Think Tank: Sea, air, land and space updates (23'May-2017)

Zoe Glasson, Sophie Qin, Madeleine Nyst and Patrick Kennedy

Sea State

At last week’s International Maritime Security Conference in Singapore, Rear Admiral Lai Chung Han, Singapore’s Navy chief, announced a number of initiatives designed to promote regional submarine operational safety, including a US$7.1m upgrade to the RSN’s submarine rescue ship. The MV Swift Rescue is the only ship in Southeast Asia with the capability to conduct ‘collective rescue and transfer of distressed submariners while under pressure’. Singapore’s Defence Ministry has warned submarine proliferation would increase the risk of ‘miscalculations at sea’—it said the number of submarines in the western Pacific is projected to rise from 200 to 250 within eight years, with China alone set to grow its fleet from 62 to 78 by 2020.

Fancy building the US Navy of 2046? An app developed by CSIS lets you try your hand at just that! Integrating Navy budget data and accounting for key factors such as unit acquisition cost, capacity constraints and current procurement and inventory plans, the app aims to be an ‘interpretable analytic model of the Navy’s force structure’. And it’s pretty user-friendly: simply ‘slide’ your way to a 355-ship navy by using the controls to add or subtract everything from aircraft carriers to support vessels.

News Report: China 'Took Out a Dozen American Spies' After Undermining CIA's Network

At least 12 CIA spies were reportedly killed or imprisoned in China after Beijing undermined the American intelligence service's network. It is not clear if the agents' cover was blown by a mole or by hacking.

Several intelligence sources told the New York Times that, beginning in 2010, the Chinese began dismantling the CIA's spy network in mainland China.

Up to 20 informants were exposed and either executed for treason — with a bullet to the back of the head — or imprisoned.

The news comes as a fresh embarrassment to the United States, which is already struggling after President Donald Trump fired FBI chief James Comey.

One Twitter user sought to link the news with revelations last year about Hillary Clinton's email server.

News Report: Chat Between Top Diplomats Signals China, US Are Moving Closer on North Korea

Recent statements from the top diplomats of the US and China suggest that the two countries are now close to identifying diplomatic protocols regarding North Korea.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi in a Saturday phone call affirmed that the two countries must work more closely to use diplomatic dialogue to counter the threat posed by Pyongyang's unbridled ballistic missile and nuclear weapon testing, as well as on other international issues.

China's Yang was cited by Xinhua on Saturday as stating that Beijing and Washington must "step up communication and coordination on major international and regional issues," and that the two nations must tighten their commitment to a successful foreign policy dialog, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

What has not yet been agreed upon is whether force will be used if North Korea refuses to stop its weapons testing. China has long publicly advocated for a diplomatic solution, while the US has said conflict would be "tragic" but that the possibility of an armed response is very real.

News Story: Beijing denies 'unprofessional' intercept of US plane

WC-135 Constant Phoenix approaching a tanker
(Image: Wiki Commons)

China has denied US allegations that two Chinese fighter jets acted unprofessionally in intercepting an American military plane earlier this week, saying that its aircraft were acting in accordance with the law".

"Related remarks from the US side are inconsistent with fact," the Chinese Ministry of Defense said in a statement posted to its website late Friday.

"On May 17, a US reconnaissance aircraft was carrying out an operation in airspace over the Chinese Yellow Sea (the northern part of the East China Sea), and Chinese aircraft acted to identify and investigate in accordance with the law," the statement said, calling the action "professional" and "safe".

The US Air Force said in an earlier statement Friday that its plane, a WC-135 Constant Phoenix, was conducting a "routine mission" in international airspace when it was intercepted by two Chinese Sukhoi SU-30 fighter aircraft.

The WC-135 is a so-called "sniffer plane" designed to scan the atmosphere for signs of nuclear activity.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily

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Story Quote: ""The American military's frequent reconnaissance operations are the root cause of security issues between the Chinese and US navy and air forces," the Chinese defence ministry's statement said."

PacificSentinel: The Chinese NEED to realize that so long as North Korea continues to detonate Nuclear Bombs the WC-135 will continue to "Sniff" for fallout

News Report: Two Chinese Fighter Jets Intercept US Plane Over East China Sea

A WC-135 Constant Phoenix approaching a tanker
(Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons)

Chinese fighter jets reportedly intercepted a US military aircraft over the East China Sea.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Two Chinese fighter jets intercepted a US military aircraft over the East China Sea, media reported citing unnamed officials.

A WC-135 Constant Phoenix aircraft was intercepted by Chinese fighter jets while it was conducting a routine mission, NBC said Thursday. The report added that the crew of the US aircraft described the intercept as “unprofessional.”

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.

Think Tank: Sea, air, land and space updates (18-Apr-2017)

Boeing WC-135 Constant Phoenix (Image: Wiki Commons)

Zoe Glasson, Sophie Qin, Madeleine Nyst and Patrick Kennedy

Sea State

Some worthy new analysis on the future of the US Navy surfaced last week. The crux of the analysis in Foreign Policy is that the three Congress-commissioned proposals for naval force structure—mentioned recently in this feature—‘are all overwhelmingly preoccupied with China’ and only tangentially address the threats posed by Russia and Iran. The author argues that Congress should be advised whether those proposals believe ‘a Navy built for the Spratly Islands will play just as well in the Black Sea.’ And, a Politico piece sets out ‘How Trump Can Build a 350-Ship Navy’. The writers acknowledge that growing the naval fleet will present both industrial and fiscal challenges, but nevertheless argue that taking bold actions now is the only way to meet President Trump’s goal of a highly-capable 350-ship Navy—by the end of his second term…

New research is challenging the traditional “bludgeoning” method of icebreaking, used by Russia in the Arctic to speed up melting and create clear shipping lanes. The research shows that using submarines and ‘flexural gravity-wave resonance’ would offer a faster and more elegant approach. Data demonstrates that, by using this method, a submarine could forge a passage through ice ten times faster than America’s heavy icebreaker, Polar Star. Read all about it in The Economist.

News Report: US WC-135 ‘Nuke Sniffer’ Arrives in Japan as World Watches Pyongyang

WC-135 Constant Phoenix approaches a Tanker Aircraft
(Image: Wiki Commons)

As tensions continue to simmer on the Korean Peninsula, due in part to North Korea’s continuous nuclear weapons development, a “nuke sniffing” US aircraft arrived at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan on Friday.

Japan’s Nikkei newspaper confirmed the arrival of a US Air Force WC-135 Constant Phoenix in a report published Wednesday.

Since 2006, when Pyongyang detonated an underground nuclear device, Washington has been deploying its two WC-135 aircraft to the region — planes which also flew over the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant after its meltdown in 2011. 

The WC-135 specializes in radiation detection, and collects air samples and debris after nuclear detonations using external flow-through devices.

With several events of political significance coming in the near future, acting South Korean President Hwang Kyo-ahn has said that "provocations" from the North can be expected.

Kim Il-sung’s birthday, called "The Day of The Sun" in Pyongyang, will be celebrated on Saturday, and the Korean People’s Army (KPA) will be marking its 85th anniversary on April 25.

The late president is the grandfather of current North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un.