The China Thread

[Josquius]

I'm surprised they haven't thrown a bag over your head and spirited you to Shanghai on a tramp steamer by now, Xiacob.

Heh. That's funny for a number of reasons I'm not going to discuss in a publicly searchable forum.

Jacob is a CCP agent. Confirmed.

[crazy canuck]

I'm surprised they haven't thrown a bag over your head and spirited you to Shanghai on a tramp steamer by now, Xiacob.

Heh. That's funny for a number of reasons I'm not going to discuss in a publicly searchable forum.

Jacob is a CCP agent. Confirmed.

He did stop posting for a while.

So did Seedy

 

[Grey Fox]

They wouldn't know they both are CCP agents. China keeps those very separated & with a small scope of missions.

[Jacob]

Jacob is a CCP agent. Confirmed.

Go fuck yourself, you Putin-supporting stooge.

[grumbler]

Jacob is a CCP agent. Confirmed.

Go fuck yourself, you Putin-supporting stooge.

I find it encouraging that the Xi and Putin stooges here on languish are fighting.  Hopefully,  they are representative of their counterparts in the two governments.

[crazy canuck]

Jacob is a CCP agent. Confirmed.

Go fuck yourself, you Putin-supporting stooge.

I find it encouraging that the Xi and Putin stooges here on languish are fighting.  Hopefully,  they are representative of their counterparts in the two governments.

 

[crazy canuck]

I thnk

They wouldn't know they both are CCP agents. China keeps those very separated & with a small scope of missions.

Seedy let slip Jacob's code name very early on - and then tried to recover by trying to turn it into a joke.  Same mission?

[Jacob]

Testing out posting images:

You cannot see attachments on this board.

You cannot see attachments on this board.

[crazy canuck]

top one

[crazy canuck]

China has fully militarized at least three of several islands it built in the disputed South China Sea, arming them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment, and fighter jets in an increasingly aggressive move that threatens all nations operating nearby, a top U.S. military commander said Sunday.

U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Adm. John C. Aquilino said the hostile actions were in stark contrast to Chinese President Xi Jinping's past assurances that Beijing would not transform the artificial islands in contested waters into military bases. The efforts were part of China's flexing its military muscle, he said.

As the P-8A Poseidon flew as low as 15,000 feet (4,500 meters) near the Chinese-occupied reefs, some appeared to be like small cities on screen monitors, with multi-story buildings, warehouses, hangars, seaports, runways and white round structures Aquilino said were radars. Near Fiery Cross, more than 40 unspecified vessels could be seen apparently anchored.

Aquilino said the construction of missile arsenals, aircraft hangars, radar systems and other military facilities on Mischief Reef, Subi Reef and Fiery Cross appeared to have been completed but it remains to be seen if China will pursue the construction of military infrastructure in other areas.

"The function of those islands is to expand the offensive capability of the PRC beyond their continental shores," he said. "They can fly fighters, bombers plus all those offensive capabilities of missile systems."

He said any military and civilian plane flying over the disputed waterway could easily get within range of the Chinese islands' missile system.

"So that's the threat that exists, that's why it's so concerning for the militarization of these islands," he said. "They threaten all nations who operate in the vicinity and all the international sea and airspace."

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-us-admiral-says-china-has-fully-militarized-at-least-three-islands-in/

[Jacob]

Article on what lessons China may draw from the Russian invasion of Ukraine so far:

What Is China Learning from the Ukraine War?
From battlefield concepts to geopolitics, Beijing is sure to be watching with avid interest—and some chagrin.
By THOMAS CORBETT, MA XIU and PETER W. SINGER
APRIL 3, 2022

Operation Desert Storm was a turning point in modern Chinese military history. As military planners with the People's Liberation Army watched U.S. and allied forces make short work of the world's fourth-largest military (on paper), equipped with many of the same systems as the PLA, it became obvious that China's quantitatively superior but qualitatively lacking massed infantry would stand no chance against the combination of modern weaponry, C4ISR, and joint operations seen in Iraq. The result was new military concepts and over two decades of often-difficult reforms, which produced the modern, far more capable, "informationized" PLA of today.

Today, the PLA is no doubt closely observing its Russian contemporaries in Ukraine as they under-perform in multiple areas, from failing to take key targets or claim air supremacy to running low on fuel and supplies and possibly experiencing morale collapse, and surely taking away lessons that will shape its own future. Of note, Russia's experience appears to have confirmed many of China's recent assumptions behind its investments, such as the utility of unmanned aerial systems in high-intensity conflict, as well as the necessity for the PLA's 2015 reforms, which aim to fix many of the issues driving Russian failure that the PLA recognizes in itself.

Of the many issues that have contributed to Russia's physical battlefield woes in Ukraine, one of the most important has been the lack of effective joint or combined arms operations, widely considered essential to any effective modern fighting force. Russia's poor level of coordination between its various services and branches can only be generously described as incompetent. For example, it has repeatedly failed to provide effective air support to its ground forces or deconflict its air and air-defense forces to avoid friendly fire.

The PLA has long had its own serious issues with joint operations. Traditionally dominated by the Army, the PLA had little success developing a truly joint force until a series of sweeping reforms in 2015 that replaced the former Army-dominated system with a series of joint theater commands. The PLA is thus aware of its own shortcomings and taking steps to fix it, but likely remains far off from being able to conduct truly effective, seamless joint operations. Efforts to conduct joint exercises are becoming more common, but most senior PLA leaders are still relatively inexperienced with joint operations, and even new officers typically do not receive joint education below the corps level. Further, it remains to be seen how far these reforms will go or to what extent they will "stick;" indeed, one reason the PLA did not attempt these reforms until 2015 was because of strong institutional pushback from the Army, whose leaders wished to retain their dominant status.

[full article in link below]

https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2022/04/what-lessons-china-taking-ukraine-war/363915/

[celedhring]

https://twitter.com/aliceysu/status/1511558828802068481

As seen on Weibo: Shanghai residents go to their balconies to sing & protest lack of supplies. A drone appears: "Please comply w covid restrictions. Control your soul's desire for freedom. Do not open the window or sing."

Christ   

Putin wishes he could pull that off.

[Syt]

And over here people protested because they felt needing a Covid test to go to the pub was equivalent to living in a surveillance state. 

[The Larch]

"Control your soul's desire for freedom. Do not sing" is a very lyrical kind of totalitarian phrase, followed by the bluntness of a sledgehammer.

[garbon]

Very dystopian.