Day: July 8, 2019

(Xinhua)08:23, May 14, 2019

BRUSSELS, May 13 (Xinhua) — The Europeans Union (EU) and member states foreign ministers told U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday to exercise maximum restraint and avoid any escalation on the military side with Iran, the EUs top diplomat Federica Mogherini said.

Mike Pompeo heard that very clearly from us, not only from myself, but also from the other ministers of EU member states, that we are living in crucial, delicate moments, where the most responsible attitude to take is — and we believe should be — maximum restraint, and avoiding any escalation on the military side, she told an evening press briefing.

During a meeting between France, Germany and the United Kingdom, we discussed the ways in which we can further advance on for instance the operationalisation of INSTEX to have first transactions in the hopefully next few weeks, Mogherini added.

INSTEX, short for the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges, is established by three shareholders — France, Germany and the United Kingdom — and backed by the EU to overcome U.S. sanctions and conduct trade with Iran.

There is full determination on the EU side, and also all the member states expressed that today very clearly, on continuing to implement in full the nuclear deal with Iran, she said.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said in the White House that What they (Iran) should be doing is calling me up, sitting down; we can make a deal, a fair deal.

Pomepo didnt request the Europeans to tell Iran to make phone calls to the U.S., Mogherini said at the press briefing when asked by a reporter.

Earlier on Monday morning, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt warned in Brussels that the standoff between Iran and the United States could trigger an unintended conflict.

We are very worried about a conflict, about the risk of a conflict happening by accident, with an escalation that is unintended on either side, Hunt told reporters, adding I think there is a real concern that escalation is unintended could end up with a much more serious situation.

Tensions have been rising lately in the Gulf, with the U.S. sending an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the region.

The U.S., under President Trump, withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal. The deal, endorsed by the United Nations Security Council, was reached in 2015 between Iran, China, France, Russia, Britain, United States, and Germany.

The European signatories still support the deal and have vowed to sidestep U.S. sanctions re-imposed after its withdrawal.

(Global Times)15:39, May 14, 2019

Two ZTD-05 advanced amphibious assault vehicles (AAAVs) attached to a brigade under the PLA 74th Group Army fire at mock targets during a live-fire training exercise on May 10, 2018. Photo: eng.chinamil.com.cn

China recently conducted a maritime exercise featuring what is being hailed as the worlds most advanced medium-sized amphibious assault vehicle, the ZTD-05s, a weapon that can join amphibious landing ships in land assault missions.

With the ZTD-05s and other domestically designed hardware, the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) is well positioned to deal with Taiwan secessionists and potential island disputes, analysts said on Monday.

The evaluation exercise, conducted by the 74th Group Army of the PLA, was held recently in the eastern part of South Chinas Guangdong Province. Multiple types of amphibious vehicles entered the sea and ran through various training exercises, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Saturday.

Multiple ZTD-05 amphibious assault vehicles took part in the exercise.

The ZTD-05 is a domestically made, high-speed amphibious assault vehicle and is the most advanced medium-sized amphibious assault vehicle in the world, CCTV reported.

Equipped with a 105-millimeter tank cannon and capable of firing while at sea, the ZTD-05 is highly stable and can reach speeds of 40 kilometers an hour on water, china.com.cn reported.

The highly mobile vehicle has very lethal fire power, CCTV said. The ZTD-05 can be dispatched for land assaults, or join the PLA Navys amphibious landing ships for other types of military operations, the broadcasters report noted.

The PLA Navy also has the Type 071 amphibious transport dock and Type 072 landing ship. China is reportedly also developing the Type 075 amphibious assault ship.

The exercise came after a US Department of Defense report released earlier this month. It said China lacks adequate amphibious capabilities. Some Western reports claimed that the Chinese mainland is not capable of launching an assault on the island of Taiwan.

Chinas amphibious landing capabilities may indeed lag behind those of the US, but this will not impact Chinas ability to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity, Zhang Junshe, a senior research fellow at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, told the Global Times on Monday.

There would be no problem for the mainland to crush Taiwan secessionists scheme should they attempt to separate from the mainland, Zhang said.

The PLA holds an overwhelming advantage over the islands military forces, military experts say.

(Global Times)10:16, May 15, 2019

No need to go to big hospitals far away, as a recently established 5G remote ultrasonic clinic improves medical support for army personnel and residents on the islands in the South China Sea while reducing costs.

Since the remote clinic started operations in April, 62 military personnel and civilians have benefited from the 5G remote ultrasound outpatient service. Among them are 58 servicemen and women stationed on Xisha Islands, who underwent abdominal and gynecological check-ups and emergency services without leaving the island, PLA Daily reported on Tuesday.

The clinic allows troops and residents living on the islands in the South China Sea suffering from health problems get timely medical treatment via 5G technology, it reported.

L眉 Faqin, the doctor of the ultrasonic clinic, was quoted by the PLA Daily as saying that when troops suffer from injuries or emergency symptoms, they could receive diagnosis and treatment within 24 hours with the 5G technology.

Doctors from the Hainan Hospital of the Peoples Liberation Army General Hospital, based in Sanya could remotely monitor their conditions.

Doctors can remotely operate the mechanical arm in real time at the patient end.

Through 5G technology, images can be transmitted in real time and precise positioning can be achieved for remote ultrasonic examination and treatment. Doctors and patients can also communicate through voice and video.

The clinic would solve the problem of the lack of ultrasound doctors in the South China Sea, Chen Xiangmiao, a research fellow at the Hainan-based National Institute for the South China Sea, told the Global Times.

When there is no such clinic, patients in urgent need of medical attention were always being airlifted to other hospitals and even other provinces such as Guangdong, according to Chen.

Chen noted it costs five to 10 hours, depending on weather conditions, to dispatch a military aircraft and transfer the patient in the South China Sea to nearest hospitals, usually those in Sanya and Haikou.

There are two major hospitals in the South China Sea – one in the Yongshu Reef of the Nansha Islands and the other on Yongxing Island of the Xisha Islands, media reported.

A patient from Xisha Islands was diagnosed with acute calculi obstruction by using 5G remote ultrasound technology. It only took two minutes to diagnose the patients symptoms.

The next morning, the remote ultrasonic robot found that the patients stone had been discharged.

The Hainan Hospital in Sanya will also program robots to launch remote ultrasonic checks to monitor the daily training of the soldiers, and develop more remote clinics for the solders and other residents in the South China Sea, said the PLA Daily report.

(Global Times)13:46, May 16, 2019

A full year has passed since Chinas second aircraft carrier, or the first domestically made, the Type 001A, conducted its first sea trial, leading analysts to suggest the ship might soon officially join the countrys naval service.

Their prediction is based on the experience of the countrys first carrier, the Liaoning, which took a little more than a year from its maiden voyage to enlist in the PLA Navy.

As of Monday, lane markings have been painted on the Type 001As flight deck. It also conducted a replenishment drill within the shipyard with the supply ship Hulunhu in late April, news website wenweipo.com reported on Monday.

The first domestically developed carrier undertook its first sea trial on May 13, 2018. Four others have been conducted over the past year.

The sea trials successfully tested the warships propulsion system, combat and supply capabilities, China Central Television reported in April.

Chinese military enthusiasts had hoped the second carrier would make it to a maritime parade on April 23 to celebrate the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Navys 70th anniversary in Qingdao, East Chinas Shandong Province. However, it remained in its shipyard in Dalian, Northeast Chinas Liaoning Province where it continued to be painted.

The interval between the Liaonings first sea trial and its commissioning to the PLA Navy was a little more than a year, so analysts believe the domestically made carrier will very likely be commissioned within two months, the wenweipo.com report said.

As the commissioning of the Type 001A appears to be on track, military observers are beginning to shift their focus to Chinas third carrier.

The construction of the second domestically developed aircraft carrier has begun, the PLA Daily reported on April 21. The Xinhua News Agency also reported construction was underway in November 2018.

Reuters reported on May 7 that the third carrier is being constructed at the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, citing recent satellite images.

Chinese military experts told the Global Times previously that the third carrier will likely be bigger than the previous two and feature a flat deck instead of jump-rack deck. It might also use new technologies including an electromagnetic catapult to launch its aircraft, they said.

(Global Times)14:06, May 17, 2019

The Chinese Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) Navy might acquire a type of domestically developed airliner and convert it into a maritime surveillance aircraft, as military analysts said on Thursday the move could rapidly boost Chinas naval surveillance capability at a low cost.

The PLA Navy may have the new Modern Ark 60 (MA60) search and guidance aircraft in its arsenal of special-mission aircraft, Weihutang, a column on the military affiliated with China Central Television, reported on Wednesday.

Citing a Tuesday notice released on the Chinese militarys weapon and equipment procurement website weain.mil.cn, the report said the PLA Navy is procuring electro-optical detection units, communication relay units, navigation units and BeiDou transceivers for the MA60.

Developed by Xian Aircraft Industry (Group) Company Ltd under the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China, the twin turboprop MA60 was designed to be a regional airliner that uses advanced but mature technologies, according to the companys website.

Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military analyst, told the Global Times on Thursday that once customized with the likes of sea surface search radars and electro-optical detection equipment, the MA60 can cover a considerably large sea area and conduct surveillance missions on vessels.

Special-mission aircraft plays an important role in high sea surveillance and intelligence gathering, making them a focus of development by navies around the world, the Weihutang report said.

China uses special-mission variants of the Y-8 and Y-9 transport aircraft to conduct such missions, but their numbers are limited, the report noted.

Military observers said the possible commissioning of the MA60 could quickly fill the gap and help the PLA Navy cover Chinas vast territorial waters, especially in the South China Sea and East China Sea.

The MA60 uses very mature technologies and has a high cost performance, Wei said, noting that its maintenance is likely less complicated than designated warplanes, making it more suitable on island bases.

Although its range, endurance and surveillance capability might not be as good as those of the Y-8-based special-mission aircraft, they can complement each other, Wei said.

Since 2005, more than 100 MA60 regional airliners have been sold to countries along the routes of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, including Laos, Cambodia, Nepal and Zimbabwe, according to State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.