India suspicious as Chinese submarine docks in Sri Lanka
NEW DELHI: The docking of a Chinese submarine in Colombo on a long-range deployment patrol earlier this month is yet another indicator of the ever-increasing forays of the People's Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

The PLA-N is fast transforming from a "green-water" force used to operating close to its own shores into a potent "blue-water" force, one with "long legs". Though the Indian Navy has been tracking the increased activity of Chinese warships in the IOR, including submarines quietly on the prowl in the Bay of Bengal, this is a rare instance of a PLA-N submarine openly berthing in the region that India considers its "own strategic backyard".

The diesel-electric Type 039 "Song-class" was at the Colombo International Container Terminal, which has been funded by China, from September 7 to 14. This was just ahead of Chinese President Xi Jingping's visit toSri Lanka, which along with Maldives has shown enthusiasm for China's new Maritime Silk Route plan in the IOR.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/i...w/43672064.cms

China sends first submarine to take part in Indian Ocean counter-piracy ops

China's Ministry of National Defense (MND) has confirmed reports that a People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) submarine visited the Sri Lankan capital Colombo in early September: the first overt overseas port call by a Chinese submarine.

A MND spokesman stated that the submarine was en route to conduct counter piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia. He added that the visit to Sri Lanka was a routine logistics stop, as practiced by other international navies operating far from base ports.

The submarine is reported to be a Type 039 (Song)-class diesel-electric boat with pennant number 329, which IHS Jane's Fighting Ships indicates was commissioned in 2006. PLAN watchers suggest it is operated by the 32nd Submarine Flotilla based at the Yulin-Sanya submarine base on Hainan Island. The submarine is being accompanied by Type 925-class submarine support tender Changxingdao (861).

The deployment will be lengthy - the distance from Hainan to the Gulf of Aden is around 5,500 n miles, so the outward and return transits are likely to take more than three weeks.

That deployment involved the Type 052B destroyer Wuhan, Type 052C destroyer Haikou, and a Fuchi-class underway replenishment ship, which left the South Sea Fleet port near Sanya and arrived in the Gulf of Aden in early January 2009.

Since then, similarly sized PLAN task forces have been rotated in on a regular four-monthly basis. The submarine is part of the 18th escort task force, which took over on 23 August and also features Type 071 landing platform dock Changbaishan(989), Type 054A frigate Yuncheng (571) and Type 903 replenishment oiler Chaohu (890).

Type 052C destroyer Changchun and Type 054A frigate Changzhou (549) of the 17th task force visited the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas on 20 September in a sign of deepening naval relations between the two countries.

COMMENT
Chinese ships assigned to the anti-piracy mission in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) have visited several ports to allow their crews to rest and to take on supplies, including in Djibouti, Oman, and Yemen. It emerged in December 2011 that China was also considering using facilities on the island of Mahe, Seychelles, for resupply and recuperation.

While reaction to the visit in India has been muted, it will not have gone unnoticed, particularly as it took place at the same time the armies of India and China were confronting each other over the disputed Himalayan border.

China has long denied ambitions to establish overseas naval bases - especially in the IOR - but the port call in Colombo highlights China's need for logistics facilities for ships and submarines deployed along its sea lines of communications. The fact that the facilities used were at one of two ports developed by China in Sri Lanka, as it has also done in Pakistan and Myanmar, is likely to reinvigorate the debate about Chinese construction of maritime infrastructure in the IOR.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, who visited Sri Lanka shortly after the submarine port call, is promoting the establishment of a Maritime Silk Route, with China taking a lead in the development of port facilities. Some will regard this as a benign approach to developing international trade; others will ascribe more far-reaching strategic motives.
http://www.janes.com/article/43854/c...ter-piracy-ops

China deploys its most modern destroyer, the Type-052D, to disputed waters in the South China Sea.

China has deployed its most advanced guided-missile destroyer to the disputed South China Sea to participate in a large naval exercise, according to Taiwanese media.

This week, the Want Daily and its English-language sister site, Want China Times, reported that China deployed the Kunming, the first of its new Type 052D guided-missile destroyers (DDG), to the South China Sea last month. The purpose of the deployment was to hold a military drill in the disputed wars simulating an Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) attack. The Type 052D guided missile destroyer was joined by some of two of its earlier variants, a Type 052C and a Type 052A destroyer, which also participated in the drill.

The English-language report did not specify the source for the story, nor did it detail the exact dates the exercise was held. It did say that the Kunming had left China for the drill sometime in the later part of September.

As The Diplomat previously reported, China officially commissioned the Kunming back in March amid much fanfare in the Chinese media. The Type-052D is by far China’s most advanced destroyer and is regularly compared to the United States’ Aegis Arleigh Burke-class DDG. As a result, the Type 052D is often referred to as the Chinese Aegis. China is expected to ultimately launch six vessels for this class.

The Type 052D has a number of significant improvements over its early variants. Displacing between 6,000-7,000 pounds, the Type 052D has a new 130 mm main gun and, building on the prototype Type 052C, it also has Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA). It’s vertical launch cells (VLC) are also greatly improved. As James Holmes and his Toshi Yoshihara noted when China first launched the Kunming in 2012, the new VLS “allows for quick firing of anti-air, anti-ship, or land-attack missiles without the bother, delay, and technical headaches associated with uploading munitions onto launchers from magazines deep within the ship.” They added that “the PLAN may have found its premier surface combatant” with the Type 052D DDG.

And for good reason. The Type 052D DDGs would be an important asset in most of the conceivable naval showdowns China could find itself in over the South China Sea, East China Sea or Taiwan. Having more and higher quality sea-based air defense is also a crucial step for becoming a global navy — that is, one that is able to operate far beyond one’s border and out of the reach of land-based air defense systems.

However, it is no coincidence that the Type 052D drill is taking place in the South China Sea as this may be where it most quickly demonstrates its value. China is currently taking steps to bolster its ability to more actively patrol more distant parts of its expansive claims of sovereignty over the South China Sea. In the air, this means acquiring new hardware like the Su-35. On the other hand, for the sea this means that China is able to both sustain long-range patrols and protect these assets from potential adversaries. By building up logistical bases in reefs near the Philippines, China is actively trying to achieve this former objective. The Type 052D DDG will help it achieve the latter.
http://thediplomat.com/2014/10/chine...uth-china-sea/