Taiwan's 'Carrier Killer' Aims To Sink China's Carrier

TAIPEI - In the event of war, Taiwan plans to sink China's new aircraft carrier, the Varyag, with its new "aircraft carrier killer" missile, the ramjet-powered supersonic anti-ship cruise missile Hsiung Feng 3. The revelation was made Aug. 10 on the same day China launched the Varyag for its first sea trials.

This mural was displayed at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition showing Taiwan Hsiung Feng 3 missiles attacking the new Chinese carrrier, Varyag. (Wendell Minnick)

The disclosure came during a preshow media tour of the biennial Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE). Journalists inspecting the Hsiung Feng 3 were shocked to see a large mural of the Varyag being attacked by three Hsiung Feng 3 missiles. Two of the missiles impact the carrier's starboard bow and starboard quarter, with a third missile is en route to the ship.

The mural was reminiscent of similar displays at the 2010 Zhuhai Airshow in China, where anti-ship missiles were depicted attacking and sinking U.S. aircraft carriers.
The unveiling of the display comes at an uncomfortable time for Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou. Since coming into office in 2008, Ma has eased cross-Strait tensions and signed historic economic agreements with China.
Military officials denied that calling Hsiung Feng 3 the "aircraft carrier killer" or displaying a mural of a missile attack on the Varyag were intended to send Beijing a political message. In the past, the Taiwan military often used ambiguous phrases to describe the "enemy" without mentioning China. Therefore, the Hsiung Feng 3 display was out of synch with normal military protocol that avoids enraging China.
The military-run Chungshun Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) produces the Hsiung Feng family of anti-ship missiles, including the Tien Kung (Sky Bow) air defense missile and the Tien Chien (Sky Sword) missile.
CSIST is working on a highly classified missile system called the Hsiung Feng 2E, which is reportedly a land-attack cruise missile capable of hitting targets on mainland China. This missile has never been displayed to the public and the military refuses to discuss its existence. Another missile program considered secret is the Tien Chien 2A, which is reportedly an anti-radiation missile designed to destroy ground-based radar systems.
A CSIST official said the Hsiung Feng 3 has been outfitted on the 1101 and 1103 Perry-class frigates for testing. "We began building the Hsiung Feng III around five years ago."
The military might field the missile inland along the coast to fend off a Chinese invasion armada, he said. The Hsiung Feng 3 has a reported range of 130 kilometers.
Also on display at TADTE was the new Tien Kung 3 (Sky Bow) air defense missile. The Tien Kung is based on the U.S.-built Patriot missile defense system. Details of its probable deployment are classified.

Taliban Who Downed Helo Killed in Airstrike: U.S.

WASHINGTON - The Taliban insurgents who shot down a U.S. helicopter in Afghanistan, leaving 30 American troops dead, have been hunted down and killed in an air strike, a U.S. commander said Aug. 10.
Gen. John Allen, the new chief of U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, told reporters at the Pentagon that "at approximately midnight on 8 August, coalition forces killed the Taliban insurgents responsible for this attack" with a bombing raid by an F-16 fighter jet.

Insurgents shot down a Chinook helicopter on Aug. 5 in the remote Tangi Valley in Wardak province, killing 30 American troops on board - including 25 elite special forces - in the deadliest incident of the nearly 10-year-old war for the NATO mission.
Describing the incident in detail for the first time publicly, Allen said that the helicopter had been sent in as part of an operation targeting a Taliban leader.
"The intelligence that had been generated to this point led us to believe there was an enemy network in the Tangi Valley in the Wardak province, and the purpose of this mission was to go after the leadership of that network," the general said.
When elements of the insurgent force were seen "escaping," the Chinook chopper carrying Navy SEAL commandos and Afghan soldiers was ordered in to head them off, he said.
The CH-47 was then shot out of the sky with a rocket-propelled grenade.
U.S. forces then tracked the insurgents responsible, calling in an air strike at night on Aug. 8 with an F-16, he said.
The Taliban leader originally targeted in Aug. 5's mission was not killed, Allen said.

Demands to Grow for U.N. Peacekeepers, Says Outgoing Chief

U.N.ITED NATIONS - Growing international instability and economic crisis are placing greater demands on U.N. peacekeeping even as it tries to wind down operations, the outgoing head of the 120,000-strong global force said.
Alain Le Roy highlighted the "overwhelming good" that U.N. peacekeepers have brought to troublespots from Haiti to Ivory Coast, East Timor and Sudan, while also acknowledging some bad and ugly cases.

"I think there will be more instability in the world," he said. "We are not the ones asking for an increased number of troops - never."
Conflicting pressures on the U.N. missions were evident during an interview with Le Roy from the New York office he leaves this week.
On one side of the building was a demonstration by Sudanese calling for U.N. intervention in the troubled state of South Kordofan. On the other, Haitians demanded an end to the U.N. "occupation force" in their impoverished nation.
The United Nations wants to close its operation in East Timor next year and start drawing down forces in Liberia, Ivory Coast and Haiti.
But it has also just started two new missions with 4,200 Ethiopian troops heading for Sudan's troubled Abyei region and 7,000 to go to the new country of South Sudan.
"There are other countries where we might be called," the French diplomat added. Planning is already underway for an observer force for Libya, if a ceasefire is ever agreed.
However "the trend is clearly that European defense budgets are globally decreasing," Le Roy said, so their ability to help in faraway conflict zones will become limited.
The United States also relies on U.N. power.
"Ask President Barack Obama," said Le Roy. "He is very happy because we bring stability to so many countries where he cannot go. If we left the Congo, who else would go there? If we left the Sudan, who would be there to protect the population?"
The U.N. Security Council is adding to the demands with its growing calls for U.N. forces to better protect civilian populations.
"No army force in the world is trained to protect civilians. They are trained to make war, to be warriors. To protect civilians is a very specific task," said Le Roy "The Security Council says in one sentence in its mandate that you have to protect civilians under threat.
"That simple sentence raises a lot of expectations amongst the populations and the countries concerned," he continued.
So the U.N. is pressuring the 120 countries that contribute to the 15 peacekeeping missions around the world to change their training and ethics.
U.N. forces must be more "robust," the Security Council has ordered. That needs numbers, skills and equipment, according to the U.N. under-secretary-general.
That is why attack helicopters were needed in Ivory Coast this year to destroy weapons being used by Laurent Gbagbo, the president who refused to stand down after losing an election.
U.N. forces are also forced to get tougher in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Le Roy said.
Pressure has also mounted for the U.N. to overcome what Le Roy acknowledges were three major peacekeeping failures of the 1990s - at Srebenica in Bosnia, the Rwanda genocide and in Somalia - when troops could not or would not act.
"There were three big tragedies, three failures and since then we have changed tremendously," he said.
"We have reformed a lot to become more professional. It cannot be compared even to how we were five years ago."
Le Roy has had to tell U.N. commanders they must stay at their post on threatened bases, even when they were at risk.
"For me, there cannot be the Srebenica syndrome. This was the case in the Ivory Coast, Sudan. In Darfur, there were times when peacekeepers were threatened," he said.
"If I accept evacuation, the whole credibility of peacekeeping would be lost. Each time I said no. In each case it was not easy."
The U.N. has also had to confront cases of rape by peacekeepers.
According to U.N. figures, alleged attacks have dropped from 127 in 2007 to 84 last year, and Le Roy dismissed the perpetrators as "black sheep."
"Every army in the world has black sheep. We have 84 cases for 120,000 peacekeepers. That is 84 cases too many. But we have improved," Le Roy said, demanding credit for the good work done ending strife in Liberia and East Timor hailed by the countries' leaders.
"Perhaps some people in Haiti would like us to go. But who brought stability to Haiti? It was our operation. Who avoided the chaos after the earthquake? The peacekeepers," Le Roy said. "In Haiti, we declared war on the gangs in Cite Soleil.
"There may be some politicians who say we want to be a sovereign nation, but the populations at risk never say 'we want you to leave.'"

Sea Trials Begin for Chinese Aircraft Carrier

TAIPEI - China's state-run Xinhua News Agency announced Aug. 10 the beginning of sea trials for China's first aircraft carrier, the former Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag.

China's first aircraft carrier, the former Soviet carrier Varyag which China bought from Ukraine in 1998, undergoes refitting at the port of Dalian on July 4. The aircraft carrier started its first sea trial Aug. 10, the state news agency Xinhua said (AFP)

"China's refitted aircraft carrier left its shipyard at Dalian Port in northeast Liaoning Province on Wednesday morning to start its first sea trial," said the Xinhua report. "Military sources said that the first sea trial was in line with schedule of the carrier's refitting project and would not take a long time. After returning from the sea trial, the aircraft carrier will continue refit and test work."

Photos of the Varyag indicate it has been outfitted with an active phased array radar (similar to the U.S. Aegis System), a Type 381 Sea Eagle Radar, a 30mm Type-1030 close-in weapon system, and an FL-3000 Flying Leopard air defense missile system.
The large number of personnel on board recently and the testing of the engines, with smoke belching from the funnel, indicate that the propulsion systems have been installed and the ship is reaching seaworthiness, said Gary Li, an intelligence analyst for U.K.-based Exclusive Analysis.
Debate and mystery still surround the former Kuznetsov-class carrier. Procured by a Hong Kong travel agency in 1998 for $20 million, purportedly to serve as a casino in Macau, the Varyag has been the focus of debate among China watchers ever since it bypassed Macau for the Dalian Shipyard in northeast China in 2002.
The Chinese-language media are still arguing over whether the vessel will be christened the Shi Lang, after the Ming-Qing Dynasty naval admiral who conquered Taiwan in 1681, or Liu Huaqing, the father of China's modern Navy.
What is certain is that it will not be the last Chinese aircraft carrier. There are indicators, though anecdotal, that China is preparing to build up to three carriers at the Jiangnan Shipyard on Changxing Island in Shanghai.
Job-wanted advertisements in local newspapers have dropped hints the work is for a carrier program, Li said.
Li said one recent job advertisement for a heavy-lift vehicle contract said it sought "drivers to work on carrier project." There have also been reports by residents that "blonde foreigners," possibly Ukrainian engineers, have been seen living in a hotel near the shipyard.
Observers must be careful not "to fall into the trap of using every bit of gossip from some dockside fruit seller as fact," he said. China's carrier program has become a "heavy rumor mill." With 11 aircraft carriers at its disposal, the U.S. has little to fear from China's carrier program. Even if China had several aircraft carriers, "I don't think it will reshape the strategic balance much in favor of China," said Zhuang Jianzhong, vice director of the Center for National Strategy Studies at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
However, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam face a different scenario. China has threatened to invade Taiwan if it continues to resist unification. An aircraft carrier off Taiwan's eastern coast would close off access by the U.S. military coming to the island's aid during a war.
Vietnam and the Philippines have been facing problems with an aggressive Chinese Navy in the South China Sea, which China claims as a "core interest." On Aug. 3, the People's Daily, China's main Communist Party newspaper, warned the Philippines against building a shelter on the disputed Nansha Island in the Spratly Islands, calling it "a severe strategic error." As part of Vietnam's insurance against continued Chinese threats, the Navy is procuring Russian arms, including six Kilo-class attack submarines, two Gepard-class missile frigates and 20 more Sukhoi Su-30 fighter aircraft armed with anti-ship missiles. Vietnam's Navy has five aging Russian-built Petya-class frigates, two North Korean-built Yugo-class midget submarines, along with several missile corvettes. Any conflict between the navies of China and the Philippines or Vietnam would be an "unequal contest," said Carl Thayer, a Southeast Asia specialist at the Australian Defence Force Academy.
"China's South Sea Fleet should be quite capable in fending off any threats that Vietnam could offer. The Philippines Navy in its present state would be destroyed at a distance due to lack of sensors, appropriate strike weapons and air cover," Thayer said.
At present, the Vietnamese could land some punches, he said.
"Vietnam might be able to pull off a few surprises through deception with hit-and-run raids by guidedmissile fast-attack craft or by luring Chinese ships into range of its Bastion land-based anti-ship missiles," he said.
Vietnam possesses some "potent" anti-ship missiles but lacks the experience to stand up to China's South Sea Fleet.
Such a conflict would most likely occur with sufficient warning time for the Philippines and Vietnam to withdraw their naval forces and not engage in a head-to-head naval confrontation, Thayer said.
"The United States has promised to assist the Philippines with maritime domain awareness, and it is not inconceivable that the U.S. might forewarn Vietnam if China began to build up and deploy a naval force on Hainan Island," he said.
Chinese plans to field one or more aircraft carriers would change the equation. China's South Sea Fleet has already been improving 3-D combat at sea - surface, subsurface and air - with numerous exercises over the past two years. China could also bring in elements from the East and North Sea fleets to assist in any sea battle in the South China Sea.

CHRONOLOGY

* 1992: Soviet Union stops construction of the Varyag, a former Kuznetsov-class carrier, at 60 percent complete.Ownership is later transferred to Ukraine.
* April 1998: Ukraine puts the Varyag up for auction. The Chong Lot Travel Agency procures the ship for $20 million for use as a "casino" in Macau.
* 2001: Ukraine sells a prototype of the Sukhoi Su-33 carrier-borne fighter jet to Shenyang Aircraft Corp.
* March 2002: Vessel arrives in Dalian Shipyard, China.
* June 2005: Refurbishment begins.
* September 2008: The PLA Daily newspaper announces that 50 pilots were inducted at the Dalian Naval Academy to undergo training on ship-borne aircraft flight.
* 2009: A mock-up of the Varyag is constructed at the Wuhan Naval Research Facility near Huangjie Lake, Wuhan, China.
* 2010: Photos surface of the J-15 Flying Shark, which is identical to the Su-33.
* 2011: April: A People's Daily website reports the Varyag has entered its last stage, with the hull being painted light gray-blue, standard for all ships in the Chinese Navy.
* June 7: Gen. Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army, admits in a newspaper interview with the Chinese-language Hong Kong Commercial Daily that China has an aircraft carrier program.
* July 27: The Chinese Defense Ministry officially confirms the Varyag is being refitted as a "scientific research, experiment and training" vessel.
* July 29: Gen. Luo Yuan, a senior researcher with the Academy of Military Sciences, tells the Beijing News that China would need a minimum of three aircraft carriers.


North Korea Fires Shells Near Border With South

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea twice fired shells near the flashpoint Yellow Sea border with South Korea on Aug. 10, prompting warning shots from the South's marines in response, Seoul's military said.
The incidents fuelled already high tensions along the disputed sea border, which saw bloody naval skirmishes in recent years and a deadly shelling attack on South Korea's Yeonpyeong island last November.

The first incident came at 1 p.m. local time, when Seoul's defense ministry said a North Korean shell landed near the border, known as the Northern Limit Line (NLL).
Marines based on Yeonpyeong island broadcast a warning and then fired three warning shots from K-9 self-propelled guns.
The North's coastal artillery fired again at 7:46 p.m. towards the border and the South again fired warning shots in response, a ministry spokesman told AFP.
"There were no more shots afterwards, but we're now closely watching the situation," he said, declining to say how many rounds were fired.
Yonhap news agency quoted a resident of Yeonpyeong island as saying the North fired three shots in the evening, the same number as earlier in the day.
The ministry said the initial shells may have been fired during a training exercise.
The border firing came after the North made apparent peace overtures in recent weeks and expressed interest in restarting stalled six-nation nuclear disarmament talks.
Nuclear envoys from the two Koreas held rare talks in Bali last month, and a senior North Korean official visited New York later for discussions with U.S. officials.
Troops on Yeonpyeong and other frontline islands have been on high alert since last November's bombardment, which killed four South Koreans including two civilians and damaged scores of buildings.
The government has reinforced troops and sent extra weaponry to the islands.
The firing in early afternoon briefly sparked alarm on Yeonpyeong, where some 1,800 civilians live along with the Marine garrison.
"The residents were preparing to evacuate their homes for shelters since they went through a similar thing in the past," a spokeswoman for Ongjin county, which oversees the island, told AFP.
But they did not actually move to shelters since things have calmed down," the spokeswoman said, speaking before the evening firing.
The NLL was drawn unilaterally by United Nations forces after the 1950-53 war. The North refuses to accept it and says it should run further to the south.
The boundary line was the scene of deadly naval clashes in 1999, 2002 and November 2009. The South also accuses the North of torpedoing one of its warships near the NLL in March 2010, with the loss of 46 lives.
The North denied the charge but last November shelled Yeonpyeong in the first attack on a civilian-populated area in the South since the war.
The North said it was responding to a South Korean artillery drill which encroached into its waters.

Chinese Troops Join Pakistan Exercise

NEW DELHI - The Pakistan Army has included Chinese troops for the first time in exercises that were conducted along the border with the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan, Indian Defence Ministry sources said.

The 101 Engineering Regiment of China's People's Liberation Army is taking part in the exercises, the sources added. No Defence Ministry official has publicly commented on the exercises, but Indian Army officials privately have expressed great concern.

Indian military strategy calls for the capability to fight Pakistan and China simultaneously. While Indian defense officials admit India will spend $100 billion in the next 10 years on weapons and equipment, military analysts here say that figure could well reach $150 billion, given plans to prepare for both Pakistan and China.
New Delhi claims China has been helping Pakistan build its nuclear arsenal along with delivery systems. Pakistan buys a variety of weapons, aircraft and equipment from China, including airborne warning aircraft, fighter jets and precision-guided munitions.
Recent sales of Chinese conventional weapons to Pakistan include JF-17 fighters along with production facilities, F-22P frigates with helicopters, K-8 trainer jets, T-85 tanks, F-7 aircraft, small arms and ammunition. Pakistan also is seeking to buy 36 Chinese-made J-10 fighters.
Pakistan also has sought Chinese help to build nuclear-capable missiles near Rawalpindi, Indian Defence Ministry sources said.

Israel Deploys Drones Over Gas Fields: Report

JERUSALEM - Israel has deployed drones to keep watch on gas fields off its northern coast, fearing attack by the Hezbollah militia from neighboring Lebanon, the Jerusalem Post daily reported on Aug. 9.

The fields lie in a part of the Mediterranean that is claimed by Israel for gas exploration and production, but Lebanon says the fields lie within its territorial waters.

"The decision to deploy drones was made in order to maintain a 24-hour presence over the site," the paper said, adding that the air force was equipped with the locally made Heron drone, which has special electro-optics designed for maritime work.
The Israeli military would not confirm or deny the Post report to AFP.
The paper said that the air force started aerial surveillance after a warning last month from Hezbollah, which in 2006 fought a deadly war with the Jewish state in which it used anti-ship missiles.
"The Israeli enemy cannot drill a single meter in these waters to search for gas and oil if the zone is disputed … No company can carry out prospecting work in waters whose sovereignty is contested," the Shiite group said.
The Hezbollah threat came after Israel's cabinet approved a map of the country's proposed maritime borders with Lebanon and submitted it to the United Nations, which has been asked to mediate in the dispute.
The map conflicts with one submitted by Lebanon to the U.N. last year, which gives Israel less territory.
The two countries are technically at war and will not negotiate face to face.
The disputed zone consists of about 330 square miles.
The two biggest known offshore fields, Tamar and Leviathan, lie respectively about 50 miles and 81 miles off Israel's northern city of Haifa.
Tamar is believed to hold at least 8.4 trillion cubic feet of gas, while Leviathan is believed to have reserves of 16 trillion cubic feet.
In June an Israeli company announced the discovery of two new natural gas fields, Sarah and Mira, around 45 miles off the city of Hadera further south.