China invites Russian troops to march in war parade



China has invited Russian troops to march in a parade in Beijing in September to commemorate the end of World War Two, the Defence Ministry said on Monday, a move likely to further put off Western leaders from attending.

BEIJING: China has invited Russian troops to march in a parade in Beijing in September to commemorate the end of World War Two, the Defence Ministry said on Monday, a move likely to further put off Western leaders from attending.

China has been coy about which countries it plans to invite to the parade, but says it will likely invite representatives from the Western Allies who fought with China during the war.

President Xi Jinping could be left standing on the stage with few top Western officials, however, diplomats told Reuters, due to Western governments concerns over a range of issues, including the expected presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Xi attended a parade in Moscow on Saturday to mark 70 years since the end of the war in Europe.

A Defence Ministry statement said Fan Changlong, deputy chairman of China's powerful Central Military Commission, told Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu that China "warmly welcomes Russian military leaders and army formations" to take part in the September events in Beijing.

Xi's visit to Russia and appearance at the Moscow commemorations "pushed the China-Russia all-round strategic partnership relationship to a new level", Fan added, according to the statement.

Western leaders boycotted the Moscow parade over Russia's role in the Ukraine crisis.



The Beijing parade, which will likely see troops marching through Tiananmen Square, will be Xi's first since he took over as Communist Party leader and military chief in late 2012 and as state president in early 2013.

Sino-Japan relations have long been poisoned by what China sees as Japan's failure to atone for its occupation of parts of the country before and during the war, and Beijing rarely misses an opportunity to remind its people and the world of this.

Last month, U.S. President Barack Obama's top Asia adviser, Evan Medeiros, said that he had questions about whether a large military parade would really send a signal of reconciliation or promote healing, drawing a rebuke from China.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

- Reuters

We've to factor in the mission for the transport planes and the cost of flight.

Perhaps the sub would be the best stuff we had but we cant show off since its underwater Or those converted cargo ship into floating forward base? Hmmm it be cool if we got mistral ship

haha, we all dreaming to have mistral.

USS Carl Vinson with rmaf mkm and us navy f18 flyby





This post has been edited by KYPMbangi: May 11 2015, 06:21 PM

https://www.flickr.com/photos/compacflt/17495138975/

Biggest 'combat' ship? Lekiu class with only 106m length and 2.2k tons, not even half of that Arleigh Bulke

Spain Crash: Hishamuddin Confirms Suspension Of Military Airbus

KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 (Bernama) - Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Tun Hussein, Monday confirmed that Malaysia has temporarily halted the operations of its military Airbus A400M fleet following a crash involving the transport carrier during a test flight in Seville, Spain last Saturday.

"Yes, (we) grounded ours till we know more," Hishammuddin said in his Twitter reply to a BERNAMA reporter, in Kuala Lumpur.

According to the Reuters news agency, an A400M military transport plane crashed outside Seville during the weekend, killing four members of the test crew and seriously injuring two others.

The incident prompted Malaysia, Germany, Britain and Turkey to ground their fleets of the new troop and cargo carrier.

Based on local media reports, Malaysia has ordered four A400Ms, and has received delivery of the first aircraft on March 9, after they were purchased in 2005.

Malaysia is expected to receive two more of the aircraft by the end of this year and the last one next year.

--BERNAMA

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v8/ge/newsg....php?id=1133417

biggest naval ship is mahawangsa/indera sakti class but combat ship lekiu/jebat class

one day we should buy AAW FREMM-ER

This post has been edited by hafizushi: May 11 2015, 08:52 PM

new series... stay tune

I felt like watching ah boy to men frogmen again minus the pun, obvious product placement and cheesy plot line

http://www.janes.com/article/51293/indones...sv-arrives-home

fully support getting FREMM-ER .... for RMN ... 2 unit first ....

lol... probably will have dejavu

China's coast guard has become its second navy: report



By introducing larger and more heavily armed vessels into service, China is turning its coast guard into the nation's second navy, according to a US naval intelligence as cited on US military website Strategy Page.

China built, launched or put into commission at least 60 warships in the year 2014. Such a trend is likely to continue between 2015 and 2016, according to the report.

Under China's naval buildup plan, the PLA Navy will have several aircraft carriers, 26 destroyers, 52 frigates, 20 corvettes, 85 missile armed patrol boats, 56 amphibious vessels, 42 mine warfare ships and nearly 500 auxiliary craft, of which 10% are large seagoing ships.

China has successfully combined four of its five maritime police organizations into one unified Coast Guard Bureau, said the report. China once needed more than one coastal patrol organization because of the Communist state tradition to have multiple security organizations keep an eye on each other to ensure loyalty to the party. The old system only brought inefficiency and confusion, spurring the eventual consolidation of most of China's maritime security organizations.

Several months of effort were taken to repaint hundreds of maritime security ships. While ships from the coast guard, which is a paramilitary outfit, are installed with heavier armament, others are sea-going vessels designed for maritime policing. The establishment of China's new Coast Guard Bureau reflects the classic tactic of asserting its claims over the disputed South China Sea by avoiding the use of naval vessels.

Dozens of new seagoing warships are being built for the new Coast Guard, and many of the patrol vessels are carrying weapon systems such as missiles and torpedoes. Moreover, China is creating new bases for its Coast Guard Bureau in the over the disputed South China Sea through its new land reclamation program. From the Chinese perspective, it finally has chance to exercise its "traditional rights" over the seas in its vicinity.

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclas...=20150511000006

France Could Sell Mistrals Built for Russia to China



In an unlikely coincidence, the task force visiting China consists of two warships, one of which is a Mistral-class protection and command (BPC) ship, the Dixmude. This is the first time a Mistral entered a Chinese port.

Under a $1.3-billion deal Russia and France signed in 2011, Paris was supposed to deliver the Vladivostok in November 2014 and the Sevastopol in early 2015. None of the ships arrived to Russia, since the deliveries were put on hold over Moscow's alleged involvement in the Ukrainian civil war. Kremlin has repeatedly denied these groundless claims and pushed for peace in the war-torn nation.

Meanwhile, the fate of the two Mistrals built and adapted to meet the specifications provided by the Russian Navy remains in limbo. Last month, French President Francois Hollande said Paris would return the payment for the warships if the contract is terminated.

Several other options are reportedly under consideration – to sink the two Mistrals, to hand them over to the French Navy or to sell them to a third party. The Watch China Times named Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt and India as potential buyers.

Price of Stalling: Upkeep of Mistral Warships Costs France €5Mln a Month

China is developing its own as of yet unnamed amphibious assault ship but could buy a Mistral to use as a model, the media outlet noted.

Selling Mistrals commissioned by Russia may prove harder than it seems. Last week, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin warned that France could not sell the helicopter carriers without Russia's permission. He added that Paris was fully aware of that.

The other French ship, accompanying the Dixmude on the visit to China, is the Aconit, a La Fayette-class frigate. The French task force arrived at the Wusong naval port on May 9 and will leave on May 15.

http://sputniknews.com/military/20150511/1021981207.html

China’s Concept of Military Strategy





http://www.isn.ethz.ch/Digital-Library/Art...ng=en&id=190449

This post has been edited by BorneoAlliance: May 12 2015, 12:24 AM

we need more subs..n more sub's driver just like @LTZ

Taiwan’s Submarine Saga





http://thediplomat.com/2015/05/taiwans-submarine-saga/

Turkish frigate sails Asian waters with a message



As this post goes online, a Turkish Navy frigate, TCG Gediz, is sailing from the port of Singapore towards the South China Sea. And no, it is not about Turkey meddling in what is already a highly complicated geopolitical situation in the said waters. TCG Gediz is on a mission to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Ottoman frigate Ertuğrul, which was wrecked off the coast of Japan while returning from a goodwill trip to this country in 1890. Ertuğrul’s story is remembered by generations of Turks and Japanese and forms part of the solid foundation in the bilateral relationship between the two countries. TCG Gediz is following the same route Ertuğrul had taken in order to honor the memory of both the Ottoman sailors who perished in the disaster and the Japanese people who did their utmost to save the survivors.

In addition to its commemorative purpose, TCG Gediz’s voyage carries a significant meaning in geostrategic sense as well. To start with, it aims to reinforce Turkey’s foreign policy efforts of cementing relations with both East and South Asian nations. The mission which began on April 1 at the port of Aksaz on Turkey’s southwest Mediterranean coast will have the frigate visiting 18 ports in 14 Asian countries within 122 days. As the ship’s commanding officer Yusuf Kocaman stated in the pre-departure press conference, the frigate will “make port calls in order to support Turkey’s foreign policy, to improve existing relations and to help establish new ones.” Commemorative activities will not be the only event In every Asian port where the frigate shows the Turkish flag. “Experience and knowledge” will also be shared in fields like training and weaponry.

But the frigate’s mission goes beyond Asia. As part of its duties, TCG Gediz joined NATO’s counter piracy operation Ocean Shield in the Gulf of Aden. It’s not the first time that the frigate is taking part in a NATO operation. However, combining NATO operations with port calls and cooperative activities in Asian ports gives TCG Gediz’s mission a symbolic significance of signaling Turkey’s objective of being a reliable NATO ally while at same time nurturing relations with the rising powers of Asia.

TCG Gediz’s geostrategic message, moreover, isn’t limited to projecting Turkish foreign policy objectives. The frigate also isn’t an ordinary Turkish Navy ship, it serves as a showcase of Turkey’s military modernization program. TCG Gediz is a product of the Turkish National Warship program, which aims to “meet the operational needs of the Turkish Navy by using national resources.” Through this program she was equipped with an advanced combat management system designed and developed by Turkish engineers at the Naval Research Center. The system, codenamed GENESIS, integrates naval hardware and software, providing the vessels in the program with sophisticated radar surveillance, target identification, data processing and air defense capabilities. Seen from this angle, TCG Gediz’s mission includes the task of demonstrating Turkey’s newly acquired military capabilities to both NATO allies and the emerging powers of the Indo-Pacific.

Turkey’s efforts to improve indigenous technological capabilities, especially in the military realm, also constitute a key variable defining the nature of Ankara’s foreign policy oscillations between the West and the East. Turkey’s earlier decision to open negotiations with a Chinese corporation for the purchase of long-range anti-missile systems illustrates an important point within this context. This step taken by Turkey was criticized by NATO allies on the grounds that the Chinese system wouldn’t be compatible with existing NATO systems.

From Ankara’s point of view, however, the rationale behind the decision was that China was offering co-production and technology transfer, while the other bidders, all NATO allies, were refusing to do so. Turkey wants to improve its technological capabilities and while this objective requires investment in R&D, innovation, training etc., it also necessitates transferring the technology from those who already own it. In the Chinese missile case, Turkey realized that a strong and totally legitimate economic rationale doesn’t necessarily mean that such decisions won’t cause political reactions from other parties.

The Chinese missile system deal hasn’t been concluded yet. This shows that the Turkish government is trying to find a balance, between economic and political concerns, as well as between its western allies and the rising power of the East. TCG Gediz’s mission, on the other hand, illustrates Turkey’s overall vision: remaining a vital component of the western alliance, while at the same time making new friends in Asia, and increasing Turkey’s own power.

Dr. Altay Atlı is a research fellow at the Center of Global Studies at Shanghai University, and a non-resident scholar at the Asian Studies Center of Boğaziçi University in Istanbul.

(Copyright 2015 Asia Times Holdings Limited, a duly registered Hong Kong company. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)

http://atimes.com/2015/05/turkish-frigate-...with-a-message/