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Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Liberation Army News

21 Mar 2024

Two soldiers and eight militants lose their lives in Pakistan port attack

© Samarttiw / Adobe Stock

On Wednesday, Pakistani forces stopped an attack by militants with gunfire and bombs near the port of Gwadar, killing eight attackers and two soldiers.China has invested in the province of Balochistan, focusing on Gwadar and its resources.The militants used guns and bombs to attack a complex near the port, which holds government offices and forces, as per Saeed Ahmed Umrani, a government official.After setting off bombs, the militants fought and tried to enter the complex, according…

20 Mar 2024

Pakistan Port Attack Kills Two Soldiers, Eight Militants

© Rayzeeuddin / Adobe Stock

Pakistani security forces on Wednesday repulsed a gun and bomb attack by militants on a complex outside the strategic port of Gwadar, which killed all eight militants and two soldiers, officials said.China has invested heavily in the mineral-rich southwestern province of Balochistan, including developing Gwadar, despite a decades-long separatist insurgency.Armed with guns and bombs, the militants stormed the complex just outside the port that houses offices of government departments…

20 Mar 2024

Unidentified Gunmen Open Fire at Pakistan's Gwadar Port, Two Attackers Killed

(Photo: Saadsuddozai / CC BY-SA 4.0)

Unidentified gunmen opened fire at Pakistan's Gwadar port authority complex in its restive Balochistan province, Geo News reported on Wednesday.Two attackers were killed in retaliatory firing by security personnel, the TV channel said, adding that a blast preceded the firing.Gwadar’s deputy commissioner and police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Gwadar is located near the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil shipping route in the Arabian Sea.The deep-water port…

12 Jan 2024

China Media Warns Against Taking China's Indian Ocean Research as Threats

© Rawpixel / Adobe Stock

Chinese state media warned on Friday that a report by a prominent U.S. think tank on the military uses of Chinese scientific research across the Indian Ocean gave "ammunition" to countries bent on concocting threats from China.The report this week by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) "comes at a time when some countries need to manufacture a 'China threat' narrative in the Indian Ocean region and provides them with ammunition", the state-controlled tabloid Global Times said in an editorial."The timing of this report is delicate…

03 Jan 2024

China Unveils New Images of its Aircraft Carrier Newbuilding

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a New Year message via China Media Group and the Internet in Beijing. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) (Source: China Military)

Chinese state media unveiled new images of China's most advanced aircraft carrier yet, including next generation launch tracks that can catapult a wider range of aircraft from its deck.First shown to the public in June 2022, the Fujian was entirely designed and built domestically.Yet to conduct its first sea trials, the aircraft carrier is larger and technologically more advanced than the Shandong, commissioned in 2019, and the Liaoning, which China bought second-hand from Ukraine in 1998 and refitted domestically.On state television late on Tuesday…

13 Dec 2023

Why the Indian Ocean Could be China's Achilles' Heel in a Taiwan War

© Igor / Adobe Stock

Every day, nearly 60 fully loaded very large crude-oil carriers sail between the Persian Gulf and Chinese ports, carrying about half of the oil that powers the world's second-largest economy.As the vessels enter the South China Sea, they ply waters increasingly controlled by China's growing military, from the missile batteries and airfields at its bases on disputed islands to its stealthy Type 055 destroyers.But when crossing the Indian Ocean, joined by others headed to China from Africa and Brazil…

28 Sep 2023

VIDEO: Taiwan Reveals First Domestically Made Submarine in Defense Milestone

Credit: Taiwan President Website

Taiwan unveiled its first domestically developed submarine on Thursday, a major step in a project aimed at strengthening the island's defense and deterrence against the Chinese navy, though it won't enter service for another two years.Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has made the indigenous submarine program a key part of an ambitious project to modernize its armed forces as Beijing stages almost daily military exercises to assert its sovereignty.President Tsai Ing-wen…

05 May 2023

China's Aircraft Carriers Play 'theatrical' Role But Pose Little Threat Yet

©PictMotion/AdobeStock

When China sailed one of its two active aircraft carriers, the Shandong, east of Taiwan last month as part of military drills surrounding the island, it was showcasing a capability that it has yet to master and could take years to perfect.As Beijing modernizes its military, its formidable missile forces and other naval vessels, such as cutting-edge cruisers, are posing a concern for the U.S. and its allies. But it could be more than a decade before China can mount a credible carrier threat far from its shores…

06 Apr 2023

Taiwan Watching Chinese Movements After Beijing Denounces US Speaker Meeting

U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in formation with the Japanese destroyer JS Umigiri (DD 158), South Korea's destroyers ROKS Yul Gok Yi (DDG 992), ROKS Dae Jo young (DDH 977) and ROKS Choi Young (DDH 981), combat support ship ROKS So Yang (AOE 51), and the U.S. destroyers USS Decatur (DDG 73) and USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) in the East China Sea on April 4, 2023. (Photo: U.S. Navy)

Taiwan was keeping a close watch on a Chinese aircraft carrier and threats to inspect ships in the Taiwan Strait on Thursday after Beijing condemned a meeting between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.McCarthy - the third highest ranking official in the U.S. leadership hierarchy - and other Republican and Democratic lawmakers met Tsai on Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.The meeting took place at a low ebb of U.S.-China relations and despite threats of retaliation from Beijing…

05 Jan 2023

US Warship Sails Through Sensitive Taiwan Strait; China Angered

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) sails through the Taiwan Strait. (Photo: U.S. Navy)

A U.S. warship sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Thursday, part of what the U.S. military calls routine activity but which has riled China.In recent years, U.S. warships, and on occasion those from allied nations such as Britain and Canada, have sailed through the strait, drawing the ire of China, which claims Taiwan against the objections of its democratically elected government.In a statement, the U.S. military said the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer…

29 Dec 2022

Russia and China Hold Naval Drills, Practice Submarine Capture

(Photo: Russian Defense Ministry)

Russia and China have completed naval drills in the East China Sea, after a week of joint exercises which included practicing how to capture an enemy submarine with depth charges and firing artillery at a warship, Russia's defense ministry said.The Dec.

21 Sep 2022

US, Canadian Warships Sail Through Taiwan Strait

The guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76) transits the Taiwan Strait. Higgins is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. (Photo: Donavan K. Patubo / U.S. Navy)

A U.S. Navy warship and a Canadian frigate made a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, the militaries of both nations said, at a time of heightened military tension between Beijing and Taipei.The transit was the second in a month by a U.S. Navy ship, and the second jointly by the United States and Canada in less than a year, since October 2021.While China condemned the mission, saying its forces "warned" the ships, recent years have seen U.S. warships, and occasionally those of allied nations such as Britain and Canada…

22 Aug 2022

Chinese Military Ship Leaves Sri Lanka After Controversial Visit

A Chinese military survey ship that docked at Sri Lanka's Chinese-built port of Hambantota despite opposition from neighboring India left on Monday after a week-long stay, the port company told Reuters.Analysts say the Yuan Wang 5 is among a group of Chinese ships that monitor satellite, rocket and intercontinental ballistic missile launches. India, Sri Lanka's northern neighbor, fears China could use the port as a military base.Sri Lanka, facing its worst economic crisis in decades and in need of financial support from both China and India, had delayed the ship's arrival after India raised its concerns but gave in to Chinese demands later.The ship has now left the southern Sri Lankan port…

16 Aug 2022

Chinese Military Survey Vessel Docks at Sri Lanka Port

The Chinese survey vessel Yuan Wang 5 docked on Tuesday at Sri Lanka's Chinese-built port of Hambantota, a port official said, a move likely to stoke concern in neighboring India about the growing influence of its bigger and more powerful rival.The movements of the ship have fuelled contention between India and China, two of Sri Lanka's biggest allies in its current economic crisis, as India fears China could use the port, near the main Asia-Europe shipping route, as a military base."The vessel will be berthed for three days," the official, who declined to be identified as he was not authorized to speak to the media, told Reuters from the southern port."The purpose of staying at the port is to stock up on fuel…

15 Aug 2022

Sri Lanka Says China Survey Ship Can Dock In Its Port

Sri Lanka said on Saturday it has agreed that the Chinese survey vessel Yuan Wang 5 can dock at its southernmost port, the Chinese-run Hambantota on August 16, despite security concerns raised by neighboring India and the United States.Foreign security analysts describe the Yuan Wang 5 as one of China's latest generation space-tracking ships, used to monitor satellite, rocket and intercontinental ballistic missile launches.Both China and India have tried to expand their influence in Sri Lanka, which is facing its worst economic crisis in its post-independence history.India has provided more help to Sri Lanka this year than any other nation.

17 Jun 2022

China Launches New Aircraft Carrier

(Photo: People's Liberation Army Navy)

China launched its third aircraft carrier on Friday, the Fujian, named after the province opposite self-ruled Taiwan, sending a statement of intent to rivals as it modernizes its military.President Xi Jinping has made overhauling the world's largest armed forces a central part of his agenda, seeking to project power well beyond China's shores, though the government says it has no hostile intent.Champagne, colorful ribbons, water cannons and smoke were deployed to celebrate the carrier's launch and official naming at a ceremony at the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai…

13 May 2022

Australia Says Chinese Spy Ship's Presence off West Coast 'Concerning'

People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) Intelligence Collection Vessel Haiwangxing operating off the north-west shelf of Australia. (Photo: Australia Department of Defense)

A Chinese intelligence ship was tracked off Australia's west coast within 50 nautical miles of a sensitive defense facility, Australia said on Friday, raising concern amid an election campaign about China's behavior in the region.Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Chinese navy vessel was not in Australian territorial waters but its presence was "concerning"."It is clearly an intelligence ship and they are looking at us and we're keeping a close eye on them," he told reporters.Australia…

11 May 2022

China Says It Warned US Warship in Taiwan Strait

USS Port Royal (CG 73)  (File photo: Corey T. Jones)

China's military said on Wednesday that it had monitored and warned a U.S. warship that had sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait, a mission that happened shortly after China carried out drills near the island.The U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet said the guided-missile cruiser USS Port Royal conducted a "routine" Taiwan Strait transit through international waters "in accordance with international law" on Tuesday, the second such mission in two weeks.The United States has been carrying out such voyages about once a month…

08 Apr 2022

China Shipbuilding for Taiwan Firm Likely Aiding Chinese Navy Build-up

(File photo: CSSC)

Contracts between China's top state-owned shipbuilding firm and Taiwan's leading shipping company are likely lowering the costs of upgrading China's navy, posing security concerns for the island claimed by Beijing, a U.S. think tank said on Thursday.China State Shipbuilding Corp (CSSC) is a key producer of vessels for China's rapidly expanding People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and is thought to be building its third aircraft carrier.Taiwan's Evergreen Marine Corp has purchased 44 vessels from China since 2018…

20 Jan 2022

China Says It Warned Away US Warship in South China Sea, US Denies

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Benfold (DDG 65) in the Indo-Pacific. (Photo: Benjamin A. Lewis / U.S. Navy)

Chinese forces followed and warned away a U.S. warship which entered waters near the Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, the country's military said on Thursday, but the U.S. Navy denied the ship had been warned off.The Southern Theatre Command of the People's Liberation Army said the USS Benfold "illegally" sailed into Chinese territorial waters without permission, violating the country's sovereignty, and that Chinese naval and air forces tracked the ship."We solemnly demand that the U.S.

20 Dec 2021

Does the US Have the Right to Sail Warships Through the South China Sea?

(Photo: Olivia Banmally / U.S. Navy)

Images of what appeared to be U.S. warships emerged from China last month, but they were not anywhere near an ocean. In fact, they were thousands of kilometers away, in a desert in western China.Military experts said the mock-ups of U.S. warships were part of a new target range developed by the People’s Liberation Army. The images demonstrate how seriously China is taking the repeated appearances of foreign warships in waters it claims to control – and why this is a worry for the stability of the region.In late November, a U.S.

08 Nov 2021

China Builds Mockups of US Navy Ships for Target Practice

A carrier target in Ruoqiang, Xinjiang, China, October 20, 2021. (Satellite Image ©2021 Maxar Technologies)

China's military has built mockups in the shape of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier and other U.S. warships, possibly as training targets, in the desert of Xinjiang, satellite images by Maxar showed on Sunday.These mockups reflect China's efforts to build up anti-carrier capabilities, specifically against the U.S. Navy, as tensions remain high with Washington over Taiwan and the South China Sea.The satellite images showed a full-scale outline of a U.S. carrier and at least two Arleigh…

18 Oct 2021

China Condemns US, Canada for Sending Warships through Taiwan Strait

USS Dewey (File photo: John Philip / U.S. Navy)

The Chinese military on Sunday condemned the United States and Canada for each sending a warship through the Taiwan Strait last week, saying they were threatening peace and stability in the region.China claims democratically-ruled Taiwan as its own territory, and has mounted repeated air force missions into Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) over the past year, provoking anger in Taipei.China sent around 150 aircraft into the zone over a four-day period beginning on Oct.