i thought N korea only have small sub only????

They also have Romeo-class sub (which is about as big as Agosta 70s or U209

Advanced patrol vessel commissioned in China's Sansha city

An advanced patrol vessel was delivered and commissioned in China's southernmost Sansha city Wednesday.

The No.1 law enforcement ship of Sansha City, Hainan Province, is 97.5 meters long and 14 meters wide with seven floors. With a tonnage of 2,600 tonnes, the vessel has a designed speed of 22 nautical miles per hour and is capable of sailing 6,000 nautical miles.

The cruising ability means it can patrol the seawaters at the Nansha Islands, said Wang Shizheng, deputy head of the Sansha City Comprehensive Law Enforcement Bureau.

The new ship will increase the law enforcement range of Sansha city and play an irreplaceable role in maritime salvage and materials supply for islands and reefs, he said.

The ship has special rooms for handling cases in its legal enforcement cruises as well as an infirmary, a helipad and a garage.

Prior to the No.1 law enforcement vessel, Sansha had three patrolling vessels.

Sansha City, on Yongxing, one of the Xisha islands, was officially established in 2012 to administer the Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha island groups and their surrounding waters in the South China Sea.

http://www.ecns.cn/military/2015/05-21/166175.shtml

defence minister have a deal with china not to spend money for military especially airforce ka..???

Engine room simulation for Malaysia’s National Defence University

Hobart-class air warfare destroyer

Libya transforms into third front in IS expansion campaign with its capture of Sirte and Derna

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IS militants hold victory parade in Derna after capturing the city from rival militia forces

Libya, which has descended into near anarchy since NATO warplanes helped rebels overthrow Gaddafi in a 2011 civil war, is now the third big stronghold for the Sunni Islamist group, also known as ISIS or ISIL, which declared a Caliphate to rule over all Muslims from territory it holds in Syria and Iraq.

Islamic State fighters became a major force last year after capturing Derna, a jihadi bastion in Libya's east, and quickly spreading to the biggest eastern city Benghazi, where they have conducted suicide bombings on streets divided among armed factions. By occupying Sirte they have claimed a major city in the center of the country, astride the coastal highway that links the east and west.

They made their presence known to the world in February by kidnapping and beheading more than 20 Egyptian Christian oil workers on a beach and posting the video on the Internet.

In Libya, the group deploys locally-recruited fighters and bands of Islamist fighters from nearby African countries led by envoys sent from Syria and Iraq. These include experienced Libyan militants returning from fighting for the Islamic State on the Syrian and Iraqi frontlines.

Their gains in Libya, just across the sea from Italy, are worrying European governments and north African neighbors. But so far Western countries, which are bombing Islamic State positions in Syria and Iraq, have steered clear of that sort of intervention in Libya.

Zubr-class LCAC to power up PLA Navy



China's Zubr-class LCAC. (Internet photo)

China's ambitions to dominate the East and South China Seas will receive a powerful boost with the commissioning of four new Zubr-class air-cushioned landing craft (LCAC), reports the Beijing-based Sina Military Network.

The Zubr, meaning "European bison", is the world's largest military hovercraft. Originally designed in the 1980s by the St Petersburg-based Almaz Shipbuilding, construction of the first Zubr began in 1982 and was completed in three years. Issues identified during initial trials were corrected before a second series of tests in 1986, with the vessels officially commissioned by the Soviet Union in 1988.

Apart from the Russian and Ukranian navies, the Zubr is operated today by the Hellenic Navy and the People's Liberation Army Navy. China placed an order for four of the vessels from Ukraine in 2009 for US$350 million. The first two were built under Chinese supervision on the Crimea Peninsula, while the second pair are being built under license in China.

Regarded as a "hovering fortress," the Zubr has a full length of 57 meters and a width of 22 meters, dwarfing the US Navy LCAC, which is 26.8m long and 14.3m wide. It is fitted with five Kuznetsov NK-12MV gas turbines and three four-bladed variable-pitch propellers, enabling a maximum speed of 60 knots and a cruising speed of 30-40 knots.

Fully loaded, the Zubr displaces more than 550 tons, which is more than three times that of the US Navy LCAC. The craft remains seaworthy in conditions up to Sea State 4, and at full displacement it is capable of negotiating 1.6 m-high vertical walls.

The vessel has a maximum carrying capacity of over 130 tons and is typically equipped with three 40-ton-level main battle tanks (MBT) or eight BMP-2 amphibious infantry fighting vehicles. By comparison, the US Navy LCAC can only carry one MBT.

If just used for transporting personnel, the Zubr is capable of moving a battalion-sized force to islands as far as 5,000 kilometers away.

The Zubr also features impressive defensive capabilities, with a light alloy armor that protects against small arms and shrapnel and an active system that protects against magnetic influence mines. Personnel are also protected from the effects of weapons of mass destruction due to the vessel's ability to provide airtight sealing to combat stations and crew compartments, which are equipped with individual gas masks and protective suits.

In terms of weapons, the hovercraft has a pair of 30mm AK-630 close in weapon systems and a pair of 140mm Ogon rocket launchers, with 22 rockets each and 132 rockets in total, It also has a man-portable air defense system that launches Strela-3 point air defense missiles fitted in a 16-round turret launcher and a pair of manually aimed Stela-2 Grail missiles.

The Zubr-class LCAC is said to be valued highly by the PLA Navy because of its usefulness in conducting beach landings and landings in locations without ports or piers, greatly expanding the scope of China's strategic and tactical operations. The craft is particularly well-suited for amphibious operations, giving China a distinct advantage against Taiwan and countries with which it is engaged in territorial disputes, including Japan in the East China Sea and Vietnam and the Philippines in the South China Sea.

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclas...=20150522000020

Spy plane in S. China Sea emboldens others: experts



FM urges U.S. to be ‘prudent’


Spy plane in S. China Sea emboldens others: experts

China on Thursday urged the U.S. to respect its sovereignty and slammed the latest U.S. accusation that China's construction work in the South China Sea is undermining regional stability, after CNN reported that the Chinese navy asked a U.S. surveillance plane flying over the islands to leave.

The CNN report said that the Chinese navy on Wednesday asked a P8-A Poseidon, the most advanced U.S. surveillance aircraft, eight times to immediately leave as it swooped over some of the islets in Nansha Islands in the South China Sea.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hong Lei responded Thursday that he had no specific information on the encounter, and reiterated China's indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and surrounding waters, stressing China's right to monitor maritime and air situations to prevent incidents.

Hong strongly responded to remarks made by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday during a conference in Jakarta that China's construction work "is eroding regional trust and undermining investor confidence.

"China is constructing on its territory to provide better services in areas including maritime rescue, disaster prevention and navigation safety to fulfill international obligations. It is peaceful and beneficial to the public. The groundless U.S. assumptions will not help resolve disputes or secure trust and stability in the region, but would only encourage some countries to take further provocative actions," he said.

"The U.S. should act in a prudent manner to play a constructive role on peace and stability in the region," Hong said. He urged the U.S. to keep its promise of not taking sides on territorial disputes.

U.S. military signals

The CNN report and Blinken's comments came amid increasing assertive calls from the U.S. over the South China Sea issue recently. Earlier, the Pentagon said it is considering sending U.S. military aircraft and ships to assert "freedom of navigation" in the South China Sea.

By displaying for the first time challenges from the Chinese navy of a U.S. aircraft to the public, the U.S. may try to neutralize the game, for example, after being criticized for its misjudgment toward the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Ni Feng, deputy director of the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

"The U.S. may also be testing China's position over the issue to weigh its options in next month's Sino-U.S. strategic economic dialogue in Washington," he said.

The Chinese navy exercised restraint and gave proper warnings in line with international norms under the situation, while the U.S. was interfering using freedom of navigation as an excuse, a barrier that does not exist in the South China Sea, Zhang Junshe, a captain and research fellow at the Chinese Naval Research Institute, told the Global Times.

While the U.S. tried to bring up the issue during U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's Beijing visit over the weekend, China arranged a series of meetings for him with senior leaders and reiterated its firm stance.

Before Kerry met Chinese President Xi Jinping, he said that recent U.S. media reports on the issue do not represent U.S. government decisions. During the meeting, the two leaders agreed that the general direction of the bilateral relationship will not be affected by disputes.

Facing the U.S. challenge, China's "salami tactic" of stepping forward piece by piece yet not responding with fierce military measures was effective, said Ni.

Unlikely conflict

Despite the increasing tension on the South China Sea issue, analysts believe that this encounter does not mean that the U.S. is initiating further conflicts.

"It is very unlikely that further conflicts, or even a 'war' as some U.S. experts claimed, will take place. China should stay calm and proceed with the construction and not be disturbed by U.S. assertions," Teng Jianqun, a research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times.

There are voices in the U.S. who believe that Washington should take a step back in the South China Sea issue.

"It is one thing to make clear to Beijing that Washington will never countenance China transforming 80 percent of that area into Chinese territorial waters, it is quite another matter to implicitly back rival claimants and become a military participant in the underlying feuds. Yet the U.S. has already done the former and seems poised to do the latter," Ted Galen Carpenter, a senior fellow at U.S. think tank Cato Institute, wrote for the National Interest magazine on Monday.

However, there is limited room for both countries to step forward or back off. The U.S. would keep the issue heated, but the issue will not dominate the big picture of the new model of major-country relationships between China and the U.S., said Ni.

http://www.ecns.cn/military/2015/05-22/166378.shtml

Australian Army Skill at Arms Meeting (AASAM 2015) Medals Ranking - May 20th 2015.

The Killing of Osama bin Laden
Seymour M. Hersh

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v37/n10/seymour-m-her...osama-bin-laden

taniah...

Pentagon says US planes keep distance from Chinese 'islands' - for now





WASHINGTON (AFP) - US surveillance aircraft and naval ships have yet to test China's territorial claims around artificial islands built in the South China Sea, but the Pentagon warned on Thursday that could be "the next step."

Although the United States does not recognise China's claims of sovereignty around the man-made structures, American P-8 surveillance planes and naval vessels patrolling the area have not ventured within 12 nautical miles of the artificial islands - the standard territorial zone around natural land.

"That would be the next step," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren told reporters.

Asked if the military would move to within that sensitive zone, he said: "We don't have any announcement to make on next steps. We are going to continue our routine flights."

- See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/world/uni...h.X7o0yfMo.dpuf

Read more: http://www.cnbc.com/id/102698589

wait.....

mega infrastructure those reclaimation land

old clip...

ucapan dia memang tak agak-agak..hahahah

another old clip...

China Jams US Spy Drones over Disputed South China Sea Islands



Global Hawk long-range surveillance drones were targeted by jamming in at least one incident near the Spratly Islands, where China is building military facilities on Fiery Cross Reef, the Washington Free Beacon reported.

That statement follows Thursday reports that the Chinese navy warned a US surveillance plane to leave the same area eight times in an apparent effort to establish and enforce a no-fly zone, a demand Washington rejected.

"This is the Chinese navy … This is the Chinese navy … Please go away … to avoid misunderstanding," a radio call in English from an installation on Fiery Cross said. The warnings were reported by CNN, which had a crew on the aircraft.

Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said the United States does not recognize China's sovereignty claims over the new islands. He added that flights and Navy ships will continue their routine patrols, but will maintain a distance of at least 12 miles from the island.

Details of the drone interference are classified, but last week, David Shear, the assistant defense secretary for Asian and Pacific security affairs, said Global Hawks are deployed in Asia as one element of a buildup of forces near the South China Sea.

"We're engaged in a long-term effort to bolster our capabilities in the region,” Shear told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "Just a few examples of the increases in our capabilities in the region include the deployment of Global Hawks and F-35s. Soon we will be adding to the stock of V-22s in Japan as well."

Shear said the Pentagon estimates that China will complete construction of an airfield on Fiery Cross Reef by 2017 or 2018. Meanwhile, rapid militarization has security experts worried about the potential for a conflict.

Rick Fisher, a China military affairs analyst, said China could increase pressure on the United States to halt surveillance flights in Asia by first attacking one of the unmanned aircraft flights.

"Though UAVs like the Global Hawk are rather expensive, they are also regarded as more expendable because they are unmanned," Fisher, a senior fellow at the International Assessment and Strategy Center, told the Washington Free Beacon.

"But failing to defend these UAVs runs the risk of China viewing them as 'fair game' to shoot down whenever they please."

Beijing also might attempt to capture a Global Hawk by causing one to crash in shallow water, or by attempting to snatch one in flight using a manned aircraft, Fisher said.

http://sputniknews.com/us/20150522/1022471108.html

http://press.ihs.com/press-release/aerospa...-budget-asia-pa