People’s Daily – China’s latest ocean patrol ship was delivered for service in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Wednesday, as the nation seeks to bolster its fleet that safeguards its territorial claims and other interests in the South China Sea and other waters.

Chinese Maritime Studies Institute – With its fielding of the PCH191 multiple rocket launcher (MRL) and its variety of long-range precision munitions, the PLA Army (PLAA) has become arguably the most important contributor of campaign and tactical firepower during a joint island landing campaign against Taiwan. No longer simply the primary source of amphibious and air assault forces, the PLAA is now capable of using its multiple battalions of PCH191 MRLs to support maritime dominance, the joint firepower strike, and ground forces landing on Taiwan’s shores and in depth. The Chinese ordnance industry has developed multiple low-cost rockets, an anti-ship cruise missile, and a tactical missile to be used with the PCH191, as well as its export variant, the AR3, including munitions that can quickly and precisely strike targets in the Taiwan Strait, across the island, and beyond. Recent demonstrations of the PCH191 during PLA training events and Eastern Theater Command response actions to politically charged visits, in addition to the fielding of new reconnaissance assets capable of providing targeting and battle damage assessments to the MRL, make it clear the Army intends to use the system to achieve effects in a future Taiwan crisis that formerly would have been the responsibility of other PLA services.

CIMSEC – China is reaping huge economic benefits by selling fish to the United States in a manner that is directly funding its military and diplomatic buildups to be able to out compete the United States.

US Department of Defense – The following is the Oct. 19, 2023, Department of Defense report to Congress, Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China.

1945 – If the allies entrench themselves on prime real estate within the anti-access zone, they could defy the PLA to come and take the ground while operating on tactically exterior lines. They could flip the script on China, making use of interior lines. 

US Naval War College Review – Chinese leaders probably believe that America’s worldwide commitments mean that the United States never will concentrate its entire naval strength against them in a conflict. But “Tirpitz’s Trap” serves as a warning of the consequences of challenging a maritime rival at sea while retaining the commitments inherent in a continental state with strategically significant land borders and powerful neighbors.

US Naval War College Review – As China enters a period of heightened strategic competition with the United States, the PLAN will adjust its foreign-engagement strategy. China will forge stronger naval relations with non-U.S. major powers, including Russia; the United States will attempt to deny China new overseas naval facilities; and both countr

Daily Mail – Fifty-five Chinese sailors are feared dead after their nuclear submarine apparently got caught in a trap intended to ensnare British sub-surface vessels in the Yellow Sea.

Chinese Maritime Studies Institute – In recent years, China’s naval industries have made tremendous progress supporting the modernization of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) submarine force, both through robust commitment to research and development (R&D) and the upgrading of production infrastructure at the country’s three submarine shipyards: Bohai Shipyard, Huludao; Wuchang Shipyard, Wuhan; and Jiangnan Shipyard, Shanghai. Nevertheless, China’s submarine industrial base continues to suffer from surprising weaknesses in propulsion (from marine diesels to fuel cells) and submarine quieting. Closer ties with Russia could provide opportunities for China to overcome these enduring technological limitations by exploiting political and economic levers to gain access to Russia’s remaining undersea technology secrets.

China Aerospace Studies Institute – The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Naval Aviation forces have been undergoing a large scale divestment of its shore based aviation capabilities through 2023. However, since then, PLAN Aviation has clearly sought to retain not only is fixed wing anti-submarine warfare (ASW) assets, but also its other shore based special mission aircraft (SMA), notably its intelligence collection aircraft and airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) fleet of KJ-200s and KJ-500s. These aircraft enable the PLAN to conduct modern combined arms tasks such as ASW, supplement a currently non-operational carrier based fixed wing AEW capability, continue to collect electronics intelligence (ELINT) and signals intelligence (SIGINT), and enable further range and jointness when fulfilling air defense and domain awareness tasks in the last PLAN controlled air defense area, the South China Sea. Given the importance of these capabilities, the PLA has been undertaking an effort to expand the land-based facilities which support these aircraft to allow for more airframes to operate from these bases. Since 2021, airfields supporting PLAN SMA in the Eastern Theater Command (ETC) and Northern Theater Command (NTC) have completed or started renovations of their runways or expansions of apron space to enable airfields to house more aircraft or to otherwise continue to generate sorties. Southern Theater Navy (STN) subordinate airfields supporting this type of aviation do not appear to have started renovations within this time frame targeted at supporting SMA.

Reuters – The Philippines will take “all appropriate actions to cause the removal of barriers” in a disputed area of the South China Sea, the country’s national security advisor said on Monday. The Philippines on Sunday shared images of a floating barrier blocking fishing vessel access in the Scarborough Shoal with Chinese coast guard ships nearby, and said it would protect the rights of its fishermen.

BBC – Fifteen years after it began, there is still not much to see of the Dara Sakor Seashore Resort in southern Cambodia.

Global Times – With the return of the Shandong aircraft carrier group and other warships, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has seemingly wrapped up its five-day blitz exercise around the island of Taiwan, which analysts said on Saturday was characterized by its large scale, joint operations and short duration in what could be a new tactic.

USNI News – While the Chinese Navy has made progress operating at sea, institutional issues between its military and political leadership could pose problems in a wartime scenario.

Global Times – The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) recently conducted an anti-submarine exercise that stretched for more than 40 hours and featured more than a dozen groups of anti-submarine patrol aircraft in the South China Sea, which is a region experts said is infested with foreign submarine activities that potentially threaten China’s national defense.

China Daily – Chinese naval hospital ship “Peace Ark” set sail on Monday for a humanitarian medical mission in Kiribati, Tonga, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and East Timor.

South China Morning Post – Defence researchers say sensors can identify extremely small surface vibrations produced by a low-frequency sound source in the open sea. A UAV-mounted platform could work in concert with other submarine detection methods such as a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD), microwave radar or laser.

(Thanks to Alain)

Global Times – China and Russia’s third joint naval patrol that allegedly reached international waters near Alaska last week has touched the nerves of US media, which hyped the voyage as “highly provocative,” ignoring the fact that the US constantly sends warships and warplanes to China’s doorsteps for close-in reconnaissance and military exercises under the so-called freedom of navigation.

War Zone – China’s long-awaited new Type 054B frigate is nearing completion and it’s larger and more capable than its predecessor.

Naval News – The lead ship of a new type of frigate for the Chinese Navy (PLAN), informally designated Type 054B, has been launched at Hudong-Zhonghua, Shanghai.

War on the Rocks – If China attacks Taiwan, its ability to move the requisite levels of troops and supplies in a contested environment will be critical in determining its success. This makes logistics interdiction is an important, yet understudied, consideration. The good news for Western military planners is that whether the People’s Liberation Army launches a joint firepower strike campaign, a joint blockade campaign, or joint island landing campaign, its logistics capabilities would likely constitute a major weakness. This, at least, is the conclusion we drew from examining Chinese and Western military doctrine, studying similar historical campaigns, and conducting supply chain simulations.

War Zone – Triton is the westernmost island in the South China Sea’s strategic Paracel archipelago and added militarization of it has big implications.

China Maritime Studies Institute – After nearly 50 years since the first Type 091 SSN was commissioned, China is finally on the verge of producing world-class nuclear-powered submarines. This report argues that the propulsion, quieting, sensors, and weapons capabilities of the Type 095 SSGN could approach Russia’s Improved Akula I class SSN. The Type 095 will likely be equipped with a pump jet propulsor, a freefloating horizontal raft, a hybrid propulsion system, and 12-18 vertical launch system tubes able to accommodate anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles. China’s newest SSBN, the Type 096, will likewise see significant improvements over its predecessor, with the potential to compare favorably to Russia’s Dolgorukiy class SSBN in the areas of propulsion, sensors, and weapons, but more like the Improved Akula I in terms of quieting. If this analysis is correct, the introduction of the Type 095 and Type 096 would have profound implications for U.S. undersea security.

Barents Observer – In cooperation with researchers from Russia and Thailand, Arctic experts from the Chinese Polar Institute are sailing 15,500 nautical miles on an expedition to the top of the world.

USNI News – A team of researchers have identified likely locations of future Chinese naval bases not only in the Indo-Pacific but as far away as the Atlantic coast of Africa.