PACOM Releases Willard Transcript

choi

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中国新闻简讯(2010年3月27日). VOA Chinese, Mar. 27, 2010.
http://www1.voanews.com/chinese/news/china/20100327-CHINA-NEWS-BRIEF-89321277.html
("美军太平洋司令部在星期六公布了司令罗伯特·威拉德这个星期在美国国会作证的内
容")

Note:
(1) STATEMENT OF ADMIRAL ROBERT F. WILLARD, U.S. NAVY
COMMANDER U.S. PACIFIC COMMAND BEFORE THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE ON
U.S. PACIFIC COMMAND POSTURE. MARCH 24, 2010. (released by US Pacific
Command (PACOM))
http://www.pacom.mil/web/pacom_resources/pdf/Willard_Statement_SASC_032610.pdf

The principal portion of the transcript that deals with China is pp. 12-17.

"China’s leaders are pursuing an aircraft carrier capability. In 1998 China
purchased an incomplete former Soviet KUZNETSOV class aircraft carrier,
which began renovations in 2002 at its shipyard in Dalian. I expect this
carrier to become operational around 2012 and likely be used to develop
basic carrier skills.

"China is also developing a new submarine launched nuclear ballistic missile
, the JL-2, capable of ranging the western United States.

The PLA "has deployed an increasing number of upgraded
Russian SA-20 PMU 2 long range surface-to-air missile systems along the
Taiwan Strait.

My comment:
(a) In quotation 2, take note of the words "is developing" instead of "has
developed."
(b) The transcript does not have a section headlined Taiwan. Rather, at p.
15 (the portion with the headline "China") there is a heading: China’s
Ongoing “Sovereignty” Campaigns. Take note of teh quotation marks
bracketing teh word sovereignty.
(c) The transcript does not mention F-16 AND Taiwwan in the same breath (it
did mention F-16 in South Asia).

Incidentally US is to deliver 18 F-16C/Ds in the next several months.

(4) The VOA report cites

Ralph Jennings, China adding missiles near Taiwan: navy official. Reuters,
Mar. 27, 2010.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100327/wl_nm/us_taiwan_china_1


--------------Separately
(1) 五名殉职大陆“密战”人员入祀台湾忠烈祠. BBC Chinese, Mar. 26, 2010.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2010/03/100326_cold_war_warriors_by_james_lin.shtml

(2) Mark Magnier, Sunk by global warming? Wave goodbye to this disputed island. Los Angeles Times, Mar. 25, 2010.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-disappearing-island25-2010mar25,0,3895432.story

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choi

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(1) I suspect the transcript is the unclassified version.
(2) I forgot to bring this to your attention.

分析：中国航母“呼之欲出”？ BBC Chinese, Mar. 26, 2010.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/indepth/2010/03/100326_china_aircraft_carrier.shtml

My comment:
(a) The report states 目前全球拥有航母的国家包括美国、英国、法国、俄罗斯、印
度、泰国等. See the table in
Aircraft carrier
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_carrier

(b) The report quotes 美国克莱蒙特研究所的研究员林长盛 as saying "其次是航母
飞机起飞的系统问题。美国航母所使用的是弹射器助飞，而俄制航母使用的是依靠飞机
自身的动力弹跳起飞，因此对舰载飞机本身要求极高。"

(c) Russia at present has only one carrier.

Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_aircraft_carrier_Admiral_Kuznetsov
(The carrier "was intended to be the lead ship of her class, but the only
other ship of her class, Varyag, has never been commissioned and was sold to
the People's Republic of China by Ukraine under the condition she would
never be refitted for combat")

(i) The BBC report remarks: 此前有报道说，中国在1998年从俄罗斯购买了库兹涅佐
夫级别的“瓦良格号”尚未完工的俄制航母，并在中国的大连想把它打造成中国的第一
艘航母。

One of the former name of the Admiral Kuznetsov carrier was Leonid Brezhnev.
That is why BBC calls it 库兹涅佐夫级别.

(ii) "Varyag" is a Ukraine noun for "Viking."

(iii) Admiral Kuznetsov--and therefore Varyag--employs ski jump to help its
planes take off. See

Flight deck
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_deck
(the section of "Ski-jump ramp": "the Russians also used them with
conventional MiG-29s;" the advantages of ski-jump over a flat deck: use less
runway and safer; Carriers using STOVL aircraft and a ski jump ramp do not
need catapults nor arresting gear; US carriers does not have skip-jump)

In contrast, American carriers employ catapult. See
* CATOBAR
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CATOBAR
(acronym of Catapult Assisted Take Off But Arrested Recovery)

* Assisted take off
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_take_off
(catapult)

* Aircraft catapult
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aircraft_catapult
("At the beginning of the 21st century, navies started experimenting with
catapults powered by linear induction motors and electromagnets"--evolving
from (older) steam catapult)

【 在 choi 的大作中提到: 】
: 中国新闻简讯(2010年3月27日). VOA Chinese, Mar. 27, 2010.
: http://www1.voanews.com/chinese/news/china/20100327-CHINA-NEWS-BRIEF-89321277.html
: ("美军太平洋司令部在星期六公布了司令罗伯特·威拉德这个星期在美国国会作证的内
: 容")
: (以下引言省略...)

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