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Showing posts with label defense. Show all posts
Showing posts with label defense. Show all posts

Monday, November 13, 2023

China to hold military drills with SE Asian countries amid provocations by the Philippines over Chinese islands and reefs in the South China Sea.

 Ships attached to a destroyer flotilla with the navy under the PLA Eastern Theater Command sail in formation en route to a multi-subject training exercise in East China Sea. The ships' journey took two days from October 13 to 14 before reaching the training waters. Photo:China Military



China will hold a joint military exercise with five Southeast Asian countries this month, with experts saying on Sunday that the move is conducive to the safeguarding of regional peace and stability amid repeated provocations by the Philippines over Chinese islands and reefs in the South China Sea.

The Chinese military will host militaries from Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam in Zhanjiang, South China's Guangdong Province from mid-November to late November for the Aman Youyi-2023 (namely Peace and Friendship-2023) multilateral drills, China's Ministry of National Defense said in a press release on Sunday.

Under the theme of joint counter-terrorism and military operations on safeguarding maritime security, the exercise is split into a land part and a sea part, organizing teams to hold joint training, joint command exercises and actual-force drills on counter-terrorism and anti-piracy, the press release reads.

The goal of the exercise is to enhance the participants' operational capabilities in urban counter-terrorism as well as maritime counter-terrorism and anti-piracy, further deepen military mutual trust and pragmatic cooperation, and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability, the Chinese Defense Ministry said.

The Chinese participating forces mainly come from the Chinese People's Liberation Army Southern Theater Command, and foreign participating forces include ground detachments and surface vessels, it said.

Zhang Junshe, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times on Sunday that the exercise displays the participating countries' mutual trust and common will in safeguarding regional peace and stability.

The South China Sea is one of the world's most pirates-infested regions, making piracy a common threat faced by all countries in the region, and that is why the exercise will focus on counter-terrorism and anti-piracy, Zhang said.

Observers noted that the exercise comes at a time when the Philippines has made repeated provocations since August against China vis-à-vis Chinese islands and reefs in the South China Sea.

Some countries participating in the Aman Youyi-2023 exercise also have maritime disputes in the South China Sea, but they chose the right approach, which is not to let disputes affect friendship and cooperation and jointly safeguard regional peace and stability, Zhang said.

Military expert Song Zhongping told the Global Times on Sunday that under incitement from the US, the Philippines is not playing a positive role in the negotiations for the Code of Conduct (COC) on the South China Sea, bringing uncertainties to the region.

But other ASEAN members understand that there must be no chaos in the South China Sea in order for ASEAN to develop, Song said.

"The US, as a country from outside of the region, does not want the signing of the COC or a peaceful South China Sea. The interference of such external interference must be rejected," Song said.

It is also important for other ASEAN members to persuade the Philippines to safeguard ASEAN's common interests, experts said.

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US shadow grows over South China Sea

Experts warn of potential violent clashes, call for relevant countries to engage in talks 


A Philippine vessel approaches a China Coast Guard vessel in a dangerous manner and leads to a bump in waters off China's Ren'ai Reef in the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea on October 22, 2023. Photo: Screenshot from a video released by China Coast Guard

In a video message to the Opening Ceremony of the Symposium on Global Maritime Cooperation and Ocean Governance 2023 held on Wednesday in South China's Hainan Province, China's top diplomat Wang Yi reiterated China's commitment to settling disputes and disagreements through dialogue and consultation while warning against maritime bloc confrontations.

"Disputes over maritime territory and rights and interests that are left from history should be resolved through friendly consultation between the parties directly concerned. Bloc confrontation and zero-sum games at sea must be firmly rejected," said Wang, Chinese Foreign Minister and a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

Wang said China would continue to work with ASEAN countries to fully and effectively implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC), agree on a Code of Conduct (COC) at an early date, and foster a peaceful and secure order in the South China Sea.

The remarks came amid some disturbing changes in the South China Sea, including the notably frequent provocations from the Philippines against China in the region since August. The increasing provocations have led to growing concerns about potential "violent crashes between China and the Philippines" among experts and officials who closely follow related issues.

In the latest provocative move, the Japanese government promised to give five ships to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) to boost its maritime security capability, as the two countries - two of the US' closest allies in Asia - are working with the US to help enhance Manila's security capabilities, according to Reuters.

Apart from the Philippines, Vietnam is also stepping up its land reclamation in the South China Sea. The country has been building a reef in the Nansha Islands and expanded its reclaimed area in the region more than four times in less than a year, according to media reports.

Although frictions, disputes, and claims of conflict have always existed in the South China Sea, some incidents are inevitable. However, it is surprising that these incidents have occurred so frequently in the context of the overall good relations between China and the Philippines, as noted by some experts.

They pointed out that the current tense situation in Ren'ai Reef has largely been caused by the overt or covert intervention of the US, calling on the Philippines to come back to bilateral dialogue to seek peaceful resolution to disputes rather than blindly following a third party's footsteps to target China as an enemy and risk aggravating the situation.

Increasing provocations

The Philippines started the recent wave of provocation over China's islands and reefs in the South China Sea on August 5, when two Philippine transport ships escorted by two Philippine coast guard ships illegally trespassed into waters off China's Ren'ai Reef of the Nansha Islands, forcing the China Coast Guard (CCG) to take lawful, necessary measures, including issuing a warning with water cannons, to block the Philippine vessels that were carrying illegal building materials.

The aim of the trespassing ships was to reinforce a Philippine warship that was illegally grounded on Ren'ai Reef in 1999. At the time, China lodged solemn representations and the Philippines promised several times to tow away the grounded vessel.

Now, 24 years has passed, and the Philippines not only has not towed away the warship, but is attempting to repair and reinforce it now that it is on the verge of disintegration, so the Philippines can occupy China's Ren'ai Reef permanently.

On August 22, the Philippines made another attempt to send illegal building materials to Ren'ai Reef, again sending two transport ships and two coast guard ships, which were again restricted by the CCG.

After the CCG restricted a third attempt by Philippine transport and coast guard ships to reinforce the illegally grounded warship on Ren'ai Reef on September 8, the Philippines switched to Huangyan Island on September 22 to divert China's attention from Ren'ai Reef and increase its bargaining chips.

Following yet another attempt to reinforce its grounded warship on Ren'ai Reef on October 4, which was also restricted by the CCG, the Philippines returned to Huangyan Island on October 10, when a Philippine navy gunboat intruded into waters off the Chinese island despite repeated warnings from the Chinese side.

The Philippine gunboat was expelled by the CCG through professional, lawful measures.

It marked the first event since the start of the Philippines' recent provocations since August that the Philippine side deployed a naval vessel to stir up trouble, which analysts said was a sign of escalation of tensions from a paramilitary level to a military level.

The Philippines then claimed that a Chinese naval vessel had shadowed a Philippine warship on October 15 near Zhongye Island, another Chinese island in the Nansha Islands, to disrupt a resupply mission.

The tensions around Ren'ai Reef again escalated on October 22, when the Philippines hyped collision events in its latest attempt to send vessels to the reef.

In the latest provocation by the Philippines, a Philippine navy corvette illegally trespassed into waters off China's Huangyan Island on October 30.

Instead of the CCG, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command organized naval and aviation forces, tracked and monitored, verbally warned, and then blocked and restricted the Philippine warship in accordance with the law.

With the involvement of military ships from both sides, observers warned of potential violent clashes between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea.

China will not step back when it comes to safeguarding national security and territory, a military expert told the Global Times on condition of anonymity, while for the Philippines, the US will not allow it to retreat.

US shadow

The US is without doubt the biggest negative element that is affecting the peaceful and stable situation of the South China Sea, Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times.

The overall situation in the South China Sea remains stable and controllable. The second round of text review consultations on the COC have been completed as planned and the third round of review has been officially initiated. At the bilateral level, China and relevant countries such as the Philippines have established emergency communication hotlines between their foreign ministries and have conducted productive dialogue, laying the foundation for the stabilization and improvement of the situation in the region. However, at the same time, there have been some disturbing changes, including increasing military presence by some external countries and bloc confrontation targeting China led by the US, Wu pointed out.

In a recent event, two sorties by a vessel-borne helicopter from the Canadian Navy's frigate HMCS Ottawa with unknown intentions approached China's territorial airspace above the Xisha Islands, and despite the PLA naval and aviation forces' lawful identification, verification and repeated verbal warnings, the Canadian helicopter not only refused to respond, but also took provocative maneuvers including flying at a very low altitude, Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, said in a press release on Saturday.

It marks a third provocation from the Canadian military over the past month. In mid-October, a Canadian CP-140 reconnaissance aircraft illegally entered China's airspace over Chiwei Islet, approached China's eastern coast and entered the Taiwan Straits for close-in reconnaissance, forcing the PLA Air Force to take lawful management and control measures.

On November 1, the Canadian Navy's HMCS Ottawa frigate made a transit through the Taiwan Straits together with the US Navy's USS Rafael Peralta destroyer, while the PLA handled the event in accordance with the law and regulations.

Since 2021, the US has also been building small cliques with relevant countries in or outside the South China Sea, such as the Quad Security Dialogue between the US, Japan, India, and Australia, and the trilateral cooperation between the US, Japan, and South Korea, as well as the AUKUS alliance between the US, the UK and Australia.

In May this year, the US and the Philippines signed the Bilateral Defense Guidelines. In September, the navies of the two countries launched their first joint patrol in the South China Sea.

The US is attempting to use the joint patrol as a lever to build a mechanism for coordination among the US, the Philippines, Japan and Australia in the South China Sea. These US-led cliques all regard China as an imaginary enemy, according to Wu.

The essence of the disputes over the South China Sea is the disputes over territorial sovereignty and maritime jurisdictional claims among various claimants. While China has been actively seeking and promoting a maritime cooperative mechanism to solve the disputes, the US' partiality and connivance to some claimants has encouraged provocative actions. These claimants do this to enhance their own interests and create a "fait accompli" before the COC is launched, Wu explained.

Such actions hinder the implementation of practical cooperation under the forum of the DOC, Wu noted, and he predicted consultation on the COC would enter a "deep water area" in the third round of the review.

Back to direct talks

The second round of text review for the COC was completed in July during the ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers' Meeting. The ministers agreed during the meeting to complete the COC negotiations before fall 2026, according to the Associated Press.

But the previous two rounds of review did not address core issues such as geographical scope, island construction, oil and gas extraction, and implementation mechanisms. As the negotiations enter the third round, the divergences, the conflicts and the dilemmas of all parties will gradually surface, Wu pointed out. One need not go into the details to imagine how challenging it will be for 11 countries to reach a consensus on these issues, he said.

The Philippines and Vietnam may want the COC to be launched as late as possible so that they can boost their negotiating position with the support of the US. But is the US a reliable backer for these countries? Observers hesitate on this question and have called on relevant countries to put more emphasis on direct talks rather than reliance on the intervention of a third party.

Obviously, the US is the biggest external factor in the South China Sea. It is widely believed in China that the US is behind almost all of the provocations in the South China Sea. But this is only part of the US' strategy to contain China. Another strong concern of the US is to avoid being dragged into conflict merely over land features in the South China Sea, Yang Li, executive director of the Institute for China-Europe Studies, said at a round-table meeting jointly organized by Malaysia-based think tank East West Bridge and Chinese think tank Global Governance Institution (GGI).

Some observers slammed current Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr for abandoning his predecessor's more friendly policy toward China. Instead, he has focused more on enhancing ties with the US to promote the development of his country's military capabilities. By doing this, Marcos Jr is hoping to consolidate domestic support. In addition, by constantly provoking troubles with China in the South China Sea, he also wants to test how strong the US-Philippines alliance is, observers said.

In the past six to seven years, the South China Sea dispute between the two countries has been well managed. Relevant bilateral mechanisms have been put in place and have been progressing as planned. However, the current situation between the two countries is continuously escalating. This is because the development of these events is not a simple repetition of what happened 10 years ago, but rather a significant change and deterioration in the environment.

Geopolitical tensions around the world are intensifying, and the strategic competition between China and the US is escalating. In this unfriendly environment, any incident between China and the Philippines will face greater risks. Compared with 10 years ago, today's events are more prone to spiraling out of control. Therefore, both China and the Philippines must demonstrate greater political will, employ more political wisdom, and allocate more resources to address these disputes and differences, experts said at the round-table meeting.

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Wednesday, May 10, 2023

China’s reusable spacecraft returned to earth


China’s reusable spacecraft returned to earh

 

China's reusable experimental spacecraft successfully lands after 276 days in orbit

 Sitting atop the Long March-2F Y14 carrier rocket and carrying three taikonauts, China's Shenzhou-14 spaceship is launched successfully from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu Province on June 5, 2022. Photo: VCG

Sitting atop the Long March-2F Y14 carrier rocket and carrying three taikonauts, China's Shenzhou-14 spaceship is launched successfully from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu Province on June 5, 2022. Photo: VCG

After 276 days in orbit, China's reusable experimental spacecraft landed at its planned site at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's Gansu Province on Monday, and Chinese space watchers said it was a milestone in China's efforts to develop a fully reusable space transportation system.

The success is an important breakthrough in China's research on reusable spacecraft technologies, which will provide more convenient and affordable round trips for the peaceful use of space, the Xinhua News Agency said on Monday.

China launched a reusable experimental spacecraft using its Long March-2F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on August 5, 2022, to test reusable technologies and in-orbit service technologies to support the peaceful use of space, Xinhua previously reported.

China tested the reusable experimental spacecraft in September 2020, and the spacecraft returned to the planned landing site after two days in orbit. The spacecraft was also launched with a Long March-2F carrier rocket.

Chinese authorities have disclosed few details about the craft's technology. So far, no images of the spacecraft or footage of its launch or landing have been disclosed.

Many space lovers compared it to the US Air Force's X-37B, an autonomous Boeing space plane that can remain in orbit for long periods before returning to Earth on its own, saying that the technology used in the experiment is "too advanced to show" on social media.

The reusable spacecraft's technology has evidently matured, considering how much longer it can stay in orbit, Chinese space watchers noted on Sunday.

Song Zhongping, a space expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Monday that the reusability of such spacecraft would drastically reduce costs. More importantly, the longer orbiting time means that the spacecraft can perform more complicated missions such as changing trajectory in near-Earth orbit and sending various payloads into orbit.

Judging from the rocket used in the launch, the Long March-2F carrier rocket - which is one of China's most advanced and reliable rockets for manned space flights - the reusable spacecraft may be used in future manned missions, said another space observer, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Given the payload launching capability of the Long March-2F, the spacecraft could weigh around 8 tons, which is very similar to the launch mass for the X-37B at around 5 tons, so that speculation about their similarity is not groundless, the observer said.

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China’s secret spacecraft returns to Earth after 9-month mission

Experts believe the Chinese reusable unmanned spacecraft is likely to be similar in size and design to the US Air Force’s X-37B, pictured at a California military base. Photo: AP 

 Experts believe the Chinese reusable unmanned spacecraft is likely to be similar in size and design to the US Air Force’s X-37B, pictured at a California military base. Photo: AP

 

Chinese space authorities  said a reusable uncrewed space vehicle returned to Earth on Monday morning after 276 days in orbit – more than 100 times longer than its maiden flight less than three years ago.

China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the nation’s biggest space defence contractor, hailed the classified mission as a “complete success”, saying it “marks an important breakthrough” in China’s research into the technology.

Reusable spacecraft “will provide a more convenient and cost-effective way for peaceful use of space”, the company said.


China scientists carry out ‘rule-breaking’ AI experiment in space


Researchers from Wuhan University say they gave the technology full control of a satellite and set it free for 24 hours 

The artificial intelligence machine picked a few places and ordered the small near-Earth orbiter to take a closer look 

 

A small Chinese satellite was directed by artificial intelligence to observe sites in India and Japan, according to a research paper. Photo: Shutterstock

A small Chinese satellite was directed by artificial intelligence to observe sites in India and Japan, according to a research paper. Photo: Shutterstock 

 Chinese researchers say an artificial intelligence machine was given temporary full control of a satellite in near-Earth orbit, in a landmark experiment to test the technology’s behaviour in space.


For 24 hours the Qimingxing 1, a small Earth observation satellite, was directed by a ground-based AI, without any human order, assignment or intervention, according to a paper published in the journal Geomatics and Information Science of Wuhan University.

The research team, led by Wang Mi from the university’s State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, said the aim of the experiment was to see what the AI would do of its own accord.

‘Red scare’ in US causes multi-year flood of refugees with PhDs to China

  • OECD data shows China sustains net gain of scientists while US suffers net loss as ethnic Chinese researchers fear US government surveillance and prosecution

The United States may want to choke off vital supplies of hi-tech gear, especially advanced semiconductors, to China. But, thanks to a “red scare” about industrial espionage and intellectual property theft that has specifically targeted ethnic Chinese researchers, it is inadvertently repatriating scientific talent to the mainland on a massive scale.

It’s an influx of refugees all right, but with PhDs and other advanced degrees, and many even with tenures back in the US. Forget Beijing’s Thousand Talents Plan or Overseas High-Level Talent Recruitment Programmes. The US government is recruiting for China by creating a climate of fear among an ethnic group of researchers through selective prosecution, while casting hundreds under suspicion and killing the careers of many.

In a new analysis of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) data, the conservative Cato Institute found that in 2021, the US lost published research scientists to other countries, while China gained more than 2,408.

“This was a remarkable turnaround from as recently as 2017 when the United States picked up 4,292 scientists and China picked up just 116,” it said. “The rest of the OECD and China have both surpassed the United States for net inflow of scientific authors.” 

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The institute concludes: “This is a disturbing trend … started before the pandemic. In fact, it appears to coincide with the Trump administration’s ‘China Initiative’ – more accurately titled the anti‐Chinese initiative.

“Launched in November 2018, the Department of Justice’s campaign was supposed to combat the overblown threat of intellectual property theft and espionage. In reality, it involved repeatedly intimidating institutions that employed scientists of Chinese heritage and attempting malicious failed prosecutions of scientists who worked with institutions in China.”

While the FBI and Justice Department have supposedly ended its “China initiative”, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the country’s single largest funding source of academic biomedical research, has been boasting about its high kill rates.

According to a March report in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Science, in the past four years, the NIH asked about 100 US institutions it funded to carry out internal investigations into academic staff. Some 81 per cent of the scientists targeted identified themselves as Asian, and 91 per cent of the collaborations under investigations were linked to China.

Science reports that 103 of those scientists, or 42 per cent of the 246 targeted – most of them tenured faculty members – ended up losing their jobs. 

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Even today, top NIH management is proud of the work, having cited the high number of “successful” cases resulting in job termination. But, according to Science, some administrators might find it easier to sack an employee than fighting the powerful NIH.

“Others, including some of the scientists targeted and the university administrators involved in investigating them, say the tremendous power differential between NIH and its grantees may be a better explanation for why so many scientists have been axed,” the Science article said.

“NIH is by far the largest funder of academic biomedical research in the United States, and some medical centres receive hundreds of millions of dollars annually from the agency. So when senior administrators heard [Michael Lauer, head of NIH’s extramural research] say a targeted scientist ‘was not welcome in the NIH ecosystem’, they understood immediately what he meant – and that he was expecting action.”

Separately, a late 2021 survey by MIT Technology Review identified at least 77 criminal cases and more than 150 defendants, out of hundreds of investigations linked to the China Initiative targeting research institutes.

“The initiative was supposed to focus on economic espionage, but it has increasingly charged academics with ‘research integrity’ issues,” it said. Team behind extreme animal gene experiment eyes human nuclear resistance 29 Mar 2023

According to another survey by researchers at the University of Arizona, more than one in two scientists of Chinese descent feel considerable fear, anxiety, or both, about being surveilled by the US government, compared to 12 per cent of non-Chinese scientists.

The climate of fear noted by the Cato Institute study is hardly surprising. It warns: “If Chinese scientists are afraid to work in the United States, that means that the United States will not benefit from their discoveries as much or as quickly as China will.

“Although the Justice Department claims to have shut down its ‘China Initiative’, my colleagues doubt that Chinese scientists will be free from unjust scrutiny going forward.”

Beijing must love the irony. “Keep them coming, please,” it must be thinking.

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Wednesday, November 9, 2022

China holds high-profile display of advanced warplanes, weapons at airshow, 'deters Taiwan secessionists, external interference forces'

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Highlights from Airshow China 2022 Editor: Feng Qingyin/GT Graphic: Xu Zihe/GT

J-20 fighter jets of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force deliver dazzling flight performances at the opening day of Airshow China 2022 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province on November 8, 2022. Photo: Cui Meng/GT

 

Photo: Cui Meng/GT

J-20 fighter jets of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force deliver dazzling flight performances at the opening day of Airshow China 2022 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province on November 8, 2022.

A Z-20 utility helicopter of the People's Liberation Army Army releases flares during a flight performance at the opening day of Airshow China 2022 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, on November 8, 2022.Photo: Cui Meng/GT

A Z-20 utility helicopter of the People's Liberation Army releases flares during a flight performance at the opening day of Airshow China 2022 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, on November 8, 2022.Photo: Cui Meng/GT

A YU-20 aerial tanker releases all three of its aerial refueling baskets during a flight performance at the opening day of Airshow China 2022 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, on November 8, 2022.Photo: Cui Meng/GT

A YU-20 aerial tanker releases all three of its aerial refueling baskets during a flight performance at the opening day of Airshow China 2022 in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, on November 8, 2022.Photo: Cui Meng/GT

 

When the six-day Airshow China 2022 kicked off on Tuesday in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, spectators were greatly amazed by the country's most advanced J-20 fighter jets' outstanding flight performances with challenging maneuvers of tactical significance in a very humid weather, as well as their landing before the general public for the first time, which experts said, together with flight performances of the YU-20 aerial tanker and the J-16 heavy fighter jet among others, constituted a confident and high-profile move that not only showed the capabilities of the aircraft, but also served as a deterrence to "Taiwan independence" secessionist and external interference forces.

After consecutive days of bad weather in Zhuhai, rainfall stopped on Tuesday, the first day of the airshow, blessing all the aircraft with a cloudy weather condition barely okay for the delivery, and maybe more importantly, the crowd's proper audience, of flight performances.

Despite some strict COVID-19 prevention and control measures, the spectators found it all worthwhile when four J-20 fighter jets of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force appeared from afar in a diamond formation and flew across the event site.

After some circling, two J-20s faded away into the clouds, and the other two dazzled the crowd with many challenging maneuvers with high Gs that tore the air apart, with the wakes distinctly visible because of the high humidity.

While people already know that the J-20s would land on the ground for the first time at an airshow due to an earlier rehearsal, the audience still stood on their toes to get a clearer view on them. Many gathered as closely as they can to take pictures of the J-20s or have their photos taken with the J-20s, as this was their first opportunity to do so.

"Thrilling, satisfying" are some of the words many spectators told the Global Times describing the event. When the J-20 performed its first landing at the show, many viewers shouted, "It is coming! It is like we are about to celebrate the Chinese lunar spring festival. Bravo! The Chinese PLA Air Force!"

One of the last moves in the J-20s' performance was a rolling while ascending, with the aircraft's nose kept changing the direction it was pointing to. This shows that the J-20 has excellent mobility and very flexible aim, which can give it advantages in air combat, Zhang Xuefeng, a Chinese military expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday at the airshow site.

The J-20 can perform supersonic cruise and has subsonic super maneuverability at the same time. This is realized thanks to the J-20's unique aerodynamic design of lifting body with strakes and canards, plus domestically developed engines, Zhang said.

A four-aircraft formation of the J-20 is a large tactical unit with high combat-oriented significance, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The J-20's first static display at the airshow displayed China's confidence in the aircraft, reflecting that many warplanes of this type are already in service and have formed complete combat and logistics support capabilities, and that this advanced stealth fighter is no longer "mysterious," Song said.

Besides the J-20, the YU-20 aerial tanker also delivered its first flight performance to the public, as it released all three of its aerial refueling baskets, showing its capabilities to host aerial refueling for two small aircraft simultaneously or for a large aircraft.

The J-16 heavy fighter jet was another main combat aircraft of the PLA Air Force that performed at the airshow. The J-16 released flares while performing a combat roll, as the beautiful move led many on the ground to express admiration.

The PLA Army for the first time sent the Z-20 utility helicopter, the Z-10 attack helicopter and the Z-8L transport helicopter to conduct flight performances at the Airshow China.

Other equipment like drones also attracted attention.

"This is the third Airshow China I have visited. This year, I was looking forward to seeing new aircraft like the H-20 bomber or the J-35 fighter jet. Now that they did not come, what I'm interested next is drone development," Atsushi Okudera, chief of Japanese newspaper The Asahi Shimbun's Guangzhou/Hong Kong bureau, told the Global Times at the airshow on Tuesday. 

Photo: Cui Meng/GT

Photo: Cui Meng/GT

 

Sending a warning

Many of the aircraft on display at the airshow, including the J-20, the J-16 and the YU-20, participated in a large-scale military exercises around Taiwan island in August following US house speaker Nancy Pelosi's provocative visit to the island that seriously violated China's sovereignty.

Other first-time exhibits, including the KJ-500A early warning aircraft with in-flight-refuel capability, a JH-7A2 fighter bomber carrying what seems to be a stealth air-to-surface cruise missile and an H-6K bomber carrying two what seems to be air-launched ballistic missiles that analysts said can target aircraft carriers, can also play vital roles over the Taiwan question, observers said.

The PLA Army's Z-20 utility helicopter, the Z-10 attack helicopter and the Z-8L transport helicopter are also a perfect combination in a potential horizontal landing mission when operated from a Type 075 amphibious assault ship of the PLA Navy, as the Z-20 will lead the assault under the escort of the Z-10, followed by the Z-8L, analysts said.

These weapons and equipment are not aimed at Taiwan compatriots, but "Taiwan independence" secessionists and external interference forces, Song said.

If it comes to that, the PLA will use the best weapons and equipment there are to counter Taiwan secessionists and end a potential military conflict with the smallest cost; it is also important to show external forces like the US what the PLA is capable of, Song said. "The PLA will put the moves, performances and capabilities displayed at the airshow into practice," he said.

Both new missiles carried by the H-6K bomber and the JH-7A2 fighter bomber are stand-off weapons that can contribute to the PLA's potential anti-access and area denial missions against external military interference, Song pointed out.

With the YU-20 aerial tanker that can extend the range and endurance of fighter jets, bombers and early warning aircraft, the PLA Air Force can more easily break the first island chain created by the US in an attempt to contain China, analysts said.

The PLA's main combat aircraft, including the J-10C fighter, the J-15 carrier-based fighter, the J-16 heavy fighter, the J-20 stealth fighter, the KJ-500A early warning aircraft and the H-6N long range strategic bomber, are capable of receiving aerial refueling, according to media reports. 

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