing the demand for American engagement in the Asia Pacific.We're going to meet it.We will remain the principal security power in the Asia Pacific for decdes to come,Mr.Carter promised.

Marines Exercise Near Controversial Islands

Six Asian countries,including China and the Philippines,lay claim to some of the Spratly Islands.Nonetheless,U.S. and Philippine Marines are holding two weeks of military exercises near the disputed islands.Some 3,000 troops are participating.The most sensitive exercise will be a mock raid by the forces to capture a hostile beach head on the South China Sea.
A U.S. Marine Corps spokesman denied the exercises were aimed at a specific country;they are merely intended to improve regional security capability.
The Spratlys are part of a vast archipelago of more than 750 islands,reefs and atolls off the Philppine and Malaysian coasts in the South China Sea,which China considers to be its territorial waters.The international community doesn't agree with China's expansive concept.
The Spratlys consist of only four square kilometers of land,but the archipelago is flung across more than 425 square kilometers of sea.
The Spratlys are considered important as way marks for territorial claims on natural resources believed to be in and under the South China Sea,including fisheries and oil and gas.A number of the islands are patrolled by small military units of China;Vietnam;Taiwan;Malaysia;and the Philippines,as a way to assert these claims.This has resulted in minor armed clashes over the past thirty years.