The following is the Dec. 22, 2015 letter from Secretary of Defense Ash Carter to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) outlining the U.S. Oct., 27 2015 freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea. Read More
Tag Archives: People’s Liberation Army Navy
3 Chinese Warships Visit Pearl Harbor During Global Relationship-Building Tour
The Chinese Luyang II-class guided missile destroyer Jinan (DDG 152), top, the Jiangkai-class frigate Yiyang (FFG 548), the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87), center, the Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Monterey (CG 61) and the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Stout (DDG 55), bottom, steam in formation during a passing exercise on Nov. 7, 2015, in the Atlantic Ocean. US Navy photo.
Three Chinese warships arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Sunday for a multiday port visit and relationship-building event, the latest in a series of goodwill visits with Western navies. Read More
SECDEF Carter Shows Off Carrier Eisenhower to Indian MoD Delegation Amidst Increasing Defense Cooperation
Indian Minister of Defense Manohar Parrikar (left) and Secretary of Defense Ash Carter (center) observe flight operations on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). US Navy Photo
ONBOARD AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER — In a blast of rotor wash from a Marine MV-22 Osprey, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Indian Minister of Defense Manohar Parrikar came aboard one of the largest and most technical expressions of American power projection — a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. Read More
Document: Report to Congress on China Naval Modernization
The following is the Nov. 23, 2015 Congressional Research Service report China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
U.S. AFRICOM Commander Confirms Chinese Logistics Base in Djibouti
A PLAN ship operating in Africa in March of 2015. Reuters Photo
The head of U.S. Africa Command confirmed China is establishing a forward military base in Djibouti — joining French, Japanese and U.S. installations already in the country. Read More
Panel: China Establishing a ‘Grey Zone of Coercion’ in South China Sea
A naval soldier of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) views through a pair of binoculars onboard China’s first aircraft carrier Liaoning as it visits a military harbour on the South China Sea. Xinhua Photo
The coral reefs on which China is building airstrips are “not just a bunch of rocks, ”but the transit point for about half of the world’s maritime containerized cargo,” Michael Green, vice president for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Monday. Read More
McCain Seeks Clarity on Recent U.S. South China Sea Freedom of Navigation Operation
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)
The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee has asked Secretary of Defense Ash Carter for more details on last month’s U.S. freedom of navigation (FON) mission in the South China Sea, according to a Monday letter obtained by USNI News. Read More
Document: Letter from Sen. John McCain to SECDEF Carter on U.S. South China Sea Freedom of Navigation Operation
The following is a Nov. 9, 2015 letter from Senate Armed Services Committee chair Sen. John McCain to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter asking for more information on the U.S. Oct. 27 freedom of navigation mission in the South China Sea. Read More
Confusion Continues to Surround U.S. South China Sea Freedom of Navigation Operation
USS Lassen (DDG-82). US Navy Photo
Last week the United States sent a guided missile destroyer past a Chinese artificial island to challenge questionable claims in the South China Sea, but confusion still reigns from Washington, D.C., to the Western Pacific as to exactly what message was supposed to be transmitted. Read More
U.S. Destroyer Made an ‘Innocent Passage’ Near Chinese South China Sea Artificial Island in Recent Mission
USS Lassen (DDG-82) underway in 2013. US Navy Photo
Last week’s South China Sea freedom of navigation mission — in which a U.S. guided missile destroyer came within 12 nautical miles of a Chinese facility on an artificial island on Subi Reef — was conducted as an “innocent passage,” a defense official with knowledge of the operation confirmed to USNI News on Monday morning. Read More
