China’s espionage facilities at sea

[rock45]

China’s espionage facilities at sea
By Andrei Chang
Column: Military Might
Published: October 02, 2008



Hong Kong, China — For some time China has been constructing large-scale underground nuclear submarine facilities on its southernhttp://www.upiasia.com/columnist/chinas_espionage_facilities_at_sea/ island of Hainan. At the same time, the PLA Navy and Air Force have dramatically reinforced their military structures on the Xisha Islands – known in the West as the Paracel Islands – located in the South China Sea off the coast of Vietnam.

The largest military airport in the South China Sea and a super signal and intelligence monitoring station have already been completed on thehttp://www.upiasia.com/columnist/chinas_espionage_facilities_at_sea/ islands. Recent satellite photos show that the antennas of this intelligence station and related facilities occupy almost the whole of a smallhttp://www.upiasia.com/columnist/chinas_espionage_facilities_at_sea/ island adjacent to Woody Island, where the airporthttp://www.upiasia.com/columnist/chinas_espionage_facilities_at_sea/ is located. An artificial causeway has been constructed to connect these twohttp://www.upiasia.com/columnist/chinas_espionage_facilities_at_sea/ islands.
The photos show the smallerhttp://www.upiasia.com/columnist/chinas_espionage_facilities_at_sea/ island dotted with a mass of radar antennas. Several large vertical high-frequency monitoring antennas are in evidence, which could cover virtually the whole of the South China Sea, all the territory of Vietnam and the Philippines and even high-frequency signals from Malaysia. In addition there are at least two radar signal detectors and receivers.
Alongside these antennas, four bungalow-shaped structures have been built, apparently used for recording and processing signal intelligence. Judging from the types of antennas deployed on thishttp://www.upiasia.com/columnist/chinas_espionage_facilities_at_sea/ island, ithttp://www.upiasia.com/columnist/chinas_espionage_facilities_at_sea/ is clear that they are used for the acquisition of both radio and radar wave intelligence.
The immense scale of these listening facilities suggests that this basehttp://www.upiasia.com/columnist/chinas_espionage_facilities_at_sea/ is most likely under the jurisdiction of the No. 3 and No. 4 Departments under the PLA Headquarters of the General Staff. The No. 3 Departmenthttp://www.upiasia.com/columnist/chinas_espionage_facilities_at_sea/ is responsible for the collection and analysis of wireless intelligence, while the No.4 Department takes charge of the collection and processing of electronic confrontation and radar wave intelligence. These two departments were established in 1973 after the Fourth Arab-Israeli War.
The airport on Woody Island in the Paracels has undergone considerable revamping and reconstruction. Its runway has been extended to 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) and can handle landings by any of the third-generation combat fighters currently in service in the PLA Air Force, including the Su-30MKK.
A radar navigation station has been built at the airport, plus four large fuel tanks. This means that China’s combat aircraft, including the J-8II, J-10A and Su-30MKK, can use this airport as a forward deployment base for refueling while on combat missions. Four aircraft hangars have been newly built, which could be used either for servicing the aircraft when necessary or for the transfer of the fighters. Each of the hangars can accommodate two fighter aircraft.
The naval base on Woody Island has also been upgraded, including the construction of a new anti-wave dyke. The length of the dockhttp://www.upiasia.com/columnist/chinas_espionage_facilities_at_sea/ is more than 500 meters (1,640 feet), and there are no technical barriers to the anchoring of large-tonnage missile destroyers or frigates.
Facilities on thehttp://www.upiasia.com/columnist/chinas_espionage_facilities_at_sea/ island are sufficient to accommodate the daily lives of more than 1,000 people. Evidently, thishttp://www.upiasia.com/columnist/chinas_espionage_facilities_at_sea/ island has become a key comprehensive base of the PLA Navy and Air Force for the monitoring of intelligence. It seems that at least one landing craft would come each week to deliver provisions, including all types of fuel and food supplies.
China has territorial disputes in the South China Sea with Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia. A military intelligence source from Taiwan claims that since April of this year, Chinese maritime surveillance ships have made frequent appearances in the waters around the Dongsha Islands, also known as the Pratas, which are administered by Taiwan. A Southeast Asian military intelligence source also reported the sighting of at least one Chinese reconnaissance ship in the South China Sea in May.
In the event of a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait, Woody Island could be used by Chinese forces as an unsinkable aircraft carrier and an intelligence station to monitor U.S. navy warships sailing north to support Taiwan. In the event of a broader regional conflict, the combat radius of the Su-27SKs and Su-30MKKs taking off from Woody Island would allow them to cover the whole of the South China Sea, Brunei, northern Malaysia and Manila in the Philippines.
-- (Andrei Changhttp://www.upiasia.com/columnist/chinas_espionage_facilities_at_sea/ is editor-in-chief of Kanwa Defense Review Monthly, registered in Toronto, Canada.)

Link
http://www.upiasia.com/Security/2008/09/26/chinas_espionage_facilities_at_sea/3893/

 

[Lunatik]

War of the radio waves, lovely stuff.

They're catching up. We must be vigilant.

 

[rock45]

Island

I think it serves China's purpose building the runway and support facilities but it would need to be a lot bigger to be useful in war time. A sub could launch cruise missile from under water ten miles away and hit it in mere minutes so it’s a target like most any other fixed object, in it's current form.

Looking at the islands position is interesting to me because of its location it gives it value in a way. Say if two or three more runways could be built by enlarging the island more, it could turn out to be like Guam in sense, I know not the same. Chinese strike aircraft or if purchase from Russia Su-34s could be housed there. Put a few S-300 batteries and other SAMs and then make a few sub pens and your set, a permanent thorn on our side right smack in the middle of nowhere. This permanent nowhere would be in a well used path thus becoming a thorn.

Right now it doesn’t seem such a big deal but in ten or fifteen years when we’re being fighting in the pacific over the undersea oil in that region it becomes a very big deal. It’s just my personnel feeling but that’s why I think China’s looking into building or buying carries and building up their sub fleet. You can’t operate that far from your homeland bases without a blue water navy and air cover. Some may think I’m reaching a little but think about it, it’s one of the last really untapped oil regions. I think China can carry out a long term plan better then most. Ten years or so it will be Chinese oil rig/platform going up not Exxon’s in that area, hope I’m wrong.

 

[Union404]

These are interesting and ominious developments. Clearly, China is a major threat and will continue to be one for decades to come.

 

[rock45]

China

China is everywhere. There selling arms to 11 African countries now and are expanding to Venezuela with the K-8 orders. Besides the United States there the second largest oil importer feeding a economy that's growing very fast.