South China Morning Post – China’s efforts to modernize and expand its naval forces have once again kicked into high gear after disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, pressing on with efforts to have at least four carrier strike groups in the next decade. But military watchers and insiders said that even without the coronavirus disruptions, China still had a long way to go to train the personnel it needed to realise its ambitions.

South China Morning Post – China is conducting military drills almost simultaneously in four sea regions, a rare move possibly designed to signal its readiness to handle confrontation with the United States and self-ruled Taiwan.

South China Morning Post – China is expected to launch an eighth guided-missile destroyer designed for the navy’s aircraft carrier strike groups llater this year.

South China Morning Post – China’s first Type 075 landing helicopter assault dock completed its first test voyage on Sunday, and is expected to join the Chinese Navy’s marines next year, military analysts said. However, a military insider said the amphibious warship was still awaiting the launch of the aircraft it would carry: the naval versions of the Z-8J and Z-20J, which are modified based on the air force’s Z-8 and Z-20 armed helicopters.

South China Morning Post – China launched two missiles, including an “aircraft-carrier killer”, into the South China Sea on Wednesday morning, a source close to the Chinese military said, sending a clear warning to the United States.

War Zone – China is making a big deal out of a supposed overflight by a U.S. Air Force U-2 spy plane of one of its currently underway People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) exercises.

Forbes – In a creative—some might say desperate—bid to bolster its amphibious fleet, the U.S. Navy in recent years has been building so-called “expeditionary sea-base ships” that are little more than commercial heavy-load carrier ships with a gray coat of paint and some military radios. Now the Chinese fleet has demonstrated the same creativity—or desperation. A commercial heavy-load carrier flying a Hong Kong flag recently supported a Chinese naval exercise, functioning as a base for at least two army helicopters.

(Thanks to Alain)

National Interest – Why China would be interested in a Cold War-era French submarine design still remains a mystery. 

(Thanks to Alain)

South China Morning Post – The Chinese authorities have reportedly warned crews to stay away from the Diaoyu Islands, also known as the Senkakus, to avoid further tension with Tokyo.

War Zone – The rare satellite image shows a Chinese nuclear submarine entering into the mysterious submarine cave system at Yulin Naval Base on Hainan Island.

– War Zone – The H-6J’s visit to Woody Island would be yet more evidence of China’s expanding military activities in a disputed and strategically vital region.

– South China Morning Post – China’s military has made efforts to cover its shortage of naval pilots by recruiting more cadets than expected this year.

– Global Times – The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Rocket Force recently launched a DF-26 intermediate-range anti-ship ballistic missile in an ongoing months-long exercise, after the US provocatively sent two aircraft carriers to the South China Sea for exercises and held joint naval drills with India, Japan and Australia in the Indian Ocean and Philippine Sea respectively in an attempt to contain China.

– China Maritime Studies Institute – This China Maritime Report on Gwadar is the second in a series of case studies on China’s Indian Ocean “strategic strongpoints” (战略支点). People’s Republic of China (PRC) officials, military officers, and civilian analysts use the strategic strongpoint concept to describe certain strategically valuable foreign ports with terminals and commercial zones owned and operated by Chinese firms.

– War Zone – Not many countries field specialist underwater firearms. Now we have a chance to see these exotic weapons in the hands of China’s naval commandos.

– Strategy Bridge – The focus of this article is a crosswalk from China’s counter-intervention strategy to the U.S. response.

– Foreign Policy – What happens if China fights the United States and Japan? A mutual disaster, wargame predicts.

– Global Times – Z-10 attack helicopters attached to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Army recently conducted a series of sea-crossing assault drills on a Navy warship. The combination of Army helicopters and Navy warships can significantly boost the PLA’s amphibious, vertical landing capability and will play a vital role in potential military operations on the island of Taiwan.

– South China Morning Post – The People’s Liberation Army has deployed more amphibious weapon systems in mainland China’s coastal cities across the strait from Taiwan in a sign that the armed forces are keen to play a key role in the long-standing mission to “reunify Taiwan”, according to an analyst.

– South China Morning Post – A Chinese military adviser has claimed the United States could launch an attack on disputed Chinese-controlled reefs in the South China Sea to boost Donald Trump’s prospects of winning re-election as US president.

– USNI News – The first in a new class of Chinese amphibious warships has begun sea trials.

– Forbes – China has been building a series of surveillance platforms spanning parts of the South China Sea (SCS). Many of these are in Chinese waters, but several are floating in international waters.

– USNI Proceedings – James Holmes asks what will China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) make of the U.S. Navy’s after-action report on the coronavirus outbreak on board the carrier Theodore Roosevelt?

– War Zone – A video has emerged online showing a long-range fighter patrol over the South China Sea being conducted by Chinese Su-30MKK Flankers. The video shows edited excerpts of a full mission, starting with aircrews running to their awaiting jets at Suixi-Nanning Air Base in Southern China, to aerial refueling,to a pass over the Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands, followed by the return to base.

– South China Morning Post – China has equipped its warships with advanced generators to power high-energy weapons like lasers and rail guns, according to state media.