Article

2004-01-22 East Asia

ChiComs seek control of oil shipping chokepoints

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Posted by Alaska Paul 2004-01-22 5:24:48 PM|| || Front Page|| [2 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Shipping routes have been of interest to the Chicoms for a while now. For instance, a Chinese state-owned company runs the Panama Canal. Thanks, Jimmah!

But seriously, how much capability does the Chinese Navy really have? They are certainly not much of a blue water force. Also, I wonder if this sudden concern has anything to do with India's planned purchase of a Russkie aircraft carrier. Finally, we have heard from Mansoor Ijaz and others that AQ types have been hijacking tankers to learn how to steer them (not how to dock them) and kidnapping scuba experts to learn how to dive (and not necessarily surface). The Malacca Straits would be vulnerable to that type of AQ attack.

Posted by Tibor 2004-1-22 5:50:15 PM|| 2004-1-22 5:50:15 PM|| Front Page Top

#2 Tibor---That is exactly the big threat. Al-Q or proxy pirates. Al-Q pirates could go after anyone's supertanker. It would be better for all of us to band together than fight among ourselves. However, I think China has other agendas in their world view of things.

Posted by Alaska Paul 2004-1-22 6:03:16 PM|| 2004-1-22 6:03:16 PM|| Front Page Top

#3 They are certainly not much of a blue water force, Tibor

You're most likely correct,Tibor, but I've read that China has purchased surplus ships,including subs, from other blue water navies with the sworn agreement that the ships would be salvaged or converted to non-military uses. But then China turned right around and violated those agreements.

So I GOOGLED on: "order of battle", China, navy. I found that that do have at least a couple of ships than can get beyond 12 miles off shore.

Here's the reference to the Chinese Eastern Sea Fleet...
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/esf-orbat.htm
there's more at http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/east-sea.htm

Posted by Gasse Katze 2004-1-22 7:19:13 PM|| 2004-1-22 7:19:13 PM|| Front Page Top

#4 Tibor,
I would think that the result of the Chinese statements will be an eventual Japanese naval build-up. If China actually planned to follow through with a naval build-up that would threaten the US, they could start now and be ready in 25 years - if they were willing to scrap their economy.
The Panama Canal is unsuitable for super tankers - one of the reasons that there is talk of building a wider canal through Nicaragagua I think. I think the Chinese venture their is intended to gain an economic and intelligence base in the hemisphere. I don't think that holding the canal by force would be miltarily tenable for the Chicoms. They could sabotage the canal, though, ala Nasser.

Posted by Super Hose 2004-1-22 7:22:02 PM|| 2004-1-22 7:22:02 PM|| Front Page Top

#5 Holding the straights would be nice for China I guess, but the US Navy can just annihilate any China bound shipping when it leaves the source all over the rest of the world.

So... unless they plan on a world wide navy, they are wasting their time blathering about defending their shipping.

Posted by Laurence of the Rats 2004-1-22 7:52:06 PM|| 2004-1-22 7:52:06 PM|| Front Page Top

#6 China's sub fleet would be sunk in the first hours of any attack and then it's fish in a barrel time - that's one reason tehy're threatening Taiwan with a (self-destructive) missile barrage rather than an amphib/sea invasion, which is what they'd really like to do...
Sounds like we need to screw with their Spratley plans as well, huh?

Posted by Frank G 2004-1-22 8:16:10 PM|| 2004-1-22 8:16:10 PM|| Front Page Top

#7 Who is putting their money where their mouth is, Hu?

Hu's on first???

Posted by Bomb-a-rama 2004-1-22 8:34:32 PM|| 2004-1-22 8:34:32 PM|| Front Page Top

#8 China is going on about the Straits of Malacca as a roundabout way of justifying its grab for the South China Sea. If China could enforce its claim to the South China Sea and all of the islands within that body of water, it wouldn't need a blue water navy to patrol the Straits of Malacca. China could set up a chain of naval bases from the Philippines all the way to Indonesia. This statement has to be causing jitters among the nations all along the South China Sea, not to mention the Northeast Asian countries that depend on that shipping lane, namely Japan, Taiwan and South Korea.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2004-1-22 8:41:46 PM|| 2004-1-22 8:41:46 PM|| Front Page Top

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