As Taiwan struggles to enhance its submarine fleet, China is rapidly improving its anti-submarine warfare program, a study from Stratfor Global Intelligence said.
Stratfor is a US geopolitical intelligence firm that provides strategic analysis and forecasting to organizations around the world.
The days of Beijing relying on naval mines and depth charges for defense are coming to an end, the study said.
According to Stratfor, China has added Gaoxin-6 anti-submarine airplanes to its North Sea fleet, ramped up production of anti-submarine corvettes and equipped surface vessels with advanced detection equipment in the form of active variable-depth sonar and passive towed array sonar.
Stratfor said that China is also adding acoustic decoys and providing surface vessels with homing torpedoes.
The study came as high-level officials from Taiwan and the US meet in Washington this week for annual top-secret defense and security talks, during which Taiwan’s appeal for US help with its indigenous diesel-electric submarine program is believed to be on the agenda.
“The Chinese have been conducting extensive surveys and mapping of operating areas such as the South China Sea and are building a network of underwater sensors to detect submarines across the South and East China seas,” Stratfor said.
“On top of this, the [Chinese] military is experimenting with unmanned underwater vehicles with anti-submarine warfare applications. Most important, Chinese sailors, aircrew and technicians are consistently training to improve their skills,” it added.
Stratfor said that despite these advances, China’s anti-submarine defenses are still not sufficiently advanced or capable.
“While China could adequately clash with weaker powers such as Vietnam or Taiwan, the navy lacks the means to operate in the deep waters of the open ocean. It could not counter US nuclear submarines or even sophisticated diesel-electric submarines such as Japan’s.”
The study said that South Korea, Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam are developing or fielding large numbers of advanced diesel-electric submarines, a number of which are air-independent propulsion models, able to remain submerged for longer periods.
“Taiwan, a principal focus of Chinese war planning, is determined to build up its submarine fleet. With these improvements China now must contend with multiple submarine threats in most potential conflicts, making anti-submarine capabilities crucial,” the study said.
The study said that anti-submarine warfare is complex — equal parts art and science.
“It will take China years, if not decades, to become highly proficient in the craft. Moreover, the skillset is highly perishable. US Navy personnel even attest to how anti-submarine capabilities wane while the military focuses on other missions,” it said.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
RSS