Leavenworth Strategist

Australia, US to Invite China to War Games

By Phil Mercer (VOA)
Sydney
03 September 2009

Australia and the United States will invite China to take part in joint military exercises to help ease fears about an arms race in the Asia-Pacific region.

Ties between Australia and China have been strained over concerns about Beijing's military expansion and the precarious nature of trade negotiations.

As a way of soothing tensions, Australian and U.S. defense officials have agreed to approach the Chinese about taking part in joint military exercises.

Admiral Timothy Keating, the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, told a Sydney newspaper that talks with Beijing were a positive sign that China was willing to cooperate in the plan. Keating also expressed hope that any joint exercise would help the U.S. and its allies better understand China's reasons for boosting its weapons capabilities...

Chinese navy again escorts Taiwan ship off Somalia

By Wang Hui (chinadaily.com.cn)
The Chinese navy Wednesday began a 550-nautical-mile escort mission for a Taiwan ship and four other ships through Somali waters to protect them against pirate attacks.

They were expected to reach the east estuary of Bab-el-Mandeb (or Mandeb Strait) Friday. Bab-el-Mandeb, which literally means, the "Gate of Tears", is where the Red Sea meets the Arabian Sea, and despite being very difficult to navigate, it is among the busiest shipping channels in the world.

PLA Navy expands its horizons in Somalia mission

(China Daily) After returning from China's first anti-piracy mission yesterday, fleet commander Rear Admiral Du Jingchen admitted he had more on his mind than battling hijackers during his four-month tour off the coast of Somalia.

The highly experienced officer led three ships from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy as part of a multinational taskforce formed to stop bandits targeting merchant ships on major trade routes.

But for Rear Admiral Du, the voyage also provided a rare opportunity to test the Chinese facilities, weapons and support functions to the full, as well as open the door for military-based diplomacy on the open sea...

China begins anti-piracy mission

(BBC) Three Chinese naval ships have set sail for waters off Somalia to protect Chinese vessels from pirate attacks.

Two destroyers and a supply ship left the port of Sanya on Hainan island to join warships from other nations already patrolling the area.

It will be the Chinese navy's first operation beyond the Pacific.

There have been more than 100 pirate attacks this year off Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest sea lanes.

China to Aid in Fighting Somali Pirates

By Maureen Fan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, December 18, 2008; A20

BEIJING, Dec. 18 -- As international forces rescued a hijacked Chinese ship from Somali pirates Wednesday, state news media reports said China planned to send a naval fleet to fight pirates in the Gulf of Aden and Somali waters.

An unnamed military source told the state-run English-language China Daily that the operation would be "a significant peacekeeping mission," but a National Defense University professor of military strategy told The Washington Post it would be the first time China has taken part in a "battle task."