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Archive for the ‘China’ Category

Tropical Storm Strikes Taiwan, Heads for Chinese Coast

August 30, 2011 Comments off

voanews.com

Tropical storm Nanmadol dumped as much as a half-meter of rain on Taiwan Monday, forcing mass evacuations and flooding homes, roads and farmland before heading toward southeastern China.

The storm was downgraded from typhoon status early Monday. It struck with torrents of rain and winds over 100 kilometers an hour as it began moving through the southern portion of the island before entering the Taiwan Strait.  There were early reports of one fatality.

The storm lurked for Read more…

Huge Bubble Cloud over Beijing Skies Mystifies Observers

August 29, 2011 1 comment

Did China Tip Cyber War Hand?

August 29, 2011 Comments off

The Diplomat

A programme broadcast on the military channel of China’s state TV raises new questions about Beijing’s support for cyber attacks.

Amid growing US concerns over ongoing Chinese cyber attacks, attribution remains the most complex issue. At the open source level at least, it has been hard to find a ‘smoking cursor.’ That is, until the broadcast of a recent cyber warfare programme on the military channel of China’s state TV network.

The programme appeared to show dated computer screenshots of a Chinese military institute conducting a rudimentary type of cyber attack against a US-based dissident entity. However modest, ambiguous—and, from China’s perspective, defensive—this is possibly the first direct piece of visual evidence from an official Chinese government source to undermine Beijing’s official claims that it never engages in overseas hacking of any kind for government purposes. Clearly, Washington and Beijing have Read more…

China tests first helicopter gunship

August 28, 2011 1 comment

theblaze

Less than a month following reports that Pakistan allowed China to view the remains of the top-secret stealth helicopter that SEAL Team 6 left behind at the bin Laden compound, China has begun combat testing of its first home-made helicopter gunship. ITN News on the growing military power’s publicity stunt to unveil the aircraft:

Read more…

Pentagon warns India of Chinese build-up

August 28, 2011 3 comments

timesofindia

NEW DELHI: The Red Dragon is spreading its wings and sharpening its claws at a rapid clip. From deadly long-range nuclear missiles and an expanding blue-water Navy to potent space and cyber warfare abilities, China will have a “modern” military capable of prolonged high-intensity combat operations by the end of this decade.

Pentagon’s latest assessment of the expanding military might of China, released on Thursday, paints a scary picture of the frenetic pace at which the 2.25-million People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is being modernized, in the backdrop of uncertainty over its long-term intentions.

Though the US report holds that thwarting any American intervention in Taiwan remains PLA’s “main strategic direction”, New Delhi can ill-afford to ignore China’s increasing trans-border military capabilities, its assiduous strategic encircling of India and hardening posture in the border talks.

The report itself notes PLA has replaced its Read more…

Race is on for new generation of supercomputer

August 26, 2011 1 comment

chinadaily

China's Tianhe-1 computer

China’s Tianhe-1
BEIJING – Chinese scientists are charting a new roadmap for the country’s independent research into building the fastest supercomputer in 2020.

“China is preparing to work on a supercomputer with a capacity of 100 petaflops by 2015 and try to produce the first exascale computer in 2020,” said Hu Qingfeng, deputy chief designer of Tianhe-1A, one of the world’s top 10 fastest supercomputers.

“We have kicked off the research of some core technologies and manpower cultivation for the plan,” Hu, a professor at the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT), told China Daily.

Exascale computing is an attempt by scientists to take computing beyond the current petascale. If achieved, it will represent a thousandfold increase on that scale.

The challenges in core techniques include the performance of Read more…

Complete Chinese War Preparedness And Military Update

August 25, 2011 1 comment

zerohedge

Now that Keynesianism has failed (repeatedly and miserably, although certainly not during wartime – during those times it is curiously successful at ‘stimulating’), and only those willfully blind refuse to see how this extended slow-motion collapse ends, below we present the latest, 2011 Edition, of the Annual report to Congress revealing “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China” or, in short, everything that one needs to know to defend from and/or attack the world’s most populous nation. For those short on time, here are the key charts.

The only Org Chart that matters: Read more…

Categories: China, military Tags: ,

North Korea Gets Military Trucks

August 25, 2011 2 comments

the-diplomat.com

North Korea purchased thousands of military vehicles from China that have been transported into the country over the course of the past month, according to the Chosun Ilbo.

The South Korean paper says that between 3,000 and 4,000 Chinese-made military trucks and jeeps entered North Korea last month, at a rate of about 100 a day, according to video clips obtained by the paper.

‘Analysis of the footage suggests the trucks were 6-ton trucks made by FAW Car Limited Company. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il visited the headquarters of this firm in Changchun, Jilin, during his visit to China in May,’ it reported. ‘The military jeeps were Read more…

China threatens US blue waters

August 24, 2011 1 comment

khaleejtimes

Eric S. Margolis (America Angle)

The mighty US Navy won’t say so publicly, but it’s increasingly worried by China’s development of new anti-ship missiles.

The chief worry is China’s new DF-21D whose primary target is America’s huge aircraft carriers.

According to Chinese sources, the DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) has recently become operational in limited numbers.   Originally developed for submarines, the DF-21D is said to have a range of 2,700km and at least some capability to strike moving targets.

China’s military is hard at work on satellites, long-range backscatter radar, submarines, and drones that can identify moving naval targets up to Read more…

The Growing Threat From China’s Air Force

August 24, 2011 Comments off

wsj

By MICHAEL AUSLIN

Two advanced Su-27 fighters recently chased an American reconnaissance plane over the Taiwan Strait.

China watchers have been fixated on the maiden voyage of Beijing’s first aircraft carrier this month. However, U.S. and Asian defense planners should take care not to ignore another aspect of China’s growing military might. The Chinese Air Force may one day play the most significant role in challenging America’s military presence in the Asia-Pacific. At the same time, looming cuts to the U.S. Air Force may wind up reducing its ability to protect American interests.

As the U.S. Air Force’s National Air and Space Intelligence Center put it in a report last year, the People’s Liberation Army Air Force, or Plaaf, has been “transforming itself from a poorly equipped and trained organization into an increasingly capable fighting force. Dramatic changes have occurred, and continue to occur, in the areas of mission, organizational structure, personnel, education, training, and equipment.”

Today, the Plaaf remains Read more…