Translation April 24, 2023
Part 2: How close is the defense union between Russia and China?
I was not even aware of it, but the US Pacific fleet, which constantly provokes off China's coast and in the Strait of Taiwan, is now hopelessly inferior to the fleets of China and Russia in the region. I will discuss this in a separate article soon, because this explains some developments of the recent past, for example the founding of AUKUS by the USA. The fact that EU chief diplomat Borrell spoke out in favor of sending warships from EU countries against China over the weekend also appears in a new light before this information.
Here I translate the second part of the reports from the weekly news review of Russian television about the unofficial Russian-Chinese defense union. These reports were about the visit of the Chinese Minister of Defense to Moscow and the Russian and Chinese naval maneuvers of recent weeks, which officially had nothing to do with each other, but coincidentally complemented each other perfectly.
Start of the translation:
The US Navy cannot escape the missiles of Russia and China
You can hear really alarming sounds on Western TV channels. The visit of the Chinese Minister of Defense to Moscow is almost even more disturbing than that of the Chinese head of state Xi Jinping in March, because he already has a certain system. "China has become Russia's biggest supporter since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict," says Western media.
At a meeting with President Putin, Defense Minister Li Shangfu, who, by the way, only recently took office and immediately travelled to Moscow afterwards, stressed that the alliance between Moscow and Beijing was not directed against anyone. It is primarily there for the fact that there is more than one pole of influence in the world, and first and foremost, of course, for the security of our countries.
"They came to Russia after the visit of our great friend, my friend, the President of the People's Republic of China, Comrade Xi Jinping. I would like to emphasize once again that the visit was very productive, of course we also addressed cooperation at the military level. We regularly exchange information and hold joint maneuvers in different locations: in the Far East, in Europe, at sea, on land and in the air," stressed Vladimir Putin.
"It is a great pleasure for me to be in Russia. Cooperation between our countries in the military field is developing very well. It makes a great contribution to global security," says Li Shangfu.
Russia and China are building close relations in the defense sector, which requires the development of various aspects. One of the most important aspects is joint training. On the second day of his visit, Li Shanfu had every reason to visit the Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. Among the graduates of this academy are many Chinese officers who occupy high positions in their armed forces. In the near future, the Chinese representation here will be the largest of all states.
The wagon column enters the courtyard and the minister is received by the head of the academy. Inside, the history of the academy, which was founded under Nicholas I, is presented. Li Shanfu visits the museum and the classrooms. The minister brought a large delegation: some looked with interest at the icons of the heavenly patron saints, others took photos with the bust of the Russian tsar.
"In the walls of the military academy, many Chinese military personnel have studied and will continue to study. We are very grateful to our Russian friends for that. They know that the world is currently in chaos. That's why security and defense are very important to us," said the Minister of Defense.
The Chinese military are trained here in a special faculty. Twenty new students from the People's Republic of China will be accepted in the autumn.
"We already have a good understanding of each other's tactics and strategy. But there are other nuances, such as offensive and defensive operations, exchange of information, communication in the hinterland. These things require a high degree of cooperation. In my opinion, this is a deeper story. We are deepening cooperation, especially on a technological level, which is more effective than simply making new alliances," said Professor Alexei Maslov, director of the Institute for Asia and Africa at the Moscow Lomonosov State University.
The joint maneuver shows that the two armies can work together successfully. China and Russia are now carrying out separate maneuvers in their respective areas of responsibility. For the 14th In April, an unannounced inspection of the Pacific fleet was announced. The entire Russian armed forces in the Far East are on high alert.
The atomic submarine "Tomsk" dives in the haze on the horizon. The underwater missile cruiser is a real aircraft carrier hunter with cruise missiles on board. We approach him with a tug, which is accompanied by a special unit. The crew of the nuclear submarine "Tomsk" performs their duties at any time of the day and in any weather. The submarine crew, according to the legend of the maneuver, exercises a simulated blow against an enemy aircraft carrier group.
The target was discovered at a distance of more than 200 kilometers. The rocket launches themselves were practiced many times by the crew. The "Tomsk" is an entire city of metal with dozens of rooms on the decks that the submarine crew knows exactly. On the submarine there are four decks and many corridors, real labyrinths that are more than one kilometer long: In four hours, a guard can cover up to five kilometers if the soldiers go from post to post. Almost immediately after the shooting, the submarine set sail. It joined a group of other submarines.
The forces of the Pacific fleet are supported during the unannounced inspection by long-haul aircraft. The Tu-95MS long-range bombers patrolled the waters of the Bering and Okhotsk Seas. Directly during the flight, there was a refueling by an IL-78 tanker aircraft. Tu-22M3 long-range bombers are also active in the Sea of the Japanese Sea.
Power and strength: It is a true armada of ships that are in a single combat formation. Submarines, rocket boats, corvettes and frigates. The shooting takes place from the frigate Marshal Schapzhnikov. Kinzahl missiles fly to their targets.
Ka-27M helicopters with hydroacoustic tracking devices help to track down enemy submarines. The targets are forwarded to a group that tracks down an enemy submarine. At the head of this group is the corvette "Gromky". After the enemy submarine has been tracked down, the small anti-ship ships attack it with reactive water bombs. With its armament, the corvette can destroy both sea targets and air and ground targets, such as the enemy's fortifications.
The crews have practiced the use of passive jammers. The clouds literally hide the ship from the means of destruction by directing the guidance systems at them. During this time, the fast and maneuverable ship can dodge an attack. At the end of the maneuvers, the helicopters return to the ships. Landing on a corvette is a really challenging task that can only be mastered by real professionals.
"Bal" rocket launchers were stationed on Kamchatka and the Kuril. The coastal missile complexes "Bastion", which are in action on the islands of the Kuril's ridge of Matua and Paramushir, were also put on alert. At Cape Klerka, marines practiced the relocation with large landing ships to the landing sites.
"It is the first time that an exercise of this kind has taken place, in which an unannounced inspection was a surprise not only for the inspectors, but also for the command headquarters. Our naval infantry and coastal missile systems have used the combat experience they gained in the military operation during this inspection," said naval commander-in-chief Nikolai Yevmenov.
The second phase of the maneuver took place in the southern Sea of Okhotsk. The result is a curious constellation in this part of the Pacific Ocean, which primarily does not bode well for the US Federation. In this region there are valuable US naval bases in Japan and South Korea. From there, the Americans provoke China. The US destroyer Milius crossed the controversial road of Taiwan this week. The US Navy spoke of a "routine" passage. The passage was not hindered, since both the Milius and the entire 7. US fleet, which is mainly concentrated on Japanese bases in the ports of Sasebo and Yokosuka, are now sealed off. On the side of Taiwan is the Chinese Navy, on the side of the Kuril the Russian Pacific Fleet.
"If you look at the map, there is a huge arc for half of the Western Hemisphere fromchukotka to Vietnam - this arc runs through the territory of the Russian Federation and China. And this is a bow of security created by the Pacific fleet and the Chinese fleet, of course the two fleets stand here back to back," noted military observer and reserve colonel Viktor Litowkin.
The Chinese ships have now come even closer. China carries out maneuvers in the Yellow Sea, very close to the American bases. China has already overtaken the USA in the number of ships in 2020. This week it was announced that the Pentagon is spending the record $200 billion on submarines to restore parity with Russia and, according to Newsweek, to draw China into the arms race: "The increase in US submarines could force the Chinese to spend money on the same technology and exhaust their resources."
At the same time, the USA is pumping weapons to Taiwan, and Japanese and South Korean ships are set sail, allegedly in response to Pyongyang's aggressive action.
"The USA, which always fights with other people's hands, is of course pushing Japan into a conflict with the Russian Federation. Japan regularly carries out maneuvers with the naval forces of the USA and South Korea. This week, maneuvers took place in the same region, each involving three destroyers from South Korea, Japan and the USA. They practiced the defense against rocket attacks with shorter and medium range," said the military journalist and captain First Ranges Vasily Fatigarov.
The relationship of the naval forces in the region is not at all in favor of the USA. The 7. Fleet, led by the aircraft carrier "Ronald Reagan", has three nuclear-powered submarines, three cruisers and eight destroyers. If you count all ships, there are a total of about fifty ships and boats. Russia and China have the aircraft carrier Liaoning, the cruiser Varyag, 25 destroyers, 22 frigates and 16 nuclear-powered submarines, including the latest K-573 Novosibirsk.
"The joint association of the Russian and Chinese Pacific fleets surpasses everything there is there as a whole - Japan, the USA, Korea and other countries that support them. In this situation, of course, we have the upper hand. In addition, we must be aware that there is also a coastal association that has a defense system, especially in China. They have developed hypersonic missiles that can hit any aircraft carrier group in the USA at hypersonic speed, and there is no escape from them," says military expert and head of the Center for the Study of Military and Political Conflicts Andrej Klintsevitsch.
Even if this has not been officially announced anywhere, the synchronicity of the actions of Moscow and Beijing is remarkable. On the one hand, the Chinese maneuvers are unprecedented in their power, because they are a response to the aggressive actions of the West - for example, to the visit of the Taiwanese head of state to the USA, which represented another provocation. On the other hand, there are Russian naval maneuvers. And all this happens at the same time as the visit of Chinese Defense Secretary Li Shangfu, the general who has been under US sanctions for five years. The general's arrival in Moscow seems to be a clear signal for Washington. The Chinese minister arrived at the defense control center at the Frunsenskaja dam on the third day of his visit.
Russia and China now carry out joint maneuvers much more often. In the second half of 2021 alone, the Chinese People's Liberation Army and the Russian army met at least three times for joint maneuvers. Last year, China and Russia conducted naval exercises in the East China Sea, joint sea patrols in the Pacific Ocean and air patrols over the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the western Pacific.
End of translation
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