Washington Post – Another look at the threat posed by China’s military rise.
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Power and Interest News Report – A number of advanced warships will gradually come into service in the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (P.L.A.N.) in the next two years. The bulk of these ships will belong to two new guided missile destroyer classes called 052B and 052C. The 052C will be fitted with an advanced integrated air defense system, supposedly similar to the U.S. Aegis phased-array radar display, with a high capability to engage multiple targets simultaneously.

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New York Times – In a muscular display of its rising military and economic might, China deployed a fleet of five warships on Friday near a gas field in the East China Sea, a potentially resource-rich area that is disputed by China and Japan.
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Washinton Times – The new commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Adm. Gary Roughhead, an interested onlooker of the joint Chinese-Russian military maneuvers during the past eight days, has posed a critical question about the rapidly modernizing Chinese navy: “What do [the Chinese] see as the intended use of that navy? “
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NPR – The Chinese Navy is repairing an ex-Soviet aircraft carrier, according to media reports. While it would require more work to make it functional, the vessel would be China’s first carrier. Michele Norris talks with Andrew Koch of Jane’s Defence Weekly.

Koch and his colleague Yihong Chang report this week on repairs that China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy is making to the carrier Varyag. In images obtained by Jane’s, workers at the Chinese Dalian Shipyard appear to have repainted the Varyag in the country’s military colors.

The ship, built in the 1980s, was auctioned by Ukraine after the fall of the Soviet Union. It was purchased by a Hong Kong company, with the stated purpose of creating a hotel and resort craft.
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Chicago Tribune – A just-released Pentagon report to Congress carries a strong warning that China’s rapidly expanding and improving submarine fleet poses a mounting military threat to the United States.
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Reuters – China’s military modernisation, including apparent plans for a deep-water navy, needs to be monitored closely to determine whether it exceeds requirements for self-defence, a Japanese defence report said on Tuesday.
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Washington Post – China’s military buildup is broadening the reach of its forces in Asia and poses a long-term threat not only to Taiwan but to the U.S. military in the Pacific and to regional powers such as India and Japan, according to an assessment released yesterday by the Pentagon.
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Washington Times – A new intelligence report states that the US has missed a Chinese naval buildup over the last 10 years.
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Agence France Presse – Did the damaged Chinese submarine catch fire while submerged?
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Agence France Press – A Chinese navy submarine has been damaged during exercises in the South China Sea, Beijing said Tuesday, but officials refused to say whether there were any casualties.
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Washington Post – A top-to-bottom modernization is transforming the Chinese military, raising the stakes for U.S. forces long dominant in the Pacific.
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New York Times – Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Thursday that the Pentagon was closely monitoring the growth of China’s navy as part of that country’s overall military buildup.
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New York Times – Ever since the U.S. Marine Corps defeated Japanese forces here 60 years ago, the Marianas have been widely considered an American lake. Now, the United States may have to get used to sharing the western Pacific with China, the world’s rising naval power.
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Washington Times – More details on the Chinese submarine that entered Japanese territorial waters recently.
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Washington Times – China’s military has launched the first of a new class of ballistic missile submarines in what defense officials view as a major step forward in Beijing’s strategic weapons program. The new 094-class submarine was launched in late July and when fully operational in the next year or two will be the first submarine to carry the underwater-launched version of China’s new DF-31 missile.
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Daily Telegraph – The most aggressive practice run to be staged by China for an invasion of Taiwan is terrifying the inhabitants of a tiny archipelago in the South China Sea.
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Strategy Page – A look at China’s newest submarines.
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Washington Times – China has a new diesel-powered submarine under construction – the Yuan class – which was unknown to Western intelligence.
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The Times – Chinese soldiers will for the first time rehearse a D-Day-style invasion of Taiwan on a densely populated island off the mainland coast this month.
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