Chinese fleet exchanges with Nato

China's one-child policy creates wimpy military recruits, deserters

In March 2011, Xuexi Shibao (Study Times), the organ of the Central Party School that teaches party ideology, ran an article that said, "Soldiers from the one-child generation are wimps who have absolutely no fighting spirit." 

The one-child pampered children began quitting the military for all sorts of frivolous reasons. "I don't want to get a tan" and "I hate military quarters with no air conditioning" were among excuses cited.

Chinese soldiers engages in widespread gambling
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/asia/china/AJ201302060009 

The emergency notice issued by police in Jilin province gives a physical description of the four deserters as well as a warning that they may be ready to commit a crime

CAOSHI, China--While China's military prowess has long been a source of concern for other nations, there are signs that all is not well within the armed forces.
The posturing by China on the Senkaku Islands issue, for instance, suggests a state of readiness that could result in a call to arms at a moment's notice.
But an incident in late 2011 that was never publicly disclosed by China but uncovered by The Asahi Shimbun suggests the central leadership is being forced to re-evaluate recruitment to the People's Liberation Army/Navy.

The facts of the matter are this: Four soldiers deserted from their unit armed with automatic weapons and stolen ammo. A dragnet was set up and a fatal shootout followed. It emerged that the soldiers had racked up sizable gambling debts and armed themselves so they could rob a bank and become solvent again.

But as often happens in reporting on China, the gravity of the situation faced by security authorities at the time was not immediately apparent until long afterward.
On the morning of Nov. 9, 2011, police in Jilin province, northeastern China, issued an emergency notice to all financial institutions in the province.
It said, "Four soldiers armed with model 95 automatic rifles have stolen 795 rounds of ammunition and deserted their unit."

The soldiers, aged between 19 and 24, belonged to a unit based in Jilin city. Photos of the four men, along with their physical characteristics, were issued.
The notice went on to say, "Contact the police if you have any information."
The four deserted from their base early that morning and were trapped by police some eight hours later when they were stopped at an expressway toll booth in Caoshi town of Fushun city, about 200 kilometers from their base.
A booth worker, recalling that day, described the fast-moving events as "like a scene out of an action movie."

The four deserters approached the toll booth in a taxi. They fired at a police officer who tried to question them. They were quickly surrounded by dozens of members of a special police unit. Gunfire raged, and three of the deserters were killed. The fourth was taken into custody.
Neither the military nor the police ever made a public announcement about the incident, suggesting a deep level of shock took hold in the military establishment over deserters going on the run with stolen weapons.
According to a source who was involved in the joint investigation by the military and police, the four men smuggled a tablet computer to their base quarters and became heavily involved in an online gambling site. They were unable to pay off their losses with their monthly salaries of 2,000 yuan (about 30,000 yen, or $323) and began piling up debt.
Their gambling activities came to the attention of their superior officer only a few days before the incident, and they were severely chastised.

According to the source, the lone survivor who was taken into custody said, "We wanted to take revenge on our superior officer." He also revealed that the group had planned to rob a bank.
"The incident revealed some serious problems, including a low sense of morale among military personnel and the lax oversight structure," said the source.
At one time, a military career was considered the passport to a better life as it provided entry into becoming a Communist Party member or finding a job at a state-run company after completion of military service.
But that no longer appears to be the case for those born in 1979, when China implemented its one-child policy, and in the years that followed. According to several military sources, things changed when those born under that policy began joining the military.
The ratio among all military personnel of only children rose from about 20 percent in 1996 to more than 70 percent in 2006.
These pampered children began quitting the military for all sorts of frivolous reasons. "I don't want to get a tan" and "I hate military quarters with no air conditioning" were among excuses cited.
In March 2011, Xuexi Shibao (Study Times), the organ of the Central Party School that teaches party ideology, ran an article that said, "Soldiers from the one-child generation are wimps who have absolutely no fighting spirit."
According to a source at a military think tank, an internal study found that 26 percent of soldiers who are only children quit because they found military training too tough.
So now, the military is focusing on recruiting members with proven academic achievement. And that means college graduates, as many are having difficulty landing a job. In 2009, only 68 percent of college graduates found employment.

In the past, the military only recruited among junior and senior high school students. But it was flooded with applications when it expanded recruitment efforts to cover college students.
In Beijing city alone, about 120,000 college students applied for military service in 2009.
A high-ranking officer in the Beijing Military Region said, "Having more outstanding soldiers allows us to respond more effectively to information technology as well as advanced weapons."
However, it remains to be seen if recruiting college students will alleviate the problem of desertion.
In early 2011, nine members of a unit with about 400 members in Wuhan, Hubei province, deserted. Three refused to return to their unit, so commanders implemented an administrative measure that prohibited the three from finding work at a state-run company or leaving China.
A high-ranking officer with the Wuhan security district, which decided on the disciplinary measure, said, "We were prepared for criticism (that the measure was excessive). We had to set an example in order to secure adequate staffing levels."

Chinese paper advises PLA Navy to build overseas military bases

Some Chinese people forecast 18 possible overseas bases of PLA Navy, including Chongjin Port (North Korea), Moresby Port (Papua New Guinea),Sihanoukville Port (Cambodia), Koh Lanta Port (Thailand)  Sittwe Port (Myanmar), DHAKA Port (Bangladesh), Gwadar Port (Pakistan), Hambantota Port (Sri Lanka), Maldives, Seychelles, Djibouti Port (Djibouti), Lagos Port (Nigeria), Mombasa Port (Kenya), Dar es Salaam Port (Tanzania), Luanda Port (Angola) and Walvis Bay Port(Namibia).

China’s future 18 overseas military bases

On Jan 4th, “International Herald Leader”, a Chinese state-run newspaper under Xinhua News Agency, publishes a commentary to advise PLA Navy to build oversea naval bases to protect its energy line in Indian Ocean area.

The article says, as China’s first “Liaoning” aircraft carrier’s service in PLA Navy, along with the successful landing of the J-15 carrier-based fighter, the Chinese navy has become the focus of world attention after 2012. In future, the construction of PLA Navy aircraft carrier battle group will lead the system transformation, warship building, training and naval combat doctrine research. In Hu’s report at 18th Party Congress, he urges to build strong national defense and powerful armed forces that are commensurate with China’s international standing and meet the needs of its security and development interests. In this context, Chinese first aircraft carrier battle group will quickly enter operational stage with the delivery of new guided-missile destroyer, amphibious warship and nuclear submarine.
China believes that a strong naval force can protect its energy line in Indian Ocean area, especially in Strait of Malacca. However, even China has more warships, PLA Navy still can not play a key role in blue water without overseas military bases.

The article mentions that the Chinese navy is not to establish a U.S.-style military bases, but does not exclude the establishment of a number of so-called “Overseas Strategic Support Bases” in accordance with international prevailing rules. China has right to build oversea replenishment, staff rest and berthing-maintenance bases in foreign countries under equality, mutual benefit and friendly consultations.

The article also predicted that in future the Chinese Navy will establish its first batch of support bases in Indian Ocean. The article summarizes that these bases can be divided into three levels: First, ship fuel and material supply bases in peacetime, such as the Port of Djibouti, Aden port of Yemen, and Salalah Port of Oman. The replenishment method is in the light of international business practices; the second is relatively fixed supply bases for warship berthing, fixed-wing reconnaissance aircraft and the naval staff ashore rest, such as the ports of Seychelles. China can build those bases by sign a short-term or medium-term agreement with Seychelles; the third is fully-functional center for replenishment, rest and large warship weapons maintenance, such as in Pakistan under medium-and long-term agreements.

In its conclusion, the article summarizes that in next 10 years China is ultimately expected to have three “life lines”: one is North Indian Ocean supply line which includes bases in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, the second is Western Indian Ocean supply line which includes bases in Djibouti, Yemen, Oman, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique; the last one is the central-south Indian ocean supply line which includes bases in Seychelles and Madagascar. These three strategic lines will further enhance China’s effective to take responsibility for maintaining the safety of international maritime strategic channel, maintaining regional and world stability responsibilities and capabilities.

Under the prediction of this article, some Chinese people forecast 18 possible overseas bases of PLA Navy, including Chongjin Port (North Korea), Moresby Port (Papua New Guinea),Sihanoukville Port (Cambodia), Koh Lanta Port (Thailand)  Sittwe Port (Myanmar), DHAKA Port (Bangladesh), Gwadar Port (Pakistan), Hambantota Port (Sri Lanka), Maldives, Seychelles, Djibouti Port (Djibouti), Lagos Port (Nigeria), Mombasa Port (Kenya), Dar es Salaam Port (Tanzania), Luanda Port (Angola) and Walvis Bay Port(Namibia).

PLAN submarines hold confrontation drill for future wars with Chinese neighbours

December 13, 2012

The submarines of a submarine flotilla of the North China Sea Fleet under the Navy of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) are conducting formation navigation training in the sea on December 13, 2012.

China Marine Corps brigade under the People's Liberation Army Navy(PLAN) amphibious landing

Chinese Navy Carrier operations - Liaoning (ex-Varyag) - Shenyang J-15