Free Republic

Red Alert: China is sending misleading messages about its massive military buildup. Last week China’s Communist regime published the every-second-year edition of its defense white paper, “China’s National Defense in 2010,” which claims to promote transparency in its defense planning and deepen international trust, and asserts that its security policy is defensive in nature. But the paper’s messages are not supported by the facts. Consider five of the many misleading messages imbedded in the 30-page defense white paper. First, “China attaches great importance to military transparency,” the paper claims. The Pentagon takes issue with that view in a report, stating,...

June 22, 2005 House pushes Navy to buy more ships in 2006 By Megan Scully, CongressDaily Amid mounting concerns that the domestic shipbuilding industry is taking heavy hits, House authorizers and appropriators have dramatically increased the Navy's ship buys for next year, helping to feed a sector that is becoming more anemic just as China pours billions into its fleet. The decision reflects a growing consensus in the powerful shipbuilding industry and on Capitol Hill that the Navy lacks a thorough and consistent plan for its future fleet. The Pentagon's fiscal 2006 request sought four new ships, a drop from...

The People's Republic of China, after more than a decade of efforts which saw the cancellation of an intital Israeli project to provide them with the capability (at the behest of the United States), have now produced their own first modern AWACS aircraft and placed them in service. The aircraft are based on the Russian Beriev A-50 Mainstay airframe but use wholly Chinese created phased array radar components housed in a non-rotating dome, providing 360 degree coverage. Two aircraft have been built and two more are rapidly being completed for placing in service. Capabilities of the Chinese phased array system...