Category: military

(Global Times)14:53, April 19, 2019

The Public Security Department in Zhengzhou, Central Chinas Henan Province, has detected foreign spies who defrauded Chinese college students to steal Chinas military secrets.

Police officers found college students, especially those in key Chinese universities majoring in politics, economy, national defense, science and technology, are the main targets of overseas intelligence organizations, Henan-based City Channel television reported on Tuesday.

College students awareness of national security is weak, and they are more likely to believe lies told by foreign spies, the channel reported, citing an officer.

In one case, a freshman surnamed Li was taken by police officers in January for sending materials including photos of magazines related to Chinas military to a foreign spy. The spy used a fake name of Chen Yichen.

According to police officers, Chen added Li as an online friend on Chinas popular social media platform QQ. He lied to Li by claiming he had lived abroad for a long time and planned to do a survey on military-civilian integration projects. He promised Li a considerable amount of money for providing him with relevant information.

Li did not realize Chen was a foreign spy and agreed to help him. Li took many pictures of military magazines from the navy and air force, which were stored in libraries in his school and hometown, and received 2,900 yuan ($434) from Chen as payment.

The intelligence could be used for directed sabotage, posing a serious threat to national security, an intelligence security expert anonymously told the Global Times on Thursday.

For example, if a spy obtains classified specification on a weapon, maybe only through a photo, an enemy may analyze it and know the weapons weaknesses, according to the expert.

Compared to Li, the political awareness of Zhang Wei (pseudonym), a college student in Zhengzhou, is higher.

Zhang added an online friend calling himself Wang Xiang. Zhang realized that Wang was a foreign spy as the latter kept emphasizing he could pay Zhang a lot of money in exchange for information about Chinas military and politics. Zhang called the police who later confirmed Wang was a foreign spy.

When you realize the spy is deceiving you into providing classified information and want to stop, the spy may threaten you to continue, or he or she will give your personal information to police as you have already done illegal things, or exploit any possible vulnerability he or she finds during your interactions, said the expert.

My cousin and I once had a lesson concerning counterintelligence in our hometown, Xu Xin, a Chinese international student studying in the UK, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Xu said the students whose parents worked in the government or in companies related to national security would often take a counterintelligence lesson.

Our teacher told us to be alert when strangers asked us to take photos of our hometown which has a military base, Xu said.

(Xinhua)09:42, April 22, 2019

QINGDAO, April 20 (Xinhua) — The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Navy has been active in providing security products for the international community since its founding, a senior naval officer said Saturday.

Qiu Yanpeng, deputy commander of the navy, made the remarks at a press conference for the upcoming multinational naval events in celebration of the navys 70th founding anniversary.

The PLA Navy is always a force of peace, and will never pose a threat to any other country, he said.

The navy has paid over 100 visits to 94 countries and 138 ports, and has held more than 60 joint military drills with foreign navies over the 70 years, according to Qiu.

Since 2008, the navy has sent 32 escort fleets, 103 vessels, 69 helicopters and more than 27,000 officers and soldiers to escort over 6,600 vessels, more than a half of which were foreign merchant ships, he continued.

Since 2010, the naval hospital ship Peace Ark has traveled to 43 countries and regions and provided free medical services to over 230,000 people, Qiu said.

In 2015, a Chinese naval vessel evacuated 621 Chinese citizens and over 270 people of other nationalities from war-torn Yemen, he added.

The Chinese Navy will continue to work hard to promote world peace, facilitate global development and safeguard the international order, while making new greater contributions to global and regional peace and stability, as well as the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, Qiu said.

(Xinhua)11:00, April 22, 2019

BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) — A meeting was held in Beijing Sunday to celebrate the 70th founding anniversary of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, which falls on April 23.

Participants to the meeting reviewed the PLA Navys history of developing from almost nothing to becoming strong, summarized its experiences on combat, reform, transformation, and military struggle preparedness, and looked into the bright future of building it into a world-class navy in the new era.

It was pointed out that the PLA Navy has gradually developed into a powerful modern navy that can effectively safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests.

In particular, the navy has undergone historic changes and made historic achievements since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which was held in 2012, the meeting concluded.

It also vowed that officers and soldiers of the navy will make their contributions to speeding up the navys transformation and development and building it into a world-class force.

At the meeting, units and individuals were honored for making outstanding contributions to the navys development.

Over 1,300 people, including leaders from organs of the Central Military Commission, and representatives of the military units, attended the event.

(Xinhua)08:37, April 23, 2019

QINGDAO, April 22 (Xinhua) — Seven decades after its founding, the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Navy has developed into a strategic force consisting of five services and with both nuclear and conventional weapons, playing an important role in safeguarding world peace.

On Tuesday, China will hold a grand naval parade in the port city of Qingdao and its nearby sea areas and airspace, displaying 32 Chinese vessels and 39 warplanes, including the countrys first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, and latest nuclear submarines, destroyers and fighter jets.

Nearly 20 foreign vessels from around a dozen countries, including Russia, Australia and India, will also take part in the parade.

BUILDING A WORLD-CLASS NAVY

Over the century before the founding of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949, world powers made some 470 invasions into China via the sea.

In the 1950s, Mao Zedong gave the important instruction of building a strong navy step-by-step, laying the foundation for decades of rapid development of the naval force.

The development of the navy gained new momentum with the initiation of Chinas reform and opening-up. In 1979, Deng Xiaoping pointed out that strengthening Chinas maritime defense was a priority vital to the fate of the country and its people.

In the 1990s, as the PLA Navy strove to enhance its modernization capabilities, its development entered a new phase. In 1995, Jiang Zemin called for prioritized efforts to build the navy and accelerate its modernization drive.

In 2006, Hu Jintao stressed the building of a strong navy force in accordance with the missions of the PLA in the new century and at the new historical stage.

As socialism with Chinese characteristics entered a new era, Chinese President Xi Jinping laid out plans for the navys development, opening a new chapter of building a world-class navy.

On Dec. 8, 2012, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, boarded a navy destroyer, the Haikou, in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, for a four-hour inspection voyage. It was his first visit to a PLA force outside Beijing after the 18th National Congress of the CPC.

On April 9, 2013, Xi encouraged a female Uyghur officer to make her own contributions to the defense of the country during an inspection to the navy stationed in southern Chinese city of Sanya.

On Aug. 28, 2013, Xi boarded the Liaoning during a visit to a training base of the navy and urged officers and soldiers to make contributions to building a strong navy.

On May 24, 2017, during an inspection to the PLA Navy headquarters, Xi called for efforts to build the PLA Navy into a strong and modern force to lend support for the realization of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation and the dream of a strong army.

On April 12, 2018, Xi called for the building of a world-class navy in a navy review in the South China Sea, the largest of its kind since the Peoples Republic of China was founded in 1949.

On June 11, 2018, Xi stressed building an elite maritime force during an inspection to the navy under the Northern Theater Command of the PLA.

During the past 70 years, the navy has also made great strides in the development of military equipment, with the launch of the first home-made aircraft carrier and the mass deliveries of carrier-based J-15 fighter jets.

The navy has also completed the mass upgrading of its fighter jets, early warning aircraft, anti-submarine patrol aircraft, as well as the deployment of new missiles and torpedoes.

PROMOTING INTL COOPERATION FOR PEACE, SECURITY

On April 4, 2019, a PLA Navy fleet set sail from a port in east Chinas Zhoushan for the navys 32nd escort mission in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the Somali coast.

The blue seawaters have served as a witness to the navys voyages outbound and across the globe.

In 1980, the navy dispatched a fleet out of Chinese territorial waters for the first time. It made its first overseas visit and first global voyage in 1985 and 2002, respectively.

In 2008, the first Chinese naval fleet charged with an escort mission arrived in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia to escort Chinese and foreign ships. In 2009, China held its first multinational naval events to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the PLA Navy.

Xi has proposed building a community with a shared future for humanity, calling for efforts to exercise the concept in maritime space and to foster new thinking on common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security.

On Feb. 6, 2014, during a visit to Russia, Xi, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, made video calls with commanding officers of the Chinese and Russian navy vessels that were jointly escorting the shipments of Syrian chemical weapons set to be destroyed, encouraging them to complete the UN mandated mission and work together to safeguard international and regional security.

After civil war broke out in Yemen in the spring of 2015, Xi decisively ordered the Chinese fleet that was conducting the Chinese navys 19th escort mission in the Gulf of Aden to help evacuate Chinese nationals from the war-torn country. The fleet managed to evacuate 621 Chinese citizens as well as 276 people of 15 other countries out of Yemen.

In November 2017, Xi inspected via video a support base in Djibouti, the PLAs first overseas support base, encouraging troops stationed there to help promote international and regional peace and stability.

Having participated in the Gulf of Aden escort missions, the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, the global circumnavigation of the 152 Naval Fleet, among other missions, the PLA Navy has become an important force of safeguarding world peace and promoting win-win cooperation.

Since 2008, the PLA Navy has sent 32 escort fleets, 103 vessels, 69 helicopters, and more than 27,000 officers and soldiers to escort over 6,600 vessels, more than a half of which were foreign ships.

As of April 2019, the PLA Navy has paid over 100 visits to 138 ports of 94 countries and has participated in more than 60 joint military drills with foreign navies.

Since 2010, the naval hospital ship Peace Ark has traveled to 43 countries and regions and provided free medical services to over 230,000 people.

(Xinhua)14:53, April 23, 2019

QINGDAO, April 23 (Xinhua) — General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, Chinese President and Central Military Commission Chairman Xi Jinping onboard the destroyer Xining gave an order to commence the naval parade on the sea off Qingdao at about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

A total of 32 vessels of the Peoples Liberation Army Navy sailed in six groups, and 39 warplanes of the navy flew in ten echelons.

The vessels whistled and officers and soldiers stood in a ceremonial formation, saluting Xi as they passed by.

Salute to you, comrades, Xi called out to the officers and soldiers.

Hail to you, chairman, they replied.

Xi alternated the greeting with Comrades, thanks for your hard work, to which the officers and soldiers replied Serve the people.

(Xinhua)15:28, April 23, 2019

QINGDAO, April 23 (Xinhua) — Chinese President and Central Military Commission Chairman Xi Jinping reviewed 18 vessels from 13 countries invited to participate in a naval parade marking the 70th founding anniversary of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Navy on Tuesday afternoon.

The foreign vessels in the waters off eastern Chinas coastal city of Qingdao saluted Xi, who was on board the destroyer Xining, in their traditional manners as they passed by.

The destroyer Xining sounded its horn to return the salute, and Xi waved to the naval officers and soldiers aboard the vessels.

(Xinhua)15:58, April 23, 2019

QINGDAO, April 23 (Xinhua) — A grand naval parade concluded on Tuesday afternoon in waters off east Chinas port city of Qingdao, after the reviewing ship sailed past the last visiting foreign vessel.

The parade is part of the multinational naval events marking the 70th anniversary of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Navy, which was founded on April 23, 1949.

(Xinhua)08:13, April 30, 2019

BEIJING, April 29 (Xinhua) — The General Office of Chinas Central Military Commission has issued a trial regulation on the logistics work of the military, aiming to build a logistic service system that puts priority on helping win battles.

The regulation, the first of its kind since major reforms were introduced to the militarys logistics system, takes in experience and achievements from prior trial reforms and practices, according to the office.

The regulation stresses coordinated use of joint logistic resources to the largest extent and clear definition of job assignments of general logistic services and specialized services.

The trial regulation will take effect on July 1, 2019.

(Xinhua)14:37, May 02, 2019

The China-Russia Joint Sea-2019 military exercise Tuesday held contests between the two countries naval marine contingents.

Contestants on both sides took part in competitions including riflery, sniping and steeplechase.

Chen Weidong, vice chief of staff of the Chinese Navys marines forces, said the contests provided opportunities for mutual learning and exchanges between the two sides, noting that the events also enhanced friendship.

The Joint Sea-2019 exercise runs from April 29 to May 4 and focuses on joint sea defense.

Zhang Junshe, a researcher with the Naval Research Academy under the Chinese Navy, said the joint exercise showed the high-level strategic mutual trust between the two countries militaries, as both sides have sent some of their main vessels in service to the drill, and shared some performance information about their vessels and equipment in the drill.

The capabilities of the two countries militaries to carry out joint operations have been continuously improving and the two navies are also injecting positive energy to world peace and regional stability, Zhang said.

Zhang noted the defensive nature of the drill, which does not target any third party. He said the drill includes basic combat techniques in defensive operations at sea as well as actions to jointly respond to non-traditional threats such as maritime search and rescue, fighting piracy and maintaining the safety of marine traffic routes.

(Xinhua)08:29, May 06, 2019

NANJING, May 5 (Xinhua) — Chinas spacecraft tracking ship Yuanwang-5 is sailing to the Indian Ocean from a port in eastern Chinas Jiangsu Province Sunday for a maritime space monitoring mission.

Yuanwang tracking ships have completed four missions since January, with more than 140 days at sea, a record high in recent years. They are expected to carry out more missions this year, according to the China satellite maritime tracking and controlling authorities.

China currently has four Yuanwang tracking ships. Four days ago, Yuanwang-7 sailed to the Pacific Ocean. Yuanwang-3 returned to port after finishing its latest monitoring mission for BeiDou-3 satellites, and Yuanwang-6 began its first overhaul at the end of April.

In 2019, the country will have more than 30 space launches, and the Yuanwang fleet will operate for more than 700 days at sea.

The mission members have made action plans and conducted rehearsals, preparing for future missions.