War Zone – China’s mysterious air-launched anti-ship ballistic missile just made its latest appearance.

1945 – Suppose General David Berger, the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, gets his way and transforms the corps into an island-hopping, missile-toting force able to transmute the first island chain into a “Great Wall in reverse”—a barricade against sea and air movement between the China seas and the Western Pacific. Chinese Communist Party magnates might be deterred for a time from misadventures in the South China Sea, Taiwan Strait, or East China Sea, but they would not meekly acquiesce in their imprisonment within coastal waters.

Global Times – The US Navy has reportedly deployed three spy ships simultaneously to sensitive waters near China over the past week in a provocative move experts said on Thursday aims to boost its submarine and anti-submarine warfare capabilities against the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

USNI News – Restrictions to the passage of traffic through the Panama Canal and the Strait of Magellan as China moves aggressively to expand its footprint across Central and South America are the top concerns of the current U.S. Southern Command head told a Senate panel.

AP – China has fully militarized at least three of several islands it built in the disputed South China Sea, arming them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment, and fighter jets in an increasingly aggressive move that threatens all nations operating nearby, a top U.S. military commander said Sunday.

CIMSEC – Scientists and engineers based in the People’s Republic of China are developing a new generation of gliders that could play a far more direct role in naval combat by detecting enemy submarines. Since 2014, experts at the PLAN Submarine Academy, working with colleagues at civilian institutions, have been equipping Chinese gliders with passive acoustic sensors. Chinese language records of their activities show a determined effort to adapt this technology for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), an enduring weakness for the PLAN—one that, if remedied, could shake U.S. conventional deterrence in the Western Pacific.

China Maritime Studies Institute – The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Airborne Corps would likely play an important role in a cross-strait invasion through operations behind enemy lines. During the landing campaign, the Corps would conduct paradrops or landing operations onto Taiwan, facilitated by PLA Air Force (PLAAF) aircraft. Once on island, airborne forces would seize and hold terrain and conduct a variety of operations to support the broader invasion. In recent years, the Corps has reorganized to improve its capability for mechanized maneuver and assault, leveraging the PLAAF’s larger inventories of transport aircraft, particularly the Y-20; improved the sophistication of its training at home; and gleaned insights from abroad via training with foreign militaries. Nevertheless, it is uncertain to what extent the Corps is able to overcome key challenges relevant to a cross-strait campaign. These include ensuring effective integration with similar ground force and marine units; carrying out operations in complex or degraded environments; transcending the Corps’ lack of relevant combat experience; and obtaining adequate air support.

Radio Free Asia – The paths of Chinese survey vessels across the South China Sea for the past two years show a tangle of activity straddling disputed waters off the coasts of all its maritime neighbors in Southeast Asia.

Global Times – The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy is reportedly transferring a batch of Type 056 corvettes to the China Coast Guard, with the ships now undergoing retrofitting work. Analysts said on Wednesday that this reflects that the navy has developed to a stage where it no longer needs so many coastal defense vessels, and the coast guard will receive a significant power boost in safeguarding key sea regions, islands and reefs.

War Zone – A large number of China’s “little blue men,” the irregular maritime militia forces that receive support and training from the Chinese government, have gone dark on traditional maritime tracking systems thanks to a new law. 

Global Times – The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy flotilla carrying disaster relief supplies that departed from China late last month will arrive in Tonga soon, and the sailors are adjusting plans to unload the supplies based on the changing situation of the port to be visited.

Naval News – What appears at first sight to be a U.S. Navy Zumwalt Class destroyer, is actually something quite different. A new and mysterious boat has been observed in China.

CIMSEC – This article will focus on this latest coast guard and its transformation into one of the world’s largest from two aspects. The first aspect is the requirement for the development and rapid expansion of a China Coast Guard. This includes the contested claims in the South China Sea and the East China Sea and an examination of how a maritime law enforcement agency would fit into that context. The second aspect is the China Coast Guard’s application. This examination will unravel the roles and responsibilities of China Coast Guard, its legal authority, and its conduct of operations.

Naval News – The U.S. Navy only operates nuclear-powered submarines. China meanwhile never stopped operating conventional submarines even though they are less capable. This has advantages and disadvantages. But a new submarine pushes this difference further. It is much smaller than those used by other leading navies.

War Zone – Another new and previously unknown Chinese submarine design has appeared, continuing the country’s prodigious naval shipbuilding program. The emergence of this submarine comes after a new subclass of a conventionally-powered type broke cover last year and the reveal of a highly intriguing “sail-less” design three years before that, though there are no clear indications one way or another that any of these are directly related to each other.

Global Times – During an interview with the Global Times, Remila said her life on the Liaoning is very happy and she loves her career and is willing to shoulder the responsibility to safeguard the happiness and peaceful life of millions of families in the motherland. 

Covert Shores – There are indications that the Chinese Navy (PLAN) has begun decommissioning its KILO Class submarines.

(Thanks to Alain)

Nikkei Asia – Dredging work appears set to start in the waters surrounding Cambodia’s Ream naval base, where a Chinese-led expansion has become a growing source of geopolitical tension.

China Maritime Studies Institute – PLA special operations forces (SOF) would likely play important supporting roles in an amphibious assault on Taiwan. Their capabilities and training are geared towards several missions undertaken during the preparatory and main assault phases of the landing, including infiltration via special mission craft and helicopter, reconnaissance and targeting, obstacle clearance, strikes and raids, and extraction missions. While PLA SOF have made progress in recent years, several longstanding challenges could affect their performance in an island landing: integrating advanced special mission equipment for complex and dangerous missions, coordinating their operations with non-SOF supporting and supported forces, and overcoming the Chinese military’s penchant for centralized command. Even if PLA SOF are only partially effective, however, their support to the main assault force could diminish Taiwan’s ability to defend itself from a large-scale invasion.

Naval News – The Type-055 Renhai Class is in many ways the Chinese Navy’s (PLAN) answer to the U.S. Navy’s AEGIS cruisers. Large and heavily armed, they play a leading role escorting China’s aircraft carriers. New intelligence suggests that another batch of these impressive warships is being built.

Naval News – 2021 has been a fruitful year for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN or Chinese Navy). At least eight Guided Missile Destroyers (DDG), two amphibious assault ships (LHD) and one nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) joined the PLAN fleet.

USNI News – The People’s Liberation Army Navy 39th Escort Task Force carried out a three-day-long escort mission of Chinese fishing vessels through the Gulf of Aden.

USNI News – The People’s Liberation Army Navy Liaoning carrier group returned to its homeport of Qingdao on Dec. 30 after a successful training deployment.

Naval News – Submarine sales are a powerful weapon in the game of international power and influence. China is increasingly combining it with the Belt and Road Initiative in ways which shape the geopolitical landscape. The latest surprise submarine supply illustrates this.

Naval News – With increasing tensions in the first island chain, China has recently begun transferring Type 056 corvettes from the People’s Liberation Army Navy to the Chinese Coast Guard.