allies, vulnerable to a repeat of the humiliation suffered at the hands of seafaring Europeans and Japanese through the colonial period. For the first time in centuries, China is building a navy that can break out of its confined coastal waters to protect distant sea lanes and counter regional rivals.īeijing’s military strategists argue this naval punch is vital if China is to avoid being bottled up behind a barrier of U.S. They were the latest in a series of increasingly complex and powerful thrusts through the first island chain into the Pacific. Named Manoeuvre 5, these were no ordinary exercises. In official commentaries, senior People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officers boasted their navy had “dismembered” the so-called first island chain - the arc of islands enclosing China’s coastal waters, stretching from the Kuril Islands southward through the Japanese archipelago, Taiwan, the Northern Philippines and down to Borneo. Land-based bombers and surveillance aircraft also flew missions past Japan to support the navy units. The drills, pitting a “red force” against a “blue force,” were the first in this area, combining ships from China’s main south, east and north fleets, according to the Chinese military. HONG KONG, Nov 27 (Reuters) - In late October, flotillas of Chinese warships and submarines sliced through passages in the Japanese archipelago and out into the western Pacific for 15 days of war games. and Asia allies increasingly alarmed by Sino-Japan confrontation * Japan, under nationalist PM Abe, responds strongly * Japan, China in direct military competition for first time since 1945 * China becoming seagoing giant with strong navy to protect its trade * China building blue water navy that can project power beyond coasts * PLA says October naval exercises “dismember” Japan archipelago (Corrects typo in the word “defiance” in the 12th para.)
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