In a press conference granted on his 7th week as the new commander of the US Indo Pacific Command, Admiral Philip Davidson faced the media for the first time. A journalist covering the 2018 Rim of the Pacific Exercises for the Philippine based GMA News informed his readers on July 21. Here are some quotations from his article:
It was no surprise that the first question was about the perceived belligerence of China in the Indo-Pacific Region.
Davidson admits there were some aspects of Chinese behavior in the region that was a matter of concern for the United States.
“There are areas in which China is trying to supplant the United States and our interests in the region. They’re exercising some coercive economic practices in the region as well," he said.
The US, Davidson said, is quite clear on the environment it wants to maintain in the region.
“We have made it quite plain that our interest is in a free and open Indo-Pacific as opposed to some alternative structure that is rather opaque," he said.
Previously, the US came under fire from some of its allies for not doing enough in the region to stem Chinese aggression, particularly in the disputed areas of the South China Sea.
China had built artificial islands on disputed waters in the South China Sea and was recently reported to have put missile and electronic jamming systems as well.
Fishermen from the Philippines have reported harrasment from Chinese Coast Guard personnel in one form or another in recent months, particularly at the Scarborough Shoal (Panatag Shoal).
..........
As a consequence of China reneging on its promise not to militarize the artificial islands, US Pacific Command and the US State Department retracted the standing invitation to China for this year's RIMPAC exercises.
"The Chinese promised they would not militarize those outposts in the South China Sea. And in April it became evident that they had moved arms directly there; so that was the reason for the disinvite here to RIMPAC," Davidson said.
Upon the invitation of the US, China became a participant in the 2014 and 2016 RIMPAC exercises.
They were scheduled to attend this year's exercises until they were disinvited early this year.
..........
Invited or not, China still managed to have its presence felt at RIMPAC. Davidson confirmed that a Chinese surveillance ship was in the area observing the exercises.
Reports coming from the US Naval Institute identified the vessel as a Dongdiao class auxillary general intelligence ship. This was the same ship the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy sent to RIMPAC in 2014 and 2016.
..........
Without naming China in particular, Davidson outlined the biggest challenge facing his command.
"A challenge from a country that runs an authoritarian and closed internal order, how that would function in an international environment escapes me. I think it's important that the free and open nations that you guys all represent with us continue to advance this order for, again, our mutual security, our interests, economic interests, and our values," he said.
Davidson however did not rule out future cooperation with China in the region saying both superpowers had common interests as well.
美日澳环太军演击沉实体舰 美媒:专门打给中共看
US, Japan and Australia in "Rim of the Pacific Exercises" downing whole ships.
US media: Specific call for China to look.
[NTDTV 新唐人电视台 on July 21 (July 20 NY Time), 2018]
[The Guardian on July 21, 2018]
美日射10枚导弹才击沉靶船 能突破中国海军防护网？
US and Japan launched 10 missiles just to sink a target ship.
Could they break through the protective net of China's navy ?
After an assessment of weapons applied by the US, Japanese and Australian military vessels in their "sinking exercise", the author brings about a military analysis of that exercise:
分析认为，美日澳这次“击沉演习”虽然最终击沉了这艘退役的登陆舰，但是过程相当难堪，因为至少发射了超过10枚导弹和鱼雷， 才让其缓慢地沉入海底，这应该是对三国反舰能力的一次羞辱。如果说这次演习是“与中国作战的一次预演”，那么，美日澳可就心惊了， 类似排水量的中国舰艇可不是这样听任胡乱打击的，中国主战舰艇上的“红旗-10”、730近防炮和1130近防炮可以有效拦截4倍 音速以下的反舰导弹，美日澳这些导弹都在这个拦截范围之内。可以说，打一艘老旧登陆舰都这么难，对付中国最新舰艇可就更难了！ （作者署名：军评陈光文）
An analysis therefore considers that the US-Japanese-Australian "sinking exercise" finally sunk that retired landing ship, but the process is quite embarrassing because at least 10 missiles and torpedoes were launched to make it slowly sink to the seabed. This should be a shame for the anti-ship capabilities of the three countries. If the exercise is "a preview of the battle with China," then the United States, Japan, and Australia will be frightened. The Chinese ships with a similar displacement cannot be so easily attacked. The "Red Flag-10" [missile] on China's main battleships, the 730 near-distance anti-aircraft gun and the 1130 near-distance anti-aircraft gun can effectively intercept anti-ship missiles below 4 times the speed of sound. The US, Japanese and Australian missiles are within their interception range. It can be said that if it is so difficult to hit an old landing ship, it will be even harder to deal with the latest Chinese ships ! (Author's signature: Military Review Chen Guangwen)
[SINA Military 新浪军事 on July 22, 2018]
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