The Fate of PLA Generals

General Li Zuocheng, new Chief of the Land Force Command

Fate is strange.
It is especially true in Communist China.
Two years ago, Lt Gen Yang Jinshan, a former Commander of the Tibet Military District of the Chengdu Military Region (MR) was a rising star in the PLA and the CPC.
He had been promoted as a member of the Party's Central Committee, which was not the case of his direct boss, General Li Zuocheng, the commander of the Chengdu Military Region.
Yang was therefore 'senior' to his boss, Li Zuocheng, in the Party hierarchy.
Today, Yang Jinshan is languishing jail, being 'investigated' and his boss Gen Li Zuocheng is tipped to become the first chief of a newly-formed land force command.
What a reversal of fate!
Li was born in Anhua, Hunan province. He joined the PLA in 1970. Li was named a 'War Hero' for his actions during the Sino-Vietnamese War as a company commander in 1979. He was also the Commander of the 41st Army in the relief effort in the 1998 great Yangtze flood. Li was promoted to deputy Chief of Staff of the Guangzhou Military Region in 2002, and moved to Chengdu in 2007 as deputy Commander. In 2013, he took the Command of the Chengdu MR and became full general in July 2015.

Lt Gen Yang Jinshan

That was a year ago...
I reproduce here what I wrote about Lt Gen Yang Jinshan  a year ago

It is the end of the road for Lt Gen Yang Jinshan, a former Commander of the Tibet Military District of the Chengdu Military Region (MR).
He lost his membership of the Central Committee of the CCP.
Lt Gen Yang Jinshan (Han nationality) is born in August 1954. He joined the Communist Party of China in May 1972. In December 2005, he was promoted to the rank of major general and in July 2011, he became a lieutenant general.
From 2007 to 2009, he served as the Head of Armament Department of Chengdu MR.
In 2009, he became Commander of Tibet Military District.
In November 2012, he was elected as Member of 18th CPC's powerful Central Committee.
Lt Gen Yang Jinshan had an Air Force background; this may explain the repeated 'air exercises' in the Tibet District, facing Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim  during the last few years.
In June 2013, General Yang was transferred to Chengdu as a Deputy Commander of the Chengdu MR.
Yesterday, he was formally expelled from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China 'for serious disciplinary violations'.

Lt Gen Yang, as one of 41 members of the PLA in the Central Committee, was 'senior' in the Party to his direct boss, Lt Gen Li Zuocheng, the Commander of Chengdu MR.
In July 2014, The South China Morning Post (SCMP) had reported "One of the top PLA officers leading the Chengdu military area command has been detained amid graft allegations making him the latest high-ranking officer to fall in a sweeping effort to clean up the image of the world's largest fighting force."
The Hong Kong newspaper quoting four different sources said: "Investigators took Yang Jinshan, a lieutenant general, to Beijing last week as part of a corruption investigation. His family members and secretary were also detained."
Apparently, the arrest of General Yang, 59 was part of the wider inquiry into Xu Caihou, the former Central Military Commission (CMC) vice-chairman.
Xu has been accused of accepting very large bribes.
In June, Xu was himself expelled from the Communist Party. Yang has now walked into his mentor's steps.
Further, Yang was probably connected with the disgraced Politburo leader, Bo Xilai, as Yang served in the 14th Group Army, based in Kunming, Yunnan province (under the Chengdu MR). One of the founders of the Group Army was Bo Yibo , Bo Xilai's father.
The SCMP suspects: "Bo Xilai visited Yunnan not long after his right-hand man Wang Lijun sought refuge in the US consulate in Chengdu in February 2012. Since that visit, some of the senior officers of the corps have been replaced, prompting speculation about whether the reshuffle was linked to Bo."
Again according to the SCMP: "Two PLA major generals with backgrounds that overlap Yang's were detained previously". It names Ye Wanyong , retired commissar of the Sichuan provincial military area, and Wei Jin, a deputy commissar of the Tibet military area."
Ye would have offered large amount of gold to Xu Caihou.

Acute Ideological Struggle
In the meantime, the Central Military Commission (CMC) warned that ideological struggles within the PLA were 'acute and complicated', and called for the military to remain loyal to the Party's leadership.
According to The Global Times, the CMC published an article in The PLA Daily which says that the PLA should be run according to rules and regulations of the Party.
It was the main theme of the Fourth Plenum of the Central Committee of the 18th National Congress, which focused on strengthening the nation's governance through the rule of law.
The Global Times asserts: "Military reform has entered 'uncharted waters' with concerns growing that reform could be impeded by 'structural problems'."
The CMC admits that among the problems facing the army, "the struggle over ideology has been exceptionally acute and complicated."
Apparently, "different ideologies and new ideas that have emerged in Chinese society have penetrated the military, and will have a disruptive impact", says the CMC.
It quotes Maj. Gen. Luo Yuan: "There have been some public intellectuals advocating the nationalization of the army through disaffiliating it from the Party's leadership."
Xu Guangyu, another military expert and senior consultant at the Chinese Military Disarmament Control Council explained that "some young military leaders may have been influenced by these ideas, and warned that they could cause a split within the army."
The CMC asked the PLA to be 'steadfast in their actions' and submit to the Party's authority and to the CMC.
It clearly means that they not always do.
Quite worrying!
Probably new Chumar episodes in the pipeline!

China’s ‘good monk’ versus ‘bad monk’

My article China’s ‘good monk’ versus ‘bad monk’ appeared in the Edit Page of The Pioneer

Here is the link...

Beijing is busy manipulating even the religious sentiments of its citizens. Earlier it practised atheism, but realising the people’s deep faith in Buddhism, it has begun promoting its official religious leaders

Modern China has several facets.
Unfortunately, the most disturbing, the totalitarian one, has come to the fore during the past year. Take the example of Ursula Gauthier, the French correspondent based in Beijing for the weekly, L’Obs; the renewal of her Press visa was refused by the authorities. because she had offended the Chinese Government with an article questioning Beijing’s Xinjiang policy and refusing to compare some events there to terrorism.
Then, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee passed China’s first counter-terrorism law. In an editorial, The South China Morning Post commented: “Wherever Governments have passed unprecedented security laws to confront the threat of terrorism to civilised society and its way of life, their actions have prompted concerns about adverse effects on freedom of expression and intellectual property rights.” For sure, life will be tougher for the minorities and citizens in general who dare to express their genuine grievances.
Further, news agency Xinhua stated that the new counter-terrorism law makes it legal for China’s People’s Liberation Army to get involved in anti-terror operations abroad. Does it mean the PLA can be sent anywhere, when China’s interests are at stake, for counter-terrorist missions? These signs demonstrate a high degree of nervousness.
Last weekend, President Xi Jinping and the entire 11-member Central Military Commission visited the offices of The PLA Daily. Mr Xi called on the journalists/officers to play a leading role in “strengthening the military”. President Xi affirmed, “The PLA Daily must adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party of China and serve the PLA.” He added that the publication should uphold party principles and “unswervingly” embrace the CPC leadership.
Did some officers lately refuse to unswervingly embrace the party? Apparently, some did not fully appreciate the reforms undertaken by Mr Xi and his colleagues. A few weeks ago, Sun Kejia and Han Xiao, two researchers at the PLA National Defence University had warned in The PLA Daily, “The reform will surely… touch on the interests of numerous fellow soldiers… but if it was not handled properly, it could threaten not only the stability of the military but also society.” Now, all officers have been told in no uncertain terms that they should support and take part in the reforms. There are several other signs of nervousness in the Middle Kingdom.
Ironically, the Communist Party of China has opted to develop expertise in ‘soul re-incarnation’. The atheist party has realised that ‘Living Buddhas’, as Beijing calls the reincarnated lamas or rinpoches, wield a great influence amongst the masses. They could be a destabilising influence on the nation, if not properly controlled by the party.
With Buddhism becoming highly fashionable in China, Beijing knows that things could get out of hand; it has therefore decided to differentiate between the ‘good’ lamas (those who are obedient to the Marx doctrine), and the ‘fake’ ones, who are running their own private business (their number may run in tens of thousands).
During a meeting of the United Front Work Department in June, Mr Xi said: “Active efforts should be made to incorporate religions in socialist society. The Chinese President added, “Religions in China must be Chinese.”
Beijing has now decided to develop a database of ‘Living Buddhas’ to help differentiate fake from real (communist) rinpoches.
The China Daily reported, “Authorities are setting up a database of legitimate Living Buddhas and will publish the information online. This will enable followers of Tibetan Buddhism to distinguish between real Living Buddhas and fake ones.” The newspaper added that “some fake Living Buddhas have posed threats to national security, as they use money they collect to sponsor illegal or even separatist activities in Tibet”.
How is one to get a certificate from Beijing that one is the right ‘returned-soul’? Simply follow the party’s rules, which explains, “Living Buddhas are deeply revered monks in Tibetan Buddhism, where it is believed that the soul of a senior Buddha is reincarnated in a child on his death.”
In September 2007, the State Administration for Religious Affairs in Beijing had already decided that all reincarnations of ‘Living Buddhas’ in Tibetan Buddhism must receive Government approval. The regulation’s main purpose is to control the future ‘reincarnation’ of the Dalai Lama. Whoever controls the Dalai Lama, controls the masses on the plateau.
According to Beijing, there are 358 ‘Living Buddhas’ in the Tibet Autonomous Region alone. That is quite a lot for a supposedly atheist region and considering that the Dalai Lama and the rinpoches living in India or in the West are outside Beijing’s database.
In a CCTV interview, Mr Zhu Weiqun, Chairman of the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee of the People’s Political Consultative Conference and a former interlocutor of the Dalai Lama’s envoys, asserted, “Some fake Living Buddhas are cheating people out of their savings or luring them into sexual activities using religious practice as an excuse.”
In October, one ‘Holiness’ Pema Woeser (alias Baima Aose) Rinpoche, himself a self-styled Living Buddha, had ‘ordained’ Zhang Tielin, a well-known Chinese actor, as a rinpoche. The footage of the enthronement went viral on the Chinese Internet.
Duoshi Rinpoche, a ‘good’ Living Buddha endorsed by Beijing, told China Daily, “I’ve heard that some monasteries in remote places even put the title of Living Buddha up for sale.” It is probably true that even nirvana can be bought in China today.
In March 2015, China.org.cn ran a feature showing that “Fake Lamas flourish as China’s middle class grows”; it said that authentic and fake rinpoches are becoming sought-after advisors and status symbols. A 2014 report in The Financial Times affirmed that 50 per cent of China’s richest class people admit that they adhere to some kind of religion and one-third of the 50 per cent claimed to be Buddhist.
In this atmosphere, the importance to control the next Dalai Lama is crucial. In an Op-ed in China Tibet Online earlier this month, Mr Zhu Weiqun wrote that “historical facts show that determining the existence of the Dalai lineage and reincarnation of the Dalai Lama had never been a purely religious matter, neither the individual rights of the Dalai Lamas themselves”.
Mr Zhu said that it was an important political matter for the TAR Government and a “manifestation” of Beijing’s exercise of sovereignty over Tibet. Many other factors such as the increasing pollution or the slowing-down of the economy also worry Beijing’s leadership. Unfortunately, the only outcome the leadership has found in 2015 is more repression and greater restriction of individual freedoms.

PLA Digest November 2015

Here is the PLA Digest for November 2015.

US Navy admiral who says Beijing’s South China Sea territorial claims should be challenged starts China visit
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: November 2, 2015
The commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, who previously said Washington should challenge Beijing’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, started a three-day visit to China.
U.S. Navy Admiral Harry Harris’ visit was arranged before the warship USS Lassen, which is under his command, sparked a rebuke from Beijing after sailing within 12-nautical-miles (22km) of two artificial islands, Michief and Subi reefs, built by China in the disputed Spratly Islands on October 27.
China’s navy chief Admiral Wu Shengli warned his US counterpart, Admiral John Richardson, during a video call that even a minor confrontation between their two militaries in the South China Sea could culminate into conflict.

Building a Credible Arsenal: China’s Improved ICBMs
Source: China Brief Volume: 15 Issue: 21
Date: November 2, 2015
On September 3, the PRC displayed DF-5B intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) at the end of the strategic weapons portion of the Victory Day parade. This was the first time the DF-5 missiles have appeared in a public parade since 1984 and were the only liquid-propellant missiles on display, as well as the only non-mobile/silo-based system at the parade. While various reports differ on its exact range, the common agreement is that it the DF-5 series of missiles is capable of hitting most, if not all, of the strategic targets inside continental U.S..
The Chinese Dong Feng-5 (DF, East Wind) family of missiles is undergoing significant modernization, mainly involving an upgrade to an operational Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicle (MIRV) system. These missiles are several decades old, have low survivability against Russian and US nuclear weapons, and are few in number, with only approximately 20 in service. Even after upgrading, however, they will still be non-survivable and few in number. This raises the question of why these missiles are being modernized when the missiles could instead be deactivated and the money put toward increasing the number of more survivable DF-31 or DF-41 families.
The DF-5B upgrade (CSS-4 Mod 3) likely acts as a stopgap or diversifying element of China’s arsenal, contributing to its strategic nuclear deterrent. Adding a credible MIRV component to a nuclear arsenal typically multiplies the perceived threat emanating from even a small arsenal, adding to its deterrent value. Modern ballistic missile defense systems have no proven and operational means of targeting missiles in boost phase, they only can intercept reentry vehicles (RVs) in midcourse and terminal phases, and even these intercepts have severe limitations. A MIRV upgrade therefore means that the number of targets in both of these phases is multiplied, turning the DF-5 arsenal of less than 20 launchers into an arsenal with an unknown amount of reentry vehicles.

Ruling the PLA According to Law: An Oxymoron?
Source: China Brief Volume: 15 Issue: 21
Date: November 2, 2015
One of the least transparent and least understood parts of Xi Jinping’s program to “rule the country according to law,” announced in October, 2014, is the creation of a body of military law with Chinese characteristics.
For over ten years, within the confines of academic discourse, Chinese military legal officials—serving and retired—have pointed out weaknesses in Chinese military law. As they describe the current military legal framework, military law and military legal institutions are isolated from their civilian counterparts, legislation underpinning basic military legal institutions is missing, commanders think their word is law, and military courts and prosecutors lack professional autonomy and security. These concerns remained the subject of academic discussion until late 2013.
The high level policy decision to modernize military law was first flagged by the Central Committee of the Communist Party during the Third Plenum in 2013, in the Decision On Several Major Issues Of Deepening Reform.
In the Fourth Plenum Decision, the Party highlighted the importance of creating a complete body of military law with Chinese characteristics and stressing the Communist Party’s absolute leadership over the Army as a core and fundamental requirement for ruling the military according to the law. The Decision additionally called for the overhaul of all aspects of military law, as well as educating officers and soldiers that following the law is part of the new normal in the PLA.

Snapshot of China's five-year plan as details revealed of blueprint for nation's development
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: November 3, 2015
A communiqué published by the state-run news agency Xinhua follows a meeting last week of senior members of the Communist Party to discuss the next five-year plan.
The proposals include:
Finance
* Speeding up reforms of the financial system and improving the way it serves China’s economy.
Ideology
* Strengthen ideological and cultural initiatives online. Cultivate a positive culture on the internet and ‘cleanse’ its environment.
Defence
* Complete reforms for national defence and the armed forces by 2020. Significant progress should also be made on mechanisation and automation in the armed forces and the use of information technology to build a modern Chinese military system.

Everything above board here?
Source: Quatz
Date: November 04, 2015
China is responsible for 30% of the world’s secretive defense spending, reports Transparency International (TI), a Berlin-based anti-corruption NGO. Secretive spending, defined by TI as “military expenditure where no meaningful details are released either to the public or parliament,” is leading to corruption at home and mistrust in the Asia-Pacific region that could destabilize the area, the organization says.
“No information is available on acquisition planning, and only broad details are disclosed on actual and planned purchases,” TI wrote about China’s defense spending in its Asia-Pacific Government Defense Anti-Corruption Index, adding: “The Chinese public would gain more knowledge about their nation’s defense capabilities through reading foreign press reporting.”
Furthermore, “additional, off-the-books spending” could be as high as 50% of China’s official defense expenditure—or $65 billion, based on China’s declared defense budget last year (paywall)—making it extremely difficult to form an accurate assessment of what China’s military is spending its money on.

Spectacular scene of S-300 missile launch
Source: People's Daily Online
Date: November 05, 2015
To strengthen the troops’ fighting capacity, a missile brigade of the Jinan MR of the PLA has been focusing on training in real combat environment in recent years. It has accomplished over 20 important missions.

CHINA SECURITY: China Reins In Its Hacker Army
Source: Epoch Times
Date: November 9, 2015
Rumor has it the Chinese regime will move its cyberwarfare units under a single command structure. Unnamed sources told Bloomberg in mid-October that Chinese cyber units from all departments would be moved under a centralized command under the CMC.
Changes were allegedly discussed during the CCP’s Fifth Plenum, attended by more than 350 top CCP officials, where they lay out the new five-year economic plan.
Bloomberg followed with some interesting analysis, but in my opinion, it missed the mark. First of all, the Chinese regime already has a command structure for its cyber departments, which on the surface—and under proposed changes—is headed by the CMC. Second, proposals for the new Chinese military structure give a much more complex picture of how its cyber units will be managed.
As things stand now, the CCP’s cyber units are broken into three tiers. The structure, which is already under the CMC, was detailed in the latest edition of The Science of Military Strategy, published by the top research institute of the PLA. While the document was released in 2013, details on the cyber structure were only reported in the West in March this year.

New soldiers undergo tough training in Xinjiang
Source: People's Daily Online
Date: November 09, 2015
Several new soldiers of the Xinjiang Military Region brave the tough training

China needs focus on military-industrial complex, officer says
Source: Reuters
Date: November 9, 2015
China needs to place greater focus on developing a military-industrial complex, much like the U.S. has done, to ensure a powerful armed forces commensurate with its place in the world, a senior officer wrote in a new book.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has set great store on China's military modernization, including developing an ocean-going ‘blue water’ navy, stealth jets and other advanced technologies to better defend the country's growing global interests.
In a collection of essays released this week by top officials on the 13th five-year plan, which maps out economic targets up to 2020, Xu Qiliang, a vice chairman of the powerful CMC, said China needs security to be able to develop its economy.
Citing ancient Chinese philosopher Shang Yang, who helped create a powerful military force in one of the early Chinese states, Xu said a country cannot get rich without decent armed forces.

Top Chinese General Visits Djibouti Amid Base Speculation
Source: Agence France-Presse
Date: November 10, 2015
A top Chinese military officer visited Djibouti, official media reported, prompting a state-run newspaper to downplay concerns Beijing is planning to establish a base in the strategically vital African entrepot.
The chief of the PLA General Staff, Gen. Fang Fenghui met Djibouti's president at the weekend, the official PLA news source China Military Online reported.
Fang told President Ismail Omar Guelleh that China was willing to "deepen pragmatic cooperation between the two countries and two militaries," the report paraphrased.
Beijing is expanding its military heft and reach as China becomes more powerful, with annual double-digit defense budget increases and its first aircraft carrier entering service.
Chinese officials say the country does not have any overseas military bases.
But Chinese contracts to build or manage Indian Ocean ports have raised concerns it is seeking to establish a so-called ‘string of pearls’ in the region.

Speculation on Djibouti military base meant to hype up China threat: expert
Source: Global Times
Date: November 10, 2015
A senior Chinese military official's visit to the east African country of Djibouti has sparked concerns that China will build its first overseas military base, which experts consider over-politicized.
Fang Fenghui, chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, visited the Chinese warship Sanya in Djibouti. Fang inspected the ship's facilities and appraised the performance of fleet officers and soldiers off the Somalia coast and in the Gulf of Aden, according to the website of the Ministry of Defense.
The visit, however, renewed speculation on a military base in the African country. Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh was quoted by AFP as saying in May that discussions were ongoing and Beijing's presence would be ‘welcome’.
Analysts said it is normal for a senior military official to visit PLA soldiers especially at the end of the year, urging not to politicize or over-interpret the visit.

Military base bans cars with data recorders
Source: Global Times
Date: November 10, 2015
An undisclosed military base in China has banned cars with event data recorders from entering its military areas as an anti-espionage precaution, the PLA Daily reported Monday.
According to the report, event data recorders can record sensitive information such as military activities and the lay of the land in and around military areas, which could lead to leaks of important intelligence.
Media outlets have recently reported on a number of anti-espionage cases involving both military personnel and ordinary people.
"Espionage activities have become increasingly active in China in recent years as the nation sees a growing global influence," Li Wei, an expert at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times.

To build a modern army, the People's Liberation Army must learn from the US, says Chinese military official
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: November 11, 2015
China needs to focus more on developing a military-industrial complex much like the U.S. has done, to ensure a powerful army in keeping with its place in the world, according to a top Chinese military official.
"China is walking towards the centre of the world stage as it gains more power. It faces increasing … challenges. National revival could be interrupted if the economy, technology and defence are not enhanced at the same time," CMC vice-chairman Xu Qiliang wrote in a collection of essays released this week.
Military-industrial complex refers to a mutually beneficial relationship between a country's military and defence-minded firms and manufacturers.
Xu's call is part of President Xi Jinping's campaign to transform the PLA into a modern force capable of winning wars.

Arms race in space gathers pace as China and the US test missiles
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: November 11, 2015
China tested a Dong Neng-3 missile at the Korla Missile Test Complex in Xinjiang on October 30, the Washington Free Beacon said, citing two anonymous US officials.
The officials described the Dong Neng-3 as a “direct-ascent missile” designed to take out satellites. It was designed to target even those satellites with missile defence capabilities, they said.
Two days later, America’s Missile Defence Agency tested its Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system on Wake Island in the western Pacific Ocean. The test, which cost US$230 million, demonstrated THAAD destroying a ballistic missile launched by a C-17 transport plane.

China plans maritime, space projects in next five years 
Source: English.news.cn
Date: November 12
China will launch key maritime, space and Internet projects for integration of the country's military and civilian resources in the next five years, a senior officer said.
"China is on its way to building itself into a maritime, space and cyber power," said Xu Qiliang, vice chairman of the CMC, in a signed article's People's Daily.
Calling the seas, space and the Internet "strategic fields for military competition" and "commanding grounds for boosting economic and sci-tech development," Xu said concerted efforts from the whole nation and armed forces are needed to achieve major progress.
China has set up several incubators for the aerospace industry to assist growth and technology transfer in Beijing, Shanghai, Shaanxi and Sichuan.
The country's Tianhe supercomputer series and the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System have improved the development of national defense, society and economy.

Fall in line: PLA Daily orders Chinese soldiers to obey Communist Party commands
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: 13 November, 2015
The military’s mouthpiece has ordered officers to toe the Communist Party line in a volley of commentaries apparently aimed at countering internal resistance to personnel cuts.
Military analysts said the commentaries indicated President Xi Jinping’s military reform was still meeting some resistance from vested interests.
The PLA Daily has published five commentaries in the past two weeks that call for the entire military to obey the party’s order.

China’s PLA top brass fan out across region in push analysts say aimed at reassuring Asia-Pacific neighbours
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: 13 November, 2015
China is stepping up its military diplomacy within the region amid challenges from the U.S.’ pivot towards the Asia-Pacific and territorial tensions with various neighbours.
Three of the 11 members of the CMC, the supreme military decision-making body, have visited seven nations in the region this month alone, not counting President Xi Jinping’s visit to Vietnam.
General Fan Changlong, the CMC’s vice-chairman, embarked on a trip to Pakistan and India on Wednesday; Admiral Wu Shengli left for Malaysia, Indonesia and the Maldives; and Defence Minister Chang Wanquan visited Malaysia and Cambodia from November 3 as part of the Asean defence ministers’ summit.
Xi, who is chairman of the CMC, visited Vietnam last week, accompanied by Admiral Sun Jianguo.

China-Pakistan fighter said to have found new buyer
Source: China Daily
Date: November 13, 2015
The FC-1 Fierce Dragon, or JF-17 Thunder, a fourth-generation fighter jet co-developed by China and Pakistan, has found a buyer following several years of speculation and promotion.
The aircraft's developers, Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC) and Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, signed a contract with an unidentified buyer, AVIC said in a statement sent to China Daily.
It did not elaborate on when the contract was signed or how many FC-1s are to be sold. The Pakistan Air Force is the only user of the lightweight, multi-purpose combat aircraft, with 60 in active service.
"This plane is an ideal replacement for second-and third-generation fighter jets still in service with many militaries. The FC-1 has ... good capabilities in air combat and air-to-ground strikes, and a high cost-performance ratio," said Liu Yu, deputy head of AVIC's military aircraft trade wing.

Two generals of China's military investigated
Source: China Military Online
Date: November 13, 2015
Two former major generals have been investigated recently according to China's military authorities.
Wu Ruizhong, former deputy political commissar of the Engineering University of the PLA SAF, was probed on suspicion of serious disciplinary violations by the CMC’s Commission for Discipline Inspection (CDI), and the suspected crime issues and clues have been transferred to the military procuratorates.
Qu Mutian, former deputy commander of the traffic troops of the Chinese PAPF, was probed on suspicion of serious disciplinary violations by the PAPF’s CDI with the approval of the CMC’s CDI, and the suspected crime issues and clues have been transferred to the military procuratorates.

China, Pakistan pledge closer military cooperation
Source: Xinhua
Date: November 13, 2015
Visiting Vice Chairman of China's CMC Fan Changlong met with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, pledging closer military cooperation between the two countries.
Fan said the bilateral relations between China and Pakistan has entered a new era after the two countries' ties were lifted to all-weather strategic partnership of cooperation during Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Pakistan in April. He said China highly values the efforts of Pakistan in the international war on terrorism and the sound achievements it has made.
China is willing to continue strengthening bilateral counter-terrorism cooperation with Pakistan and safeguarding regional peace and stability together, he added.
Fan said the Chinese military would like to deepen pragmatic cooperation with the Pakistani military in various areas and make contribution to the construction of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the two countries' all-round cooperation.

The Next Big U.S.-China Military Challenge: Beijing's Underwater Nukes
Source: National Interest
Date: November 14, 2015
How vulnerable are China’s nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs, or boomers), and what does that vulnerability mean for US strategy?
The PLAN has devoted considerable time and expense to developing a maritime nuclear deterrent. The U.S. Navy, on the other hand, has forty years of experience in hunting down Russian boomers. Chinese boomers present no major problem.
But the paradox of nuclear weapons is that one player’s insecurity can make the other player less secure. If the U.S. can credibly threaten the Chinese nuclear deterrent, Beijing’s paranoia might become more risk acceptant, rather than less. This makes the decision to exploit the vulnerability of China’s boomers fraught with danger.
Fortunately, the U.S. faced a similar dilemma in the Cold War, when U.S. attack boats (SSNs) hunted Soviet boomers in the arctic. That experience, and the debates that flowed from it, can help inform U.S. decision-making today.

China Should Consider Establishing Overseas Military Bases
Source: Huanqiu (Global Times)
Date: November 14, 2015
Wang Haiyun, Senior Advisor of the China Institute for International Strategy, published an article proposing that China break through the old restriction on establishing overseas naval bases.
China has become the world's second largest economy and is truly a big country in the world no matter which way you look at it. China's global interests are expanding; its global responsibility is also increasing. China hopes to provide more public engagement with the international community, including more involvement in combating piracy and conducting peacekeeping operations and humanitarian relief. Regardless of which task is performed, they all depend on protection from overseas military bases. The world's major powers all have overseas military bases. The U.S. military bases are all over the globe. Even Japan has opened a logistics base overseas. As a UN Security Council permanent member, why should China tie itself?
China's economy is increasingly integrating with the world economy. China’s enterprises’ "going out" process is accelerating. China's overseas assets are growing in scale. More and more people are working and traveling overseas. The security tasks of maintaining oil and gas pipelines and other infrastructure are becoming more arduous. Because it lacks overseas military bases to provide security, China will inevitably encounter more and more problems and security risks. With the advance of “one belt, one road" initiative, this situation will become even more prominent.

Chinese military leader arrives in India for official visit
Source: China Military Online
Date: November 15, 2015
At the New Delhi International Airport, Gen. Fan Changlong delivered a written statement:
It is with great pleasure for my colleagues and me to come to the beautiful country of India for an official visit at the invitation of the armed forces of the Republic of India. We bring with us the friendly sentiments from the Chinese people and armed forces towards the Indian people and armed forces.
Being two ancient civilizations, China and India are the world’s biggest developing countries and new emerging markets. Sharing a long history of friendly exchanges, the two countries have witnessed a flourishing development of bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields in recent years thanks to the personal attention and joint efforts by the state leaders of the two countries. Such has advanced the relations between the two countries and armed forces into new phase. The Chinese dream is closely connected with the splendid dream of the Indian people. The strengthening of friendly cooperation between China and India will not only benefit the 2.5 billion people of the two countries, but also contribute to the peace and development of the region in particular and the world at large.
My visit mainly aims to implement the consensus reached between our state leaders, to enhance mutual understanding, cooperation and friendship between the two militaries, and to make due contribution towards advancing the common development of the two countries and carrying forward the bilateral friendship.
I look forward to exchanging views in an in-depth way with the state and military leaders of India on bilateral state-to-state and mil-to-mil relations as well as other issues with common interests. I am confident that this visit will be a complete success with the thoughtful arrangement made by the Indian side.

PLA Daily hypes military reform rollout
Source: Global Times
Date: November 16, 2015
Several heavyweight State-run media outlets have recently run articles calling for solidarity in military reform, which experts say signifies that reform is about to be rolled out.
Since October 27, the PLA Daily has published five articles exhorting military staff to follow the leadership of the CPC throughout the course of military reform. The People's Daily has also run articles espousing the necessity of military reform.
"The media outlets' reports show that the reform is about to occur. People may see the release of structural adjustments by the end of the year," Song Zhongping, a Beijing-based military commentator, told the Global Times.

China-India border remains stable: official
Source: Global Times
Date: November 17, 2015
The border between China and India is generally stable, visiting Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission Fan Changlong said in New Delhi.
During his meeting with Indian Army Chief, General Dalbir Singh, Fan said that the two countries have been holding military exchanges and joint training exercises, which are as an important part of bilateral relations.
Fan called on the two militaries to implement the consensus on boundary issues, properly control their differences, strengthen border cooperation at all levels, enhance communication and safeguard peace and stability at border regions.
During his meeting with Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar, Fan said that China opposes all forms of terrorism and vows to join the international community in fighting it, while Parrikar also called for bilateral cooperation on anti-terrorism.

China, Russia reaffirm cooperation on military defense
Source: Xinhua
Date November 18, 2015
China and Russia said the high-level political mutual trust could be used to stimulate the pragmatic cooperation in military defense areas.
Xu Qiliang, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, stressed that China is willing to work with Russia to promote defense cooperation in protection of mutual interests and regional as well as world stability.
During his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Xu hailed the high-level growth of bilateral comprehensive partnership of strategic coordination, which brought along the fruitful cooperation of the two countries' armed forces.
Putin on his part praised the China-Russia all-around cooperation as one crucial factor for world peace and stability.

In Shanxi Province, Corrupt Military Officers Resisted Inspection with Gunshots 
Source: The Trend Magazine
Date: November 18, 2015
According to The Trend Magazine, the General Staff Department and General Political Department of the PLA organized a Joint Military Inspection and Law Enforcement Team that made an unexpected visit to the Shanxi Province Military Region Entertainment Club to do a corruption inspection. When the law enforcement staff ordered those "having-good-time" military officers to present their IDs, the military officers resisted and surrounded the law enforcement staff. The law enforcement team then fired some warning gunshots which failed to scatter the officers who surrounded them. When the law enforcement team tried to take away a leading officer, who was inciting the other officers to reject inspections, the military officers on the scene attacked back with cold gunshots.
Since 1989, former top leader Jiang Zemin has been implementing corruption strategies to win the support and loyalty of the CCP gang members and of army generals. In the over 10 years that Jiang was in power, the corruption in the PLA spread rapidly across the entire nation. The phenomena of making money through smuggling; lust as a form of entertainment; exchanges involving power and sex, as well as power and money; murdering witnesses; and fleeing overseas with huge amounts of money became very rampant. 

New recruits take training in Kashi, Xinjiang
Source: People's Daily Online
Date: November 19, 2015
The 300 new soldiers stationed in Kashi Prefecture, Xinjiang, have finished basic training and exercises, getting one step closer to becoming real warriors who defend the motherland at frontline.

China 'agrees to buy' 24 advanced fighter jets from Russia in US$2b deal
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: November 20, 2015
China has agreed to pay Russia US$2 billion for 24 Sukhoi-35 fighter jets, the most advanced combat plane the country exports, following nearly half a decade of negotiations, Russian media reported.
The agreement was reached following a closed-door meeting attended by representatives from each side in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, which lies northeast of the Heilongjiang border, news wire Tass said, citing an unnamed Russian official.
Beijing has yet to confirm the report.
National newspaper Izvestia reported the details of the contract, which will see China become the first foreign buyer of the Su-35.
Russia first signalled its intention to sell the fourth-generation jet in 2010, reportedly wanting China to buy 48. But Beijing grew less interested in the purchase after it successfully tested the J-15 jet, which it developed for its aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.

China’s top admiral says navy has shown ‘enormous restraint’ in face of US’ South China Sea provocations
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: November 20, 2015
China’s top admiral says his forces have shown “enormous restraint” in the face of U.S. provocations in the South China Sea, while warning that they stand ready to respond to repeated breaches of mainland sovereignty.
Beijing, which claims almost the entire energy-rich South China Sea through which US$5 trillion in ship-borne trade passes yearly, has stepped up a programme of land reclamation and construction in disputed islands and reefs in the area, which has sparked concern in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Chinese navy has closely monitored the provocative actions of the U.S. and issued several warnings, while exercising enormous restraint in the interests of safeguarding the overall situation in bilateral relations

Chinese Naval Admiral Warned U.S. Admiral to His Face
Source: Global Times
Date: November 20, 2015
Global Times recently reported that Chinese Naval Commander Admiral Wu Shengli met with U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Scott Swift, who was visiting Beijing on November 19. Wu said in the meeting that China is strongly against the recent U.S.' “serious provocation” against China’s sovereignty by approaching Chinese islands too closely under the name of freedom of navigation. Wu asked the U.S. Navy to cherish the valuable U.S.-China relationship, stop threatening Chinese national security in the South China Sea, and carefully control the U.S.' maritime military activities. Swift replied that the U.S. Navy does not want to cast a shadow over the relationship of the two navies only because of the South China Sea situation. He called for more joint exercises to avoid potential misjudgments and accidents based on The Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea.

China makes breakthrough in electromagnetic missile launching technology
Source: People's Daily Online
Date: November 20, 2015
A research project on high-powered electromagnetic launching technology, conducted by the #206 research institute of the Second Academy’s China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp. (CASIC), has made major breakthroughs, according to a report on the CASIC website.
Li Yan, leader of the research team, explained that chemical energy launching technology is still widely used in modern warfare because of its great explosive power. However, it has many weaknesses: the launching process is irreversible and the emergency control is troublesome. Meanwhile, the traditional launching methods have already neared its speed limit. Applying electric energy to launching technology is an inevitable choice.
Focusing on common electromagnetic missile launching technology and electromagnetic launching technology for short-range barrage air defense, the technology developed by the research team has significantly improved the launching performance of the missiles as well as their exit velocity; it has also reduced the weight of the missile carrier mechanism and the operation and maintenance cost of the launcher. The electromagnetic launching technology is an indicator of the military's technical improvement, and will be applied to weapon equipment systems across different fields.

Over 20,000 candidates take PLA civilian personnel exam
Source: Xinhua
Date: November 22, 2015
Over 20,000 candidates took the 2016 national exam for the PLA civilian personnel recruitment, competing for some 2400 vacancies.
The competition for each position varies, with 234 applicants vying for one spot the most fierce competition.
According to the person in charge of the exam with the PLA General Political Department, this year has seen an improvement in the overall quality of applicants.
Official data shows 26 percent of the examinees have graduated from national key universities and colleges, 42 percent were with graduate diplomas or above and 29 percent had rich work experience.
Besides, 16 percent of all candidates have applied for the exam on more than one year.

Veterans receive secrecy inspection to target leaks
Source: Global Times
Date: November 24, 2015
An undisclosed military regiment in Hubei Province required its veterans to undergo a secrecy inspection and hand over any photos that may involve military secrets.
According to a report by the PLA Daily, a veteran's album filled with photos of training exercises has drawn officials' attention. A piece of late-model military equipment is faintly visible in three of his photos. The veteran, Zhao Jun, was later ordered to hand over or destroy the relevant pictures.
The regiment later found out that many veterans have kept documents related to military secrets. Secrecy education and tightened regulations were subsequently introduced by the regiment as anti-leak precautions, the PLA Daily reported.

China hits the launch button for massive PLA shake-up to create a modern, nimble force
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: November 25, 2015
Top leaders of the People’s Liberation Army were told the long-awaited overhaul of the armed forces had been launched, with the existing seven military commands to be regrouped into four strategic zones, sources close to the PLA said.
The restructure was formally announced at a plenary session of the leading group for national defence and military reform under the CMC.
The session was attended by President Xi Jinping and top leaders from the PLA’s four headquarters, seven key military commands, navy, air force, missile corps and armed police.
One of the sources told the South China Morning Post that Xi, who is also CMC chairman, urged the leaders to comply with what is expected to be a long and extensive restructuring.

World’s strongest ‘death beam’ from China still can’t fry an egg, but it could blind an enemy drone
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: November 25, 2015
Chinese scientists set a new record with powerful laser, which has potentially strong military applications but hampered by fact it only lasts for the blink of an eye.
Researchers from Shanghai have created the most powerful laser beam ever made with potentially wide-ranging applications in fields from nuclear physics to high-tech weaponry, according to their paper published in the latest issue of the Journal Optics Letters.
The beam reached a peak power of 5.13 petawatts (1 petawatt is equal to 1 billion millions watts), dwarfing the record set recently by Japanese scientists.
But the latest breakthrough appears to be grounded at present by an Achilles’ heel: It cannot sustain its peak power output for long, and lasted for less than 30 femtoseconds (30 quadrillionths of a second), according the to the team.
The new record was generated at the State Key laboratory of High Field Laser Physics under the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics.

Xi urges breakthroughs in military structural reform
Source: Xinhua
Date: November 26, 2015
Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged breakthroughs in reform of the country's armed forces by 2020, vowing to reorganize the current military administration structure and military command system.
Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the CMC, made the remarks at a meeting on reforming the armed forces which was held from Nov. 24 to 26.
FROM MILITARY COMMANDS TO BATTLE ZONE COMMANDS
A new structure will be established, in which the CMC takes charge of the overall administration of the PLA, the Chinese PAPF and the militia and reserve forces; battle zone commands focus on combats; and different military services pursue their own construction, Xi said.

PLA reforms put command efficiency first
Source: Global Times
Date: November 28, 2015
The establishment of a leadership body for the Chinese ground forces and joint operational command system will be highlighted in the upcoming military reform to boost the efficiency and modernization of the military, analysts said, a day after the country unveiled a major reform plan for its military.
The reform plan will focus on the improvement of the leadership and management system, restructuring of CMC’s departments and function reallocation, a joint operatioanl command organization and system to coordinate battle zone commands, Senior Colonel Yang Yujun, a spokesman for the National Defense Ministry, said at a press briefing.
A leadership body will be founded to lead the ground forces of the PLA, which are currently supervised by four headquarters - the General Staff Headquarters, the General Political Department, the General Logistics Department and the General Armament Department. This is a major measure to improve the leadership and command system, Yang said.

China's peace commitment unchanged after military overhaul
Source: Xinhua
Date: November 27, 2015
China's plan to reorganize the current military administration structure and command system, will not affect the country's defense policy, which is "defensive in nature," a spokesman for the National Defense Ministry said on Friday.
Yang Yujun told a press conference that "Chinese armed forces will always be a staunch force to safeguard world peace and regional stability," after President Xi Jinping announced that all China's armed forces will be supervised and controlled by the top military organ, the CMC.

China unveils military revamp
Source: Global Times
Date: November 27
China has unveiled an outline of the highly-anticipated military reform plan, including a redrawing of the regional military command system and streamlining the leadership of the Communist Party of China, to develop a modern military system "capable of winning information-age warfare."
Analysts said the latest military reform marks a landmark adaption to the increasingly complicated global situation faced by the world's largest rising power.

China's President Xi Jinping wants ‘PLA Inc’ to stop its song and dance, plans end for profit-making activities
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: November 28, 2015
For decades, the PLA has profited from accepting civilian patients at military hospitals, leasing military warehouses to commercial firms, hiring PLA song and dance troupes for public events, outsourcing military construction companies, and opening military academies and institutions to public students.
The reforms were outlined on Thursday after a three-day military conference chaired by Xi.
When China opened up in 1978 to concentrate on economic development, leader Deng Xiaoping allowed PLA officers to profit from services to achieve greater self-sufficiency and cut the nation’s defence burden.

China's PLA reforms slash political posts as part of a 300,000 cut in non-combat personnel by 2017
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: November 29, 2015
Many rank-and-file political officers are expected to lose their jobs in the reform of the PLA.
However, the CPC's grip on the military's political ideology will be tightened with the setting up of a discipline commission that will take over the responsibilities for military discipline from political officers and their deputies in lower level military units.
A unique feature of the PLA means political officers - the most senior of whom are commissars - hold military rank equalling that of unit commanders to ensure the party's absolutely control over combat forces. Political officers, who exist at all levels, oversee discipline and manage non-combat units, including medical, communications, academies, promotion of personnel, as well as army entertainment troupes.

Tibet delegate to the Congress investigated

Chang Xiaobing, another tiger investigated

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported today that the Chinese Communist Party graft-busters are investigating China Telecom's chairman, Chang Xiaobing.
The Hong Kong newspaper says that the probe comes 10 months after Chang claimed, on the sidelines of the National People’s Congress in March, that he only took home US$ 1,200 a month (after tax!). Chang was then attending the Congress as a member of the Tibet delegation.
Now, it looks like Chang was taking more than US$ 1,200 a month!
The SCMP notes: “China Telecom chairman Chang Xiaobing is the latest senior official of a state-owned industrial juggernaut to fall from grace in Beijing’s sweeping crackdown on corruption.”
The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, announced in a statement that Chang “was suspected of seriously violating party discipline”, in other words, a case of corruption!
Four months ago, Chang, 58, then chairman and chief executive of China Unicom, had swapped job with Wang Xiaochu, then chairman of China Telecom. It was a major reshuffle at the top of China’s telecom sector.
Two sources told the SCMP that the investigation into Chang’s allegedly corrupt activities relates to his time at Unicom; he had been officiating as Chairman since November 2004.
A few months ago, two Unicom officials, Zhang Zhijiang, a general manager responsible for network construction, and Zong Xinhua, who oversaw e-commerce, had been ‘taken away’ by the CCDI officials, also for allegedly ‘serious violations of discipline’.
At that time, it was reported that some Unicom officials committed a series of wrongdoings, including colluding with vendors to make illegal incomes; taking advantage of their positions to help relatives secure big contracts; and accepting valuable ‘gifts’ such as shares of companies from clients.
Chang Xiaobing is/was a member of the Tibet delegation to the National People’s Congress (with Wang Huning, President Xi Jinping’s faithful confident).
In March 2013, Bloomberg News had reported that China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd., the nation’s second-largest wireless carrier, had announced that its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Chang Xiaobing had joined the National People’s Congress as a member of the Tibet delegation.
Bloomberg then commented: “Chang is not ethnically Tibetan, and China Unicom has no information on why he was chosen for that delegation, Zhou Xiaoke, Unicom’s Hong Kong-based director of investor relations, said... Chang has previously served on the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, which advises the legislature.”
Bloomberg added: “Chang joins the Tibetan delegation at a sensitive time as a rising number of activists from the region are setting themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule. Chang is part of the nation’s ethnic Han majority and is from the northern province of Hebei that surrounds Beijing.”
The reason why Chang was part of the 20-member Tibet delegation (with Wang Huning) is that Xi Jinping wanted the industry to invest on the plateau. Chang was the representative of the industry, like Wang Huning represented the Politburo and Dr. Ding Zhongli of the Chinese Academy of Science represented ‘environment’.
I had mentioned this in March 2013 on this blog.
Coincidentally, Xinhua announced last week that China will continue to offer preferential financial policies to support Tibet for the next five years. Pan Gongsheng, deputy head of the People's Bank of China, urged commercial banks to provide more credit resources for Tibet “while risks are under control.”
Pan stressed the importance of diversifying financial businesses and increasing branches in Tibet, and encouraging qualified capital to establish small institutions like private and village banks.
More direct financing and financial bonds are expected to facilitate enterprises, especially small and micro businesses in Tibet, he said.
In the meantime, Xi Jinping will have to find a replacement for Chang Xiaobing in the Tibet delegation to the National People’s Congress in March.
Why not Jack Ma, who recently bought The South China Morning Post?

Latest:
According to SCMP, China Unicom’s former chairman is said to have sold a state-owned office building in Beijing at 800 million yuan (HK$957 million) below the market price to benefit disgraced former general Guo Boxiong’s family, according to a letter (circulated online) by a mainland credit assessment company.
State-owned telecommunications giant China Unicom in 2011 sold the Beijing China Merchants International Financial Centre to a real estate firm under the control of Guo’s family, the letter said.
The deal resulted in about 800 million yuan worth of losses in state assets as the building was sold at only a third of its market price of 1.2 billion yuan. Other potential buyers, including insurance giant Taikang Life Insurance, had offered much higher prices but were turned down, the letter said.

Spiritual Instability on the Tibetan Plateau

Tibetan Lama arriving in Beijing

A few days ago, I mentioned the growing ‘popularity’ of the Tibetan Lamas and ‘Living Buddhas’ in China, but what about Tibet?
The ‘Living Buddhas’, under the wings of the Communist Party of China are also flourishing on the Plateau.
A question however comes to mind: are these ‘Rinpoches’, 'Tulkus', 'Living Budhdas' fake or genuine?
According to the White Paper, Tibet's Path of Development Is Driven by an Irresistible Historical Tide published in April: “Currently, Tibet has 1,787 sites for different religious activities, over 46,000 resident monks and nuns, and 358 Living Buddhas.”
I wrote about the Fake Lama, Communists Lamas, after the issue received a great deal of publicity from Zhu Weiqun, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference's Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee.
In a CCTV interview, Zhu said that ‘[some] fake Living Buddhas are cheating people out of their savings or luring them into sexual activities using religious practice as an excuse.”
Jamphel Gyatso, a Tibetan scholar associated with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has now attacked Zhu Weiqun and Ye Xiaowen, former head of the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) on Weibo on December 18 about this.
I shall come back to it.
Perhaps more importantly, a senior Communist cadre of Tibetan origin, recently spoke of 'ethnic discrimination' in China. It is new!

Ethnic Discrimination
Jampa Phuntsok, who before being appointed as Vice-Chairman of the National People’s Congress in 2013, served as Governor of Tibet, openly stated that that the Chinese government “needed to make more efforts to tackle ethnic discrimination”.
This was reported by Xinhua and the Chinese media.
It is a rare comment by a senior official on what is a really tricky issue for Beijing.
The syndrome known as ‘Great Han Chauvinism’ has often been mentioned on this blog,
Three years ago, a debate was raging is China: should 'nationalities' continue to enjoy the autonomy offered to them by the Constitution of the People's Republic of China?
It is again Zhu Weiqun, the former Chinese interlocutor in the Beijing-Dharamsala talks who suggested that the 'nationalities' should be divested of their special privileges in order to achieve 'national cohesion'.
On the opposite, I had also quoted Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek about the possibility for the ‘nationalities’ to obtain ‘independence'.
In 1945, Chiang announced in the Chinese Parliament that his Government desired to allow the ‘frontier racial groups’ to attain independence …if capable of doing so. He affirmed:

I solemnly declare that if the Tibetans should at this time express a wish for self-government our Government would, in conformity with our sincere traditions, accord it a very high degree of autonomy. If in the future, they fulfill economic requirement of independence, the nation’s Government will, as in the case of Outer Mongolia, help them to attain this status.

In the early days of the Chinese Revolution, the Communists also believed in giving a large autonomy to the 'nationalities'
Blogger Tsering Woeser once wrote:

After the Red Army had firmly settled in Yan’an, Mao Zedong told the American journalist Edgar Snow: 'the Red Army’s only external debt is that it took away the food from the outer ethnic minorities and now owes them, one day, we must repay this debt.' But what does this 'external debt' mean? Does this not refer to owing a foreign country? It shows that at the time, Mao Zedong did not consider Tibet a part of China.

Bapa Phuntsok Wangyal, the 'first' Tibetan Communist in the 1940's has extensively worked (while in solitary confinement in the 1960s/70s) on the issue of nationalities, regional autonomy within the People's Republic of China. In 2004/2005, he wrote a series of letters to CCP's General Secretary Hu Jintao. Wangyal's first letter sent in 2004, is posted on my website.

The Great Han Chauvinism
All this demonstrates that the Great Han Chauvinism and the racial discrimination against the non-Han 'nationalities' and the Tibetans in particular has been prevalent in China and some Communist leaders have been conscious about it.
The issue of the passport mentioned in an article published by Radio Free Asia (RFA) is another example showing that in the People's Republic of China, there are rules for Chinese and other rules for Tibetans.
According to RFA: “Under the April 2012 procedures issued by the TAR authorities, prospective Tibetan travelers are subject to arduous — and what some call discriminatory — procedures in an apparent attempt by Beijing to clamp down on their travels abroad.”
It appears that the procedures, contained in an official TAR document, were introduced after Tibetans attended the Kalachakra in India in January 2012, which was presided over by the Dalai Lama.
The article mentions the discrimination: "This is a contradiction of the law as the Chinese government, under national regulations, require the authorities to issue passports within 15 days after an application is made and to notify unsuccessful applicants within six days with the reasons why their applications were denied", it is more than a contradiction, it is part of a number of calculated policy which often pushes young Tibetan to become radical and look for undesirable solutions.
There are many more examples.
Take the posts in the defence services. A quick look at the composition of the CCP's Central Committee shows that there are 67 members with an Army background who made it as full or alternate members of the 18th Central Committee. Interestingly, there is only one woman, an alternate, among the 67 military CC members. All the military CC members - 100% of 67 -- are Han Chinese.

The case of Jampa Phuntsok
Now, the fact that Jampa Phuntsok, the senior most Tibetan in the Communist hierarchy with Pema Thinley, mentioned this during a session of the NPC, is new.
Phuntsok is quoted by Xinhua as saying: "In recent years, there have been recurring instances where people with ethnic backgrounds, even Han people, were discriminated against or denied access to certain service trades."
He takes the example of transport hubs and security checks at border posts and hotels where the discrimination often happened.
Phuntsok continues: “Despite repeated efforts to implement China's ethnic policies, the problem had generated unwanted social impact and caused strong public reactions from ethnic regions.”
He even warns: "Such practices which run counter to the regional ethnic autonomy law must be resolutely rectified."
An article by Reuters comments: “Officially self-governing regions with large minority populations, are supposed to have large-scale autonomy, though in reality Beijing holds the reins.”
This is particularly true in Tibet but also in Xinjiang with the Uighur minority.

The Chinese Panchen Lama
In the meantime, The Global Times quotes the Chinese Panchen Lama, ‘a key religious leader of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region’ who has taken the “pledge to become a Living Buddha protecting the country and benefiting the people.”
The Global Times believes that this could promote ethnic harmony.
But why does Gyaltsen Norbu, the Chinese selected Panchen Lama need to take this pledge now?
Was he not ‘protecting’ the country (China) before?
The Chinese propaganda says that Norbu questions: "Certain people in foreign countries have denounced my talk of a stable society and steady development, but will the local governments in those countries allow them to stay there for long if they keep making disturbances?"
Earlier, according to The Global Times, Norbu asserted: “Buddhism has no boundary, but the Living Buddha has his motherland, …religious groups cannot survive, let alone develop, if they don't abide by the country's law.”
This constant pledging and re-pledging shows that China is nervous.
The Plateau is spiritually instable.
Incidentally, why should China be the ‘Motherland’ of Buddha?
Was not Buddha the most illustrious ‘Son of India’?
To come back to Gyaltsen Norbu, according to tibet.cn, he further affirmed that ‘protecting the country and benefiting the people’ means “safeguarding society's stability and development is a priority in protecting any country, while people should be offered both material and spiritual benefits by stability and development.”
‘Stability and Development’ has been the leitmotivs of the Party vis-à-vis Tibet.
The young Lama has no choice but to follow the Party's line.
The Global Times recalls that the term ‘protect the country and benefit the people’ was first written on a banner sent to the Panchen Lama by former president Jiang Zemin in 1996
One Lian Xiangmin, said to be an expert with the China Tibetology Research Center, explained that Gyaltsen Norbu's words  “represent Tibetan people's heartfelt wishes for a better life and a stable society.”
Penpa Lhamo, deputy head of the Contemporary Studies Institute at the Tibet Academy of Social Sciences also expounded the Party line: “The Panchen Lama is not only a religious leader, but also an influential Chinese citizen. His patriotic remarks will profoundly affect many people.”
The mouthpiece of the Party reminds its readers that already in June, during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Norbu “had promised that he would learn from the example of his predecessor to unswervingly safeguard national unity and ethnic harmony, studying diligently and working vigorously to contribute to Tibetan Buddhism and socialist construction so as to live up to the expectations of the people.”
Reading all this, it is clear that the situation is not very stable on the plateau and Beijing does not even trust ‘lamas’ selected and groomed by the Party; but at the same time, discrimination continue to exist on the Roof of the World; it is what admitted Jampa Phuntsok, the senior Communist cadre.

Fake Rinpoches
As mentioned earlier in this post, Jamphel Gyatso attacked Zhu Weiqun and Ye Xiaowen on Weibo on December 18. It is interesting because Ye was involved in the fraudulent selection of the Panchen Lama.
In his Memoirs (Surviving the Dragon: A Tibetan Lama's Account of 40 Years under Chinese Rule), Arjia Rinpoche, a Tibetan lama also linked with the selection and now living in the US, recounted that after the enthronement of the Chinese Panchen Lama (Gyaltsen Norbu) in Tashilhunpo, he returned to Beijing by plane. He and Jamyang Shepa (another high Tibetan Lama) were called in a private cabin by Li Tieying, a Central minister and Ye Xiaowen: “Both of them looked especially pleased with themselves. Li Tieying placed the event in the context of great moments in China's history.”
Ye Xiaowen then revealed the shocking secret: “When we made our selection we left nothing to chance. In the silk pouches of the ivory pieces we put a bit of cotton at the bottom of one of them, so it would be a little higher than the others and the right candidate would be chosen.”
Now, Zhu Weiqun and Ye are openly accused of closing their eyes on corruption involving the naming of ‘Living Buddhas’.
I wonder why Jamphel Gyatso does not mention the Panchen Lama’s case?
Regarding Gyatso’s accusations, ucanews.com, a Christian website, comments: “Accusations of rampant corruption, national security violations and other serious disciplinary offenses by senior party officials are rarely written or published in public forums in China unless they are already being pursued by authorities.”
Jamphel Gyatso had written: "Director Ye, how much money did you dredge up yourself?"
In a separate post, Gyatso also accused Zhu of corruption.
He questioned Zhu’ statement on the ‘Living Buddhas’; particularly the fact that they are used to fund separatist activity in Tibet.
According to ucanews.com: “The title of a ‘Living Buddha’ reportedly sells for more than 200,000 yuan (US$ 30,800) and many have been accused of selling out after appearing in television advertisements and online stores.”
Zhang Weiming, a researcher at the Sichuan Tibetan Buddhism Culture Research Center says: “There may be as many as 10,000 people calling themselves ‘Living Buddhas’ across China, Zhang estimated, even though the state has only recognized 1,700 [the White Paper says 358], suggesting 83 percent may be fraudulent.”
Zhang was quoted in The Global Times: “The phony tulkus are pervasive, which threatens the authority of the reincarnation system.”
The problem is that the disease touches not only the minor Lamas, but the senior ‘Living Buddhas’ too.
For a regime dreaming of 'stability', the issue of Party-appointed Lamas and ethnic discrimination are two serious weakening factors. 

Bhutan's Gross National Happiness depends on 'finding ways to grow economically in a carbon neutral way'

My article Bhutan's Gross National Happiness depends on 'finding ways to grow economically in a carbon neutral way appeared in today's edition of Mail Today

Here is the link...

As the New Year approaches, happiness is on everyone’s mind.
Though its definition differs, a tiny (in size) nation has made the concept of ‘global happiness’ known worldwide: it is Bhutan.
The idea of a Gross National Happiness (GNH) was coined in 1972 by Bhutan's fourth King, Jigme Singye Wangchuck.
Bhutan’s culture is based on deeper values, instead of a material development it aims at a constant increase in the gross domestic product
Bhutan’s culture is based on deeper values, instead of a material development it aims at a constant increase in the gross domestic product
It was a stroke of genius, from a monarch who saw the Future.
Since then, the Land of Dragon continued to pledge to have an economy preserving Bhutan’s culture based on deeper values, instead of a material development aiming at a constant increase in the gross domestic product.
Bhutan might not be a world decider like the US, China or India, but the Himalayan nation was often cited during the recently-held COP21 ‘climate’ negotiations in Paris.

Walk the talk
In an oped in Kuensel, Bhutan’s national newspaper, Annette Dixon, Vice President of the World Bank for South Asia wrote: “Bhutan declared in 2009 that it would remain carbon neutral and has made the most ambitious pledges on cutting emissions at COP21.”
The WB official however adds: “But staying neutral as emissions from industry and transport rapidly rise will not be easy. It will require aggressively finding ways to grow economically in a carbon neutral or reduced way.”
Bhutan defined the four pillars of ‘Happiness’ as sustainable development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment, and establishment of good governance.
GNH is officially part of Bhutan's five-year planning process, which guides the economic development of the nation.
Easier planned than done!

Though very few took note of the ‘happiness idea’ when it was first expounded, four decades later, things have changed.
Today, as the world starts looking back at the mess it has created, many believe that “after all, this GNH was perhaps not so naïve.”
In 2008, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French President commissioned a study of alternative gauges of economic welfare, while in 2010, the UK began measuring the ‘National Well-Being’.
The UN has already released its third World Happiness Report.
At the end of the Paris Conference, the European Union (EU) acknowledged Bhutan’s ‘extraordinary ambition’ in addressing climate change by signing a ‘declaration’, which recognizes “Bhutan’s unique situation as a land-locked and least developed country with a fragile mountainous environment.”
It recognises the special requirements necessary to cater for the nation’s sustainable development needs.
Today Bhutan is often cited as an example to follow.

The philosophy of Kingdom of the Dragon has indeed gone a long way since 1972. Yeshey Dorji, a renowned Bhutanese nature photographer recently wrote on his blog: “Bhutan is just too insignificant - considered from any point of view: we simply cannot make a difference, neither economically, technologically - in any way. But despite that…Bhutan does arouse some interest among world leaders and thinkers and policy makers.”
Yeshey is however not sure of the Future: “GNH is unlikely to work until we completely dismantle the present economic order - how and what we produce, how we consume, how we transport, how we market.”

Money matters
The world today being a Global Village, can a nation remain secluded and just play according to its own rules; in the case of Bhutan, without reference to its giant neighbours and their ‘development’ policies?
At the time of the Paris’ talks, The Wall Street Journal warned that while Bhutan “uses a unique barometer to measure economic progress, the message of the 2015 Gross National Happiness Index is a troubling one: Money isn’t buying enough contentment.”
With Bhutan becoming wealthier, will Happiness be consigned to the backstage for the sake of greater ‘wealth’?
The WSJ argued: “Never mind that Bhutan’s economy is growing at a healthy annual rate of nearly seven per cent. Officials here worry that modern life tends to throw things off-balance.”

Right models
The tourism industry is in part responsible for fuelling the mad race for ‘wealth’; though based on a ‘high value, low impact’ policy, ‘profit’ remains the main engine of growth.
Many in Bhutan are conscious that the nation is facing a hard choice; Kuensel suggests: “While Bhutan’s economy continues to grow and mature, different forms of economic system must be explored, studied and debated.”
While the capitalist economic system works on ‘profit’, it creates jobs and brings necessary tax revenues, does it automatically create happiness?
Observers feel that ‘finding the right kind of business model for Bhutan is worth exploring’, if the nation wants to keeps ‘happiness’ as its USP.

Another issue is the dams.
Take the Punatsangchhu-I Hydroelectric Project (PHPA I), the first stage of an initiative by the Royal Government of Bhutan and India in May 2008 to generate 10,000 MW of hydro electricity by 2020.
Apart from the fact that the hydropower project faces serious environmental glitches, most nature lovers believe that Bhutan’s rivers will be ‘killed’ by the projects.
Further, will the dams’ revenues bring more contentment to Bhutan? Only the future will tell us.
According to a survey conducted by the Royal Society for Protection of Nature, Bhutan has the highest population of the White-bellied Herons in the world.
If birds are happy, it is a positive sign, but Bhutan is nevertheless at a crossroad and unhappiness in the Dragon Kingdom would be a great loss for humanity.

China's living Buddhas: Nirvana for sale?

My article China's living Buddhas: Nirvana for sale? appeared in Rediff.com

Communist China has recently developed a great expertise in 'soul reincarnation', says Claude Arpi

Communist China has recently developed a great expertise in 'soul reincarnation'.
The reason why the atheist Chinese Communist Party looked into the issue is that 'living Buddhas, as Beijing calls the reincarnated lamas or Tulkus, usually wield great influence.
They can have political power, but also economic sway. It is, in fact, one of the best businesses nowadays, whether in the West or in the Middle Kingdom. More rarely, they have spiritual authority.
The Communist Party is also conscious that things are getting out of hand. It has now decided to differentiate between the 'good' lamas, who will pay obedience to Karl Marx's doctrine and the fake ones, who run private businesses.
During a meeting of the United Front Work Department in June, President Xi Jinping said, 'Active efforts should be made to incorporate religions in socialist society.'
'Religions in China must be Chinese,' Xi added. 'The development of religions in China should be independent from foreign influence.'
That is probably why Beijing has decided to develop a database of 'living Buddhas' to help differentiate the fake from the real (that is, those who owe allegiance to the Communist party) Rinpoches (an honorific title).
Last month, The China Daily reported, 'Authorities are setting up a database of legitimate living Buddhas and will publish the information online. This will enable followers of Tibetan Buddhism to distinguish between real living Buddhas and fake ones.'
'Some fake living Buddhas have posed threats to national security,' it added, 'as they use money they collect to sponsor illegal or even separatist activities in Tibet.'
How can one get a certificate from Beijing that one is the right 'returned soul'?

Click here to continue reading...

PLA Digest - October 2015

Here is the PLA Digest for October 2015.

November is coming soon.

For previous Digests, click here...

PLA to declare biggest reforms since founding of PRC: Duowei
Source: WantChinaTimes
Date: September 30, 2015
The Chinese military is about to undergo a major structural reform that could spell the end of the PLA's four main departments and seven major military regions, reports Duowei News, a US-based Chinese political news website.
According to Duowei sources, the military reforms have been under development for a long time and will be the PLA's largest since the establishment of the PRC in 1949.
It is believed that the existing PLA hierarchy will be cut down and replaced with a flat new structure headed by "military command" and "military and politics." The model is said to be loosely based on the US Joint Chiefs of Staff under the US Department of Defense.

China’s retired PLA Hong Kong garrison political commissar under investigation for ‘violating law’
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: October 1, 2015
A former political commissar of the PLA's Hong Kong garrison is being investigated on suspicion of "law violations", a military newspaper reported yesterday.
Lieutenant General Wang Yufa, who was also former deputy commissar of the Guangzhou Military Command, is the command's most senior official to be probed since President Xi Jinping started his massive crackdown on corruption in the army in late 2012, the PLA Daily said.
Wang, 67, is one of five lieutenant generals being investigated in the crackdown, which has also brought down two former vice-chairmen of the army's powerful Central Military Commission, Guo Boxiong and Xu Caihou .

Is China building first homegrown aircraft carrier? Satellite pics released by Jane’s suggest yes
Source: Reuters
Date: October 1, 2015
New satellite images show China may be building its first indigenous aircraft carrier in the northeastern port of Dalian, according to the military magazine IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly, which has released the pictures.
Little is known about China’s aircraft carrier programme, which is a state secret, although Chinese state media have hinted that new vessels are being built.
The Pentagon, in a report earlier this year, said Beijing could build multiple aircraft carriers over the next 15 years.
Taiwan’s Defence Ministry, in a report obtained by Reuters last month, said China was building two aircraft carriers that will be the same size as its sole carrier, a 60,000-tonne refurbished Soviet-era ship called the Liaoning.

J-20 stealth fighter doesn't qualify as fifth-generation: Kanwa
Source: WantChinaTimes
Date: October 3, 2015
Without a sufficiently powerful and reliable engine, China's Chengdu J-20 stealth fighter which conducted its first test flight in 2011 cannot be counted as a fifth-generation fighter yet, the Kanwa Defense Review, a Chinese-language military magazine based in Canada, concluded in its October issue.
Military aviation experts cited by Kanwa said the Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group is still fitting J-20 prototypes with the Russian-built AL-31F or domestic WS-10 engines designed for fourth-generation fighters like the Russian Su-27 and Chinese J-10. Because the J-20 cannot achieve supersonic flight or supermaneuverable performance with either of these engines, the aircraft does not qualify as a fifth-generation fighter despite its stealth capability, the article said.
Kanwa said the J-20 may go into official production next year.

Three Chinese vessels intrude into Japan waters around disputed Diaoyu islands: Kyodo
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: October 3, 2015
Three Chinese coast guard vessels intruded into Japanese territorial waters around disputed islands in the East China Sea, the Japan Coast Guard said.
The violation, which lasted about two hours from around 2:30pm, marked the first such intrusion into the waters around the Senkaku Islands by Chinese government vessels since September 19.
Separately, a Chinese marine survey ship was spotted within Japan’s exclusive economic zone around Kume Island in Okinawa Prefecture in the country’s southwest.

Chinese flying ops in Tibet have increased, but no need to worry: Air chief Arup Raha
Source: AFP
Date: October 4, 2015
In what may raise serious concerns for India along the Chinese frontier, Air chief Marshal Arup Raha on Saturday said the Chinese flying operations in Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) has increased “exponentially”. He, however, cited that India too has its assets deployed along the border and that India does not have a reason to worry.
“In TAR, flying operation (of Chinese People’s Liberation Army Air Force) has increased exponentially and the capability (has been) increasing throughout the year… We also have our assets, our infrastructure and are deploying our force (along border). Therefore, there is no need to worry,” Raha said, adding that India had no reason to be anxious about a two-front war involving Pakistan and China.

How much corrupt officials pay for promotions and elections in China
Source: WantChinaTimes
Date: October 5, 2015
The type of money corrupt Chinese officials charge and pay for promotions and to fix elections has been exposed by a recent report by the Guangzhou-based Southern Weekly.
Citing case files from corruption trials across the country, the report notes that Chinese president Xi Jinping's sweeping anti-corruption campaign has appeared to have actually pushed up prices for bribes given the higher risks involved.

China's GF-4 satellite can be used to monitor US carriers
Source: WantChinaTimes
Date: October 5, 2015
China will be ready to launch the Gaofen-4 satellite into space, which will be capable of tracking down every single US aircraft carrier around the globe, before the end of 2015, reports the China Youth Daily.
During the Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1996, in which China fired missile tests in the Taiwan Strait and drew the response of the US Navy, the PLA realized that its mission to "liberate" Taiwan could never work without defeating US aircraft carriers.
Since then, China has spent nearly 20 years preparing for confrontation with a US aircraft carrier. It is also important for the PLA to ensure the accuracy of its missiles. This is the reason why advanced satellite systems like Gaofen-4, also known as GF-4, are being launched into space, both to monitor the movement of US aircraft carriers and provide precise targeting for missile strikes.

PLA fleet visits Nordic countries with eye on Arctic
Source: WantChinaTimes
Date: October 6, 2015
China sent its naval fleet of three warships — Jinan, a Type 052C guided-missile destroyer; Yiyan, a Type 054A guided-missile frigate, and Qiandaohu, a Type 903 replenishment ship — to visit Nordic countries for the first time last week, reports Tokyo-based magazine the Diplomat.
On their way back to China from anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, the fleet paid goodwill visits to Sudan, Egypt and then north to the three Nordic nations of Denmark, Finland and Sweden, the report said. The visit to northern Europe reflects China's interest in the Arctic region, which will have to come in the form of ties to individual nations given China's ineligibility for membership of the Arctic Council.
China is eyeing the region's natural resources, the report said, with oil and gas in the Arctic seen as important for China's development.

China to improve pension system for veterans
Source: Xinhua
Date: October 7, 2015
The State Council and the CMC have approved a plan to improve the veteran pension system. The General Department of Logistics, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Headquarters of the General Staff and the General Political Department of the People's Liberation Army jointly issued two notices on the reform.
The notices said that veterans will be retroactively eligible for the benefits from Oct. 1, 2014, and they will be subsidized by the central government with a basic pension allowance and occupational pension allowance.

Thailand balks at price of Chinese submarines
Source: WantChinaTimes
Date: October 7, 2015
Thailand has decided to postpone the purchase of three S-20 submarines, the export version of the Chinese Type 039A Yuan-class diesel-electric submarine, due to China's asking price, according to the Moscow-based Sputnik News.
The total of US$1 billion requested by China is far too expensive for the Royal Thai Navy to accept, according to its commander, Admiral Na Arreenich. "We fully realize how indispensable the submarine is to our national security," said Arreenich. "At the same time, our navy does not operate any submarines now."
As a member of Japan's Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere during World War II, Thailand previously acquired four Matchanu-class submarines from the Imperial Japanese Navy.

China to Transfer Technology of Submarine Construction to Pakistan
Source: People's Daily Online
Date: October 8, 2015
China is to build four submarines in Pakistan port city Karachi, fulfilling a new defense deal between the two countries, Pakistan local media reported.
The new defense deal includes eight submarines, which are going to be put into production at the same time in China and Pakistan. This makes the arms deal the biggest ever to China.
Announcing the deal, Pakistani Minister for Defense Production Rana Tanveer Hussain said that the deal had been finalized and four submarines would be built in Karachi. "China will transfer the technology to Pakistan for submarine construction," the Minister told Dawn, the Pakistan media.

China eases defense industry manufacturing restrictions
Source: WantChinaTimes
Date: October 8, 2015
China recently eased the license requirements for the development and production of military equipment and weapons, making it easier for private companies to enter the defense sector, according to the Beijing-based Economic Daily.
The State Administration of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense of China released an updated catalog of military equipment and weapons that require a license for production or development in early September.
The number of categories that require a license has been streamlined and reduced from 1,988 in the previous edition of the catalog, published in 2005, to 755, according to State Administration of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense.

Chinese army should learn from US joint command system: military newspaper
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: October 8, 2015
A Chinese military newspaper has for the first time openly called for the PLA to learn from the joint command system employed by US forces.
In Zhongguo Guofangbao (China National Defence News), a sister newspaper to the military's flagship PLA Daily, commentator Li Wenqing said the PLA's outdated structure was the biggest obstacle to developing President Xi Jinping's vision of a modern army capable of defending the country and leading it to victory.
"The article is so far the most explicit statement by a military news outlet to highlight the need to learn from the Western model," Beijing-based retired major general Xu Guangyu said.

Chinese Hypersonic Engine Wins Award, Reshapes Speed Race?
China starts flying at Mach 5
Source: Popular Science
Date: October 8, 2015
Professor Wang's scramjet, together with combined cycle engines, could allow China to fly Mach 6 airplanes, like this fan art, which could fly anywhere in the world in under three hours, at speeds and altitudes imprevious to modern air defenses. It is highly likely that due to the nature of material sciences and laws physics, hypersonic aircraft like the American SR-72 and its Chinese counterparts would look similar to each other.

Beijing on alert for U.S. Navy 'incursion' near artificial islands in South China Sea
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: October 9, 2015
Beijing yesterday expressed concerns that the US Navy was reportedly preparing to send ships "within days" inside the 12 nautical-mile territorial zones China has claimed around its artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China had long made clear its position on the South China Sea.
"We hope the United States can look upon the current situation of the South China Sea from an objective and fair perspective and play a constructive role together with China in keeping the peace and stability in the South China Sea," Hua said.

China’s armed forces to increase civilian recruitment
Source: Xinhua
Date: October 9, 2015
China will recruit more civilian personnel for roles within the PLA and the Chinese PAPF.
The spouses and offspring of military personnel who have fallen in the line of duty, and the spouses of those still in service will be eligible to apply for certain posts.
More positions will be made available for candidates with relevant work experience. It is hoped that the drive will improve recruitment in remote areas and unpopular positions.

PLA general expounds China's stance on Afghanistan reconstruction
Source: China Military Online
Date: October 9, 2015
China has called on all parties concerned to fulfill their aid commitments to Afghanistan and help the country to enhance self-development capacity.
Admiral Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of general staff of the Chinese PLA, made the remarks at an international conference on security in Afghanistan and Central Asia held in Moscow.
Adm. Sun stated China's views on anti-terrorism situations in the region and efforts China has made in the Afghan reconstruction process. He also expounded China's principled stance on realizing peace and stability in Afghanistan and fighting against regional terrorist groups.

China releases J-31 stealth jet's specs to lure foreign buyers
Source: Reuters
Date: October 10, 2015
China's top aircraft manufacturer has revealed specifications of an advanced stealth fighter jet in a bid to lure foreign buyers, the official China Daily reported.
In a rare disclosure, the state-owned Aviation Industry Corp of China (Avic) unveiled the capabilities of the J-31 aircraft at an aviation show, even though the jet was still being tested, the newspaper said.
Avic officials have made no secret of the fact they are seeking foreign buyers for the aircraft, hoping to compete with Lockheed Martin's F-35.
Countries that cannot buy weaponry from the United States have increasingly sought them from China, particularly because Chinese arms are often cheaper.

Workers of the world yawn: Marxism must find answers to today's social woes, or become irrelevant PLA general warns
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: October 11, 2015
Chinese Marxist researchers must find answers to contemporary social woes, or the political and economic philosophy that changed the world would become irrelevant to today's public, a PLA general has warned.
General Liu Yazhou sounded his concerns to hundreds of scholars gathered for the first World Congress on Marxism at Peking University yesterday. .
"[The researchers'] inability to identify and solve social problems have … blocked the innovative development of Marxism in China", Wu Jieming, a deputy political commissar at National Defence University, read in speech on behalf of Liu.

China activates lighthouses on disputed Spratly Island reefs, stressing they are purely to ensure navigational safety
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: October 11, 2015
China has started operating two lighthouses on a reef on the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea - stressing the move is out of concern for civilian safety - even as the United States continues to consider sending its warships close to China's artificial islands in the region.
The 50-metre-tall Huayang and Chigua lighthouses on Huayang Reef would improve navigational safety for ships, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.
The structures would address a severe shortage in navigational aids and maritime emergency and oil-spill response forces that had "immensely hindered the navigational safety and economic and social development" in the South China Sea, Xinhua reported.

Chinese military's anti-graft inspection teams target senior officers
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: October 11, 2015
Anti-graft inspection teams from the military have been dispatched to the General Armaments Department of the PLA, mainland media reported yesterday, a move one analyst said targeted senior military officers.
The CMC had approved sending inspection teams to its four general headquarters - the General Staff Department, General Political Department, General Logistics Department and General Armaments Department – thepaper.cn reported.

China's five-year plan expected to centre on sustainable growth and rejigged state sector
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: October 12, 2015
The five-year plan is the survivor of China's economic evolution. It is a vestige of a bygone Soviet age that has endured as other features of the command system have withered and fallen away. Gone are the collective farms, gone are the industrial targets and gone, too, are the fixed market prices.
But the five-year plan lives on. It does so largely because it has relevance in what is still a heavily centralised system, defining the Communist Party's strategy for what has become the world's second-biggest economy.
The party's decision-making Central Committee will meet from October 26 to 29 to approve a draft of the national economic and social development programme from 2016 to 2020. It will then be put to the National People's Congress for its rubber stamp in March before each region and industry comes up with its own programme that dovetails with the overall direction.

Frontier soldiers patrol snowy mountains
Source: People's Daily Online
Date: October 12, 2015
A battalion under the Tibet Military Area Command is stationed in Kampa county at an average elevation of 4, 810 meters

Beijing takes aim at clubs frequented by PLA generals to stifle networks of corruption
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: October 13, 2015
Beijing has sharply restricted the activities of military generals outside the PLA, banning them from any organisation not closely under the government's watch and requiring they sever ties with cultural associations like calligraphy and painting clubs.
The generals have long embraced such bodies to show off the sophistication of their taste, but the networks have fallen under suspicion as conduits for graft. President Xi Jinping has made eliminating corruption in the military a top priority, as he seeks to ensure it remains loyal to the Communist Party.

Anti-graft in military relocates more vehicles to borderland
Source: Xinhua
Date: October 13, 2015
The Chinese military has relocated more vehicles in the anti-graft campaign to border areas, a sign that the campaign is helping troops improve their fighting capability.
As of the end of September, all vehicles found in violation during the anti-graft campaign have been handed to troops stationed in remote and border areas under harsh conditions such as Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang and Tibet, reported 81.cn, the website of army newspaper the PLA Daily.
The report did not specify the number of vehicles or their models but said the transfer was ordered by a military meeting in June.

PLA rear admiral says Japan increasing chance of regional conflict
Source: WantChinaTimes
Date: October 14, 2015
The Japanese helicopter destroyer Hyuga and guided missile destroyer Ashigara have been in Pearl Harbor in preparation for drills with the US Navy off California after Japan passed controversial new security legislation to allow for collective self-defense.
Yin Zhuo, a PLA Navy rear admiral and member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, says Tokyo is raising the chance of military conflict with its neighbors if it ratifies changes to Article 9 of the country's postwar pacifist constitution, reports the Beijing-based Science and Technology Daily.
After the upper house of Japan's Diet approved new security legislation on Sept. 19 to allow the nation to come to the aid of allies under attack as well as a stronger collective defense policy, the Tokyo-based Kyodo News ran a piece on conflict scenarios involving China, Australia, Japan and the US in the disputed South China Sea.

Air force now able to launch long-range, precision strikes
Source: China Daily
Date: October 14, 2015
The strategic bombers of the PLAAF can now launch all-weather, long-range, precision strikes, military observers said.
"The fact that our H-6K bombers have performed several long-distance drills far into the Pacific Ocean indicates that the H-6K fleet has become capable of conducting various operations such as long-range precision strikes," Fu Qianshao, an aviation equipment expert with the PLAAF, told China Daily.
"In the past, our bombers could only deliver airdropped bombs and so were unable to conduct precision attacks, but the H-6K, with the adoption of some of our most advanced aeronautic technologies, is able to carry and launch air-to-surface cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles, which means it can take out multiple targets on the ground or at sea within one mission," he said.

PLA holds series exercise to beef up combat power in joint operations
Source: China Military Online
Date: October 14, 2015
The last one of the Joint Action-2015 military exercise series of the Chinese PLA concluded on Oct. 13 in northwest China.
This exercise is organized by the PLA Lanzhou Military Area Command (MAC). The 47th Combined Corps under the Lanzhou MAC was responsible for setting up the joint operation command post of the exercise. A unit of the PLAAF a base of the Second Artillery Force (SAF) also sent officers to join the command post of the exercise.
Troops from Lanzhou MAC, PLAAF, SAF participated in the exercise.
The Joint Action -2015 consisted of five exercises. The previous four were held in different training bases with the Nanjing MAC, Guangzhou MAC, Chengdu MAC and the PLA Navy taking the lead respectively.

Chinese General Liu Yazhou: Diaoyu Islands and Sino-Japanese relations
Source: China Military Online
Date: October 14, 2015
The Sino-Japanese relationship is a neighborhood issue and a relationship between major powers around the world as well. It is a strategic miscalculation that the Diaoyu Islands issue is the focus of the current Sino-Japanese relations. It is also a strategic miscalculation that non-priority problem does not affect the process of national security and the reform and opening up of China.
The Diaoyu Islands issue and problems in Sino-Japanese relations shall be viewed in the wider scope of international situation.

China seals deal with Pakistan for eight submarines
Source: WantChinaTimes
Date: October 15, 2015
China has finalized its largest ever arms deal, which will deliver a total of eight new submarines to Pakistan.
Pakistan's minister for defence production, Tanveer Hussain, confirmed that the US$4-5 billion deal was sealed recently while opening a new exhibition center at the country's Defence Export Promotion Organization last week.
Four of the submarines will be built in China, with the other four to be constructed in Pakistan as part of a technology transfer agreement. Construction will take place simultaneously in both countries, though Hussain did not indicate when it would commence. Pakistan will also build a submarine training center in Karachi, the country's main port city, Hussain added.

Artillery regiment conducts live fire drill in Xinjiang
People's Daily Online
Date: October 16, 2015
An artillery regiment of Xinjiang Military Region conducted a live fire drill recently. Nearly a hundred artilleries fired in an unfamiliar terrain in southern Xinjiang.

Chinese, French warships hold joint drill in English Channel
Source: China Military Online
Date: October 16, 2015
The English Channel saw three warships, two of which were from China and one from France, held a joint drill on Oct. 14.
The guided-missile destroyer Jinan and the guided-missile frigate Yiyang of a Chinese naval taskforce, which is on the voyage to visit Portugal, carried out a joint training exercise with the anti-submarine frigate Latouche-Treville (D646) of the French Navy in the waters north of French port city of Roscoff.
The Chinese and French warships exercised ship-to-ship liaison with assignment of liaison officers to each other’s warships, signaling communication and command coordination as well as movement in formation, and in addition, two ship-based helicopters, one from the Chinese destroyer Jinan while the other from the French frigate Latouche-Treville, also attended the exercise.

Defense official reveals China's plans to boost international peace
Source: China Daily
Date: October 17, 2015
Addressing the 6th Xiangshan Forum, Vice Chairman of the CMC Fan Changlong unveiled a set of China's latest pledges to boost peace and stability in war-torn areas and China's neighborhood, such as the Southeast Asia.
In a keynote speech at the annual high-level defense and security event gathering of senior officials and leading scholars from around the world on Saturday, Fan said the Chinese military will implement the commitment and initiatives put forth recently by President Xi Jinping "in a down-to-earth manner".
Elaborating on China's future plans, Fan said that China will "speed up the building of an 8,000-troop standby peacekeeping force, and provide training programs to 2,000 peacekeepers of relevant countries in the coming five years.”

Top Military Official: China Will Not Resort to Force Recklessly Even on Issues Involving Territory
Source: Global Times
Date: October 17, 2015
Sina.com, a major Chinese web portal, carried a Global Times report that Fan Changlong, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, stated that China has always advocated handling disputes through peaceful means and will not use force recklessly, even when it comes to issues related to territory and sovereignty.
Fan made the statement while addressing the sixth Xiangshan Forum in Beijing last Saturday morning. He said that China always insists on resolving disputes through friendly negotiations with parties directly involved and will try its best to avoid unexpected conflicts.
Fan said China has settled land and border issues with a majority of neighboring countries through consultation. Regarding growing concerns over the construction on coral islands in the South China Sea, Fan anticipated that the construction, mostly for civilian purposes, would improve marine navigation and provide public services.

PLA outlaws unregistered groups and societies
Source: WantChinaTimes
Date: October 18, 2015
The Chinese government has begun cracking down on unregistered private groups and societies inside the PLA, reports the Upolitics public WeChat account of the Beijing Youth Daily newspaper.
According to a spokesperson from the PLA's education rectification leading group office, the directive specifies that all unofficial PLA groups and societies not registered by China's Ministry of Civil Affairs must be disbanded. This includes all non-standardized organizations that have organizational or membership mechanisms and hold regular or periodic group activities or events.
In August, the PLA's General Political Department had issued guidelines on the management of groups and societies formed inside the military, specifying that officers cannot join unsanctioned non-governmental organizations not related to their jobs. Those who have never worked or studied a particular art also cannot hold a leadership position in a society specializing in that art.

Harry Potter and the new-age stealth submarines: Chinese researchers create 'cloak of invisibility'
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: October 19, 2015
Two teams of scientists have created new materials to hide submarines from their enemies' underwater sonar systems - one that transforms the vessel into a "chameleon", and the other a prototype of a Harry Potter-like invisibility cloak.
The chameleon-like ceramic-type material, created by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, manipulates sound waves that come into contact with it, such as pulses generated by anti-submarine vessels that can identify underwater threats.
This ability means sonar operators analysing the submarine's acoustic pattern can be fooled into thinking it is a whale, a huge shoal of fish, or even a friendly submarine.
Researchers call such materials "phononic" crystals. In recent years, various forms of phononic crystals have been developed to control, direct and manipulate the transmission of sound in gases, liquids and solids, but they all suffered one limitation.

J-20 would defeat F-15J in long-range air combat
Source: WantChinaTimes
Date: October 19, 2015
After claiming that the Japanese F-2 multirole fighter is going to defeat its Chinese counterpart, J-10 in a future air combat over the disputed Diaoyutai (Senkaku) islands, Kyle Mizokami, an American military expert said that the PLA's J-20 fifth-generation fighter will be able to shoot down Japan's American-built F-15J fighter in an article he wrote for the National Interest magazine on Oct. 16.
Although the F-15J is an excellent fighter, Japan's ministry of defense had expected to replace the older, cold war era aircraft with the F-22 fifth-generation fighter, Mizokami said. Japan, however, was later prohibited from purchasing the upgrade — the F-22 Raptor — from the US after Congress approved the Obey Amendment in 1997.

Special operations members conduct training on Tibetan Plateau
Source: China Military Online
Date: October 19, 2015
Camouflaged soldiers of Chinese special operations force run on the northwest China's Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Soldiers of PLA special force take training on Tibetan Plateau
Source: English.news.cn
Date: October 20, 2015
Photo shows that soldiers of Chinese special force take training on northwest China's Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Troops conduct realistic drill on Karakorum plateau
Source: China Military Online
Date: October 20, 2015
A self-propelled howitzer fires rounds at simulated target on October 17, 2015. A brigade under the PLA 21st Group Army carried out a realistic drill on the northwest China’s Karakorum plateau at an altitude of over 4300 meters in late October.

Japan doubles F-15J fighters in Okinawa to counter China
Source: WantChinaTimes
Date: October 21, 2015
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force plans to deploy an additional F-15J fighter squadron to Naha Air Base in Okinawa to intercept Chinese aircraft in its air defense identification zone over the East China Sea, according to the Tokyo-based Japan News Network on Oct. 20.
The JASDF's 204th Tactical Fighter Squadron stationed at Naha has 20 F-15J fighters. In anticipation of possible confrontation with China over the disputed Diaoyutai islands (Diaoyu to China, Senkaku to Japan, which controls them) in the East China Sea, the Japanese defense ministry has decided to redeploy the 304th Tactical Fighter Squadron from Tsuiki Air Base to Naha, which will increase the total of F-15J fighters based in Okinawa to 40.

Liaoning carrier should have naval base in Syria, Sina fantasizes
Source: WantChinaTimes
Date: October 21, 2015
The Beijing-based Sina Military Network reckons China should build a naval base in Syria for its aircraft carrier Liaoning to provide assistance to the regime of Bashar al-Assad in a piece which defies logic, common sense and China's longstanding foreign policy strategy.
Sina Military Network suggested three reasons China should provide military support to the Syrian government. First, Syria and its neighboring countries including Iraq, Israel and Lebanon are hot spots in the Middle East. The nation has become a key part of a broader military agenda directed by the US and its NATO allies not only against Iran but against Russia and China as well, Sina claimed.

Let the Mt. Tianshan be the witness of our wedding
Source: People's Daily Online
Date: October 21, 2015
On Oct. 18, 2015, the Air Force of Lanzhou MAC hosts a grand group wedding ceremony for 16 military couples at a military base under Mountain Tianshan.
The 16 grooms are all soldiers of the air force. Most of them had to postpone their wedding because they needed to stick to their posts and guard the frontier. Speaking of this, some of them couldn’t help feeling guilty for their brides.

H-6K is nearing invincibility: Sputnik News
Source: WantChinaTimes
Date: October 21, 2015
Capable of carrying seven YJ-12 supersonic antiship cruise missiles or CJ-20 subsonic land attack cruise missiles, the PLA Air Force's H-6K strategic bomber is going to be nearly invincible in future aerial warfare over the Western Pacific, according to the Moscow-based Sputnik News.
The combat radius of a H-6J bomber is estimated to be 1,900 kilometers, said the report. With the assistance of aerial refueling aircraft, the combat radius of the bomber will be gradually expand to 3,200 kilometers.
Currently, the PLA Air Force operates a total number of 26 H-6K bombers. During several exercises held in the past, the H-6K was proven capable of long-range penetration into enemy air space, said the report.

5th CPC plenum delay suggests leadership reshuffle: Duowei
Source: WantChinaTimes
Date: October 22, 2015
The delay of the fifth plenary session of the 18th National Congress of the CPC could be a prelude to a major personnel shuffle at the leadership level, says Duowei News, a US-based Chinese political news website.
According to Hong Kong's Oriental Press Group, the delay or expedition of a fifth plenum usually means there will be major leadership movements. For instance, the fifth plenum of the 17th National Congress in 2010 was pushed back a week so that Xi Jinping could be promoted to deputy chair of the Central Military Commission (CMC). In 1995, on the other hand, the fifth plenum of the 14th National Congress was moved up to September to add Zhang Wannian and Chi Haotian as CMC vice chairs and for Wang Ke and Wang Ruilin to be introduced as new CMC members.

Chinese naval hospital ship pays maiden visit to French Polynesia
Source: China Military Online
Date: October 22, 2015
The Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark, which is carrying out the "Harmonious Mission - 2015" to provide medical service for local people in the country the hospital ship visits, arrived at Papeete Port, French Polynesia, on the morning of October 20, 2015.
This was the first time for French Polynesia to receive the Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark, which is scheduled to stay in Papeete Port for 5 days.
The "Harmonious Mission -2015" is performed in accordance with the annual foreign exchange plan of the Chinese PLAN. Since the initiation of the mission in 2010, this has been the fifth time for the Chinese hospital ship to embark on its ocean-going navigation while making rounds of visits to foreign nations.

China’s PLA seeks to bring cyberwarfare units under one roof
Source: Bloomberg
Date: October 23, 2015
China’s military chiefs are seeking to unify the country’s cyberwarfare capabilities as they build a modern fighting force that relies less on ground troops.
The plan is part of a broader shift towards a unified military command similar to that of the US to meet President Xi Jinping’s goal of transforming the PLA into a force that can “fight and win modern wars”.
A move to a centralised command reporting to the CMC would better organise China’s cyberwarfare capabilities, which are scattered across a variety of units and ministries.
It would further elevate the role of cyberwar within a PLA that has long prioritised the army over the navy and air force, two branches that require a high level of computerisation skills.
A unified command would be “a pretty big deal” in organising domestic cyberforces to “win informationised local wars”, according to Council on Foreign Relations cyberspace programme director Adam Segal.

Sino-US naval ties ‘best in history', says China’s navy chief, as tensions rise over territorial disputes in South China Sea
Source: Reuters
Date: 23 October, 2015
Relations between the Chinese and US navies are their "best in history" and exchanges between the two will become more systematic in the future, China’s military cited the country’s naval chief as telling visiting U.S. officers.
The comments by Navy Chief Wu Shengli come as Washington considers conducting freedom-of-navigation operations within 12 nautical miles of artificial islands China has built in the disputed South China Sea, without saying when it would do so. Such a move is likely to infuriate Beijing.
China and the United States had worked hard to increase military interaction, holding joint drills and agreeing rules on encounters at sea and in the air, Wu said, according to the official People’s Liberation Army Daily.

New rules to regulate the resettling of retired soldiers according to performance
Source: Xinhua
Date: October 26, 2015
Soldiers' military performance will be evaluated to better resettle them once they leave the army according to rules jointly published by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the PLA's Headquarters of the General Staff.
The rules aim to ensure those with longer service and greater contributions enjoy priority in post-service job assignments, said an official statement released.
Retired soldiers will be evaluated on their performance, service in remote areas, skills, and other experience. Those who received punishment during service or falsify their records will be demoted in the rating, according to the rules.

PLA's anti-satellite capabilities to be revealed in report
Source: WantChinaTimes
Date: October 26, 2015
A report to be published by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission next month gives details of China's anti-satellite capabilities, senior editor of the Washington Free Beacon Bill Gertz wrote in the Washington Times on Oct. 14.
Two types of direct-ascent missiles known as the SC-19 and DN-2 are under development in China designed with the capability to destroy American satellites in both lower and higher orbits. While the DN-2 is designed to hit high-orbit targets such as global positioning satellites, Gertz said its primary purpose is more likely to destroy military satellites that are used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. The DN-2 is estimated to be deployed in the next five to 10 years.
The report also says the PLA is pursuing counterspace capabilities including direct-ascent anti-satellite missiles, co-orbital anti-satellite systems, computer network operations, ground-based satellite jammers and directed energy weapons.

Border Defense Corps in Tibet conducts real combat drill
People's Daily Online
Date: October 26, 2015
The Border Defense Corps of Tibet Autonomous Region conducted a real combat drill in Shigatse from Oct. 24 to Oct. 25 to improve the soldiers’ military skills.

PLA commissions Type 072B landing ship Taihangshan
Source: WantChinaTimes
Date: October 27, 2015
The PLAN on October 21 commissioned the Taihangshan, a new Type 072B landing ship developed for amphibious operations at an unknown naval base of the East Sea Fleet, reports Duowei News, an outlet operated by overseas Chinese.
The construction of large landing ships with the ability to carry tanks and heavy armaments is aimed at boosting the PLA's power projection into the Western Pacific.
The first Type 072 landing ships were built in the 1980s to replace the World War II-era former US Navy tank landing ships in service with the PLA up to that time. With a displacement of 3,100 tons, a Type 072 can carry between 10 and 11 tanks as well as 100 to 120 troops. It is fitted with two fixed-pitch propellers and has a maximum speed of 18 knots.

Jiang Zemin's secretary rumored to be next 'tiger' to fall
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: October 27, 2015
Jia Ting'an, who served as personal secretary of China's former president Jiang Zemin, is rumored to be the next "tiger" to be taken down in Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign, reports Duowei News, a US-based Chinese news outlet.
A mysterious but respected public Sina Weibo microblog account under the name "Feng Ming Gui Guo" — "ordered to return to the homeland" in Chinese — recently posted the cryptic message: "I don't believe Jia can last until retirement in 2017."
It is not clear who runs the account, though some have speculated that it could belong to someone in the General Office of the Communist Party's Central Committee. Others say it could be the secretary of Xi's official office.

Chinese president Xi Jinping's trusted general in line for top PLA role
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: October 28, 2015
The top decision-making body of the Communist Party is to use its ongoing meeting in Beijing to vet top candidates to lead the military after 2017.
The Politburo Standing Committee would use its fifth plenum to consider who would lead the CMC after that date, sources close to the army said.
The composition of the 10-member CMC, whose chairman is President Xi Jinping, would be a key part of any reshuffle for the next term of the central leadership.
General Zhang Youxia, 65, director of the army's general armaments department and one of Xi's most trusted men, is tipped as the most likely new CMC vice-chairman for the president's next term from 2017-2022.

Beijing has options if US escalates challenge to its claims in South China Sea
Source: South China Morning Post
Date: October 28, 2015
China has a range of options to counter an escalating US military challenge to its territorial claims in the South China Sea, ranging from dispatching more warships to conducting military drills - and, if necessary, ramming the ships, mainland analysts say.
Beside warnings, the PLA could deploy warships and military aircraft to expel the destroyer USS Lassen if it keeps patrolling within the 12-nautical-mile limit of Chinese-controlled islands in the region, said Li Jie , a naval expert based in Beijing.
Citing an incident between the US and Soviet navies in 1988, "China could also initiate a measured collision at the most critical moment if the US warship refuses to leave after being expelled," Li said.

Expert: U.S. newly-developed submarine poses threat to China
Source: People's Daily Online
Date: October 28, 2015
The U.S. Navy is developing a new ballistic missile submarine to replace the current Ohio-class submarines, according to the article China's Greatest Fear: U.S. Navy 'Cruise Missile Carriers' published on the website of the National Interest on Oct. 21.
U.S. guided missile submarine targets great powers such as Russia and China, and the submarine poses a huge threat to China, said military expert Yin Zhuo in an interview with CCTV.
The newly-developed submarine by the U.S. is not meant to replace aircraft carrier, said military expert Cao Weidong.
Yin said ballistic missile submarine is a powerful tool for the U.S. to confront nuclear powers. The U.S. has built 18 Ohio-class ballistic missile nuclear submarines, among which 14 are still in service. Though the submarines have served for dozens of years, they are still world-class nuclear submarines.

Defense Ministry's regular press conference on Oct.29
Source: Ministry of National Defence of China
Date: October 29, 2015
Q: The Indian and Chinese military officials held talks on the Working Mechanisms for Cooperation and Coordination, especially relating to the border issues early this month. Before that, in the last press conference, the PLA spokesman at that time had stated that the Indian military had actually violated the consensus reached as far as certain border stand-offs are concerned. Has this issue been discussed at that WMCC meeting and what are the decisions reached for future cooperation and coordination?
Secondly, the India-China armies held the 5th round of joint military exercises relating to anti-terrorism operations. Now that the 5 rounds have been held between the two countries, what are the prospects for any joint anti-terrorism operation in the neighborhood if and when it is required?
Thirdly, there are reports that say that General Fan Changlong, the Vice Chairmen of the Central Military Commission, is due to visit India. Can you please provide us any details?
A: On your first question, from 8th to 9th of October, China-India WMCC meeting was held in Beijing during which both sides gave a review of the border situation between China and India and the promotion of mutual trust in the past year. They also had an in-depth exchange of views on issues concerning the peace and stability along the border. I recommend you to refer to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs for detailed information about this meeting.
On your second question, terrorism is the common enemy of the international community and the Chinese side is against all forms of terrorism. We are committed to the international cooperation against terrorism. The PLA shoulders the responsibility of counter-terrorism and we will do our work according to the arrangement of the Chinese government.
On your third question, according to this year's plan for foreign military exchange, in the middle of November, General Fan Changlong, Vice Chairmen of the Central Military Commission, will pay an official visit to Pakistan and India. The purpose of this visit is to implement the consensus reached by the state leaders of both sides, enhance friendly exchanges between the Chinese military and its foreign counterparts, and to jointly maintain regional peace and stability .

Armed police force conducts real combat exercises in Tibet
Source: People's Daily Online
Date: October 30, 2015
Soldiers from the Frontier Corps of the PAPF in Tibet conducted a two-day training in Shigaze, TAR on October 24-25. Corner guns, drones and special tanks were used in the training.

Troops conduct realistic training on West Sichuan Plateau
Source: China Military Online
Date: October 30, 2015
Soldiers set up a mechanized bridge during the realistic training exercise. Recently, a regiment under the PLA Chengdu MAC carried out a realistic training exercise on the West Sichuan Plateau at an altitude of 3000 meters.