US plans huge show of force in Pacific By Ching Cheong Seven aircraft carriers to move within striking distance of China; Taiwan forces slated to join in drill The United States is planning a massive show of force in the Pacific Ocean near China to register a point with Beijing. In an exercise codenamed Operation Summer Pulse 04, it is expected to arrange for an unprecedented seven aircraft carrier strike groups (CSGs) to rendezvous in waters a safe distance away from the Chinese coastline - but still within striking distance - after mid-July. This will be the first time in US naval history that it sends seven of its 12 CSGs to just one region. According to a Department of Defence statement, Summer Pulse is to test out a new Fleet Response Plan (FRP) aimed at enhancing the American Navy's combat power and readiness in a time of crisis. The FRP calls for the despatching of six 'forward deployed' or 'ready to surge' CSGs to a trouble spot within 30 days, and an additional two within 90 days. Although the statement does not say where the seven CSGs will exercise, the Status of the Navy website said the USS Carl Vinson, Abraham Lincoln, John C Stennis and Kitty Hawk were in the Pacific Ocean as of yesterday. The USS Enterprise and Harry Truman are in the Atlantic Ocean while USS George Washington is in the Persian Gulf. According to a posting on Sina.com, an influential website in China, the signs point to a gathering of all seven CSGs in the Pacific. Sources in Beijing say China's reading is that Summer Pulse is being mounted with it as the target audience, a suspicion reinforced by reports that Taiwanese forces are slated to join in the drill. Clearly, given Beijing's repeated warning that it will use force, as a last resort and whatever the cost, to stop Taiwanese independence, the US feels it needs to send Beijing a message. From past deployment patterns, the US usually despatches one CSG to a trouble spot as a reminder of its presence. It did so several times in the past when tension was high in the Taiwan Strait. It sends two to indicate serious concern, as was the case when China test-fired missiles over the strait in 1996. In a combat situation, it deploys three to four, which was what it did in the Gulf War in the early 1990s and the recent Iraqi war. But never before has it sent in peace time seven CSGs to the same theatre. The implications for China are grave. According to Kanwa Defence News, which specialises in Chinese military matters, Beijing can cope with just one CSG currently. 'But in five to 10 years, it can certainly take on seven,' said Mr Chang Hong-yi, head of Kanwa, in an interview with The Straits Times. 'China's military potential is enormous and in terms of military technology, the gap with the US is closing fast,' he added. However, a Chinese military source who declined to be identified is more sanguine. 'Even now, China can easily take on two CSGs,' he said but conceded that there was no way it could face seven all at the same time. This means that if China has to wage war over Taiwan, it has to be able to land and seize control of the island within the first 30 days. Otherwise, under the FRP, six CSGs may well arrive to join in the battle. 'All this leaves China with no choice but to start and end the war with lightning speed,' said the source. Politically, Summer Pulse is likely to be seen by many Chinese as naked intimidation. 'This is gunboat diplomacy in the 21st century,' the source remarked, adding that it would remind the Chinese people of their century-long deep humiliation by Western powers - and put Sino-US relations at peril. WHAT THE NUMBERS MEAN: ONE aircraft carrier is sent to a trouble spot as a reminder of US presence. This was done several times in the past, when tension was high in the Taiwan Strait. TWO carriers show serious concern, as was the case when China test-fired missiles over the strait in 1996. THREE OR FOUR are sent in combat situations - as in the Gulf War in the early 1990s and the recent Iraqi war. Sending SEVEN carriers in peace time to the same region is unprecedented. The US plan to do this after mid-July, in the Pacific Ocean near China, is a message to Beijing for its threat to use force to stop Taiwanese independence. The Straits Times Publication Date : 2004-06-30
China gears up for crisis, now up to Taiwan 2004/7/6 BEIJING, Reuters When China holds war games on Dongshan island off its southeastern coast this month, its SU-27 fighters will battle for air superiority and back up an amphibious landing in a mock invasion of Taiwan. Convinced that President Chen Shui-bian will push for statehood during his second four-year term, China is readying for a showdown with the island which Beijing has claimed as its own since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. Booming China wants to avoid conflict, analysts say. The ball is in Taiwan's court ¡X whether conflict breaks out hinges on how far Chen pushes the envelope. "They do not wish to use force...This is not their preferred course of action. But they are preparing for worst-case scenarios," said David Shambaugh, an expert on the People's Liberation Army (PLA) at George Washington University. "I've been coming to China every year for the last 25 years, I have never sensed a higher level of anxiety over the Taiwan issue than at the present time." Chen's predecessor, Lee Teng-hui, has played down the threats and likened China to a "barking dog that won't bite". Taiwan has apparently been emboldened by U.S. President George W. Bush's pledge to do whatever it takes to help the self-ruling democratic island defend itself, but analysts said it may be miscalculating Beijing's resolve. "The danger of war truly exists," said Wang Jisi, director of the Institute of International Strategy at the Central Party School, which trains Communist apparatchiks. "We're not a paper tiger. We're a real tiger," he said, adding that China needs to "strengthen the credibility" of its longstanding threat to attack if Taiwan declares statehood. Lee dismissed Chinese threats after war games following his landmark U.S. visit in 1995 mellowed into little more than a war of words when he, and later Chen, pushed for independence. Taiwan's leaders are betting that China will not risk breakneck growth, which is needed to create enough jobs, avert social unrest and perpetuate Communist Party rule. Military conflict would certainly invite a boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and diplomatic isolation worse than in the years after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests were crushed. Instability would drive away foreign investors and Taiwanese who have poured US$100 billion into China since the late 1980s. It would also rattle the global chip industry and financial markets. Taiwan, armed to the teeth with U.S. and French jet fighters and warships, is counting on U.S. help in the event of conflict. Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979, but remains Taiwan's biggest arms supplier and ally. "The chances of a full-scale invasion of Taiwan before 2012 are very low" because the PLA is incapable of taking on the United States, said Chong-Pin Lin, a former Taiwan deputy defense minister. He did not rule out more saber rattling. But Kenneth Lieberthal, a Sinologist at the University of Michigan, said Taiwan is wrong when it assumes Beijing is "all bluff when it talks about the use of force." "The second assumption is: if the first assumption is wrong, then Chen nevertheless has a military blank cheque from the United States...I believe both assumptions are wrong," he said. Washington has no desire to be dragged into a conflict with China over Taiwan. But the three are faced with a potentially vicious circle: Taiwan flirts with independence, leading to Chinese invasion threats which force the United States to back the island which in turn further emboldens Taipei. Chen appears determined to adopt a new constitution in 2008, a move seen by Beijing as a formal declaration of independence. China on the other hand has painted itself into a corner by beating the drums of war. No Chinese leader can afford to be seen as weak by giving in on the mission of reunification. Beijing does not trust Chen, but he believes it will eventually deal with him. "The chances of dialogue resuming will be high after the year-end parliamentary elections and the U.S. elections," a senior Taiwan government source told Reuters. Sorry for the double post, figured it'd be easier to read
The U.S. is sending 7 carrier strike groups (7 aircraft carriers + a load of support/defense ships) to the Taiwan strait, to send a message to China : don't touch Taiwan. 7 CSGs is serious, as in WAR situations they send 4 CSGs.
Cause America is so badass, they have to get the point across that if China ####s with Taiwan, they gotta #### with America first!
Cause America is so badass, they have to get the point across that if China ####s with Taiwan, they gotta #### with America first! [/b][/quote] finally something i can understand.
Begging for a terrorist attack? BEGGING FOR A TERRORIST ATTACK? J/K Let me introduce you to the AEGIS Cruiser. Can intercept 100+ incoming missiles/airplanes alone, thanks to its CIWS Phalanx and Sea Sparrow missiles. Well, there must be 10 cruisers with them, and the carriers themselves have Phalanx and Sea Sparrow systems. Blowing up a fishing boat is almost a joke.
I wouldn't worry about it, this always happens. China says Taiwan is still part of the People's Republic of China and goes to shoot off of their boats near Taiwan... then the US goes and shows off their boats shooting ability and it becomes kind of like a pissing contest, since the US sides with Taiwan (rightfully so, IMO).
Begging for a terrorist attack? BEGGING FOR A TERRORIST ATTACK? J/K Let me introduce you to the AEGIS Cruiser. Can intercept 100+ incoming missiles/airplanes alone, thanks to its CIWS Phalanx and Sea Sparrow missiles. Well, there must be 10 cruisers with them, and the carriers themselves have Phalanx and Sea Sparrow systems. Blowing up a fishing boat is almost a joke. [/b][/quote] That's quite reassuring
That's quite reassuring [/b][/quote] What's less it's that it's SUPPOSED to do so . It sure could do the job for a terrorist attack, but it's a bit less easy when it comes to a militay attack...
I also read that China and Russia are planning to do a joint showforce in response to this. :wth: According to what I've read and seen, Taiwan has always belonged to China. Dunno why America has to intervene.
Taiwan has not always belonged to China. China sent a group of people there and basically told them it was their's, but when Taiwan started to prosper they said 'Well, hey, this is still our's! They're still part of the People's Republic of China!'... sorry, but I don't buy it. You can't give something and then say 'Oh, sorry, you're doing good now, you're our people again.' Taiwan has been running under their own government for a while now... the 40's, I believe, but I may be off a little bit. They actually founded the U.N. with the United States but were kicked out after a petition from China, which is absolutely unjust. And China and Russia doing a joint showforce is nothing. As I've said, the United States and China have been doing this whole "showforce" things for years. Everytime things get heated between China and Taiwan it happens. Also, the United States is intervening because we have recognized Taiwan as a contry, and China is thus unjustly flexing its muscle in the area. The United States is the superpower of the world, agree with it or not -- we're pretty much required to have a stance on this. If we didn't then people would starting b*tching worse than when we do have a stance.
Seem a little familiar to anyone? *cough*Iraq*cough* [/b][/quote] Um, how is that framiliar at all -- saying we've recognized Taiwan as a country? That is absolutely nothing at all like the Iraq situation, not even in the least bit. And, please, even without that it's nothing at all like Iraq. We've been backing Taiwan for a long time. Last time I checked, we didn't support Iraq from breaking away from a communist party that gave them their land.
Ah, my fault, sorry about that! ... I think there's some truth to that, just not much. Iraq was pretty much a 'Hit the ground running' kind of thing... we didn't flex too much muscle in the beginning
Maybe they're just willing to go for a "ressources" war. Make Chinese planes take the air, therefore using gas, intercept them for the mental effect and get em back home. As for Russia, they're not as much a threat as before... They won't get into a war with the US.