Sunday, May 10, 2015

PLA Digest - March 2015

A bit late, here is the PLA Digest for March 2015

Chinese army investigates more generals
Source: Xinhua; (DoP): March 2, 2015
The Chinese military authority released a list of 14 generals who have been investigated or convicted in the recent days.
Guo Zhenggang, deputy political commissar of the Zhejiang provincial military command, was put under investigation by the military procuratorate in February for suspected ‘serious legal violations and criminal offenses’.
Zhu Heping, head of the Joint Logistics Department of the Chengdu Military Area Command (MAC) was put under investigation in August 2014 for suspected ‘serious disciplinary violations’ and was transferred to the military judicial organ in January.
Wang Aiguo, former head of the Joint Logistics Department of the Shenyang Military Area Command; Huang Xianjun, former head of the political department of Shanxi provincial military command; Duan Tianjie, deputy head of the political department of the National Defense University; Yuan Shijun, former commander of Hubei provincial military command; and Huang Xing, former head of the research guidance department of the Academy of Military Sciences, have all been put under investigation for suspected ‘serious disciplinary violations’ and their cases have been transferred to the military judicial organ.

China investigates second top officer for graft
Source: Reuters, (DoP): March 2, 2015
China is investigating a second former top military officer on suspicion of corruption, two independent sources told Reuters, as President Xi Jinping widens his campaign against deep-rooted graft in the country. Guo Boxiong, 72, was a vice chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC) until he stepped down in 2012. Another former vice chairman, Xu Caihou, was put under investigation last year for corruption. Before their retirement, the men had been two of China's top military officers who served together under Xi's predecessor, Hu Jintao. Xi was also a vice chairman with Guo and Xu from 2010-2012, before he became head of the party and military commission chief.

PLA confirms graft investigations into 14 officials
Source: South China Morning Post, (DoP): March 3, 2015
Speculation grows over fate of former CMC vice-chairman as the military confirms his son is among the senior figures being investigated.
The PLA has announced official investigations into 14 senior military officials, including the son of Guo Boxiong, a former vice-chairman of the powerful CMC.
Guo Zhenggang, the newly promoted deputy political commissar of the Zhejiang Provincial Military Command, was being investigated on suspicion of ‘serious violations of law’ - a euphemism for graft - The PLA Daily newspaper said on its microblog.

Peng Guangqian
Western ideology, market economy to blame for military corruption, says PLA official
Source: South China Morning Post, (DoP): March 3, 2015
A Chinese military official, in a scathing commentary, has blamed ‘Western ideology and the market economy’ for ensnaring officials and corrupting their values amid a ramped-up anti-graft drive in the nation’s military.
The opinion article penned by commentator and military cadre Peng Guangqian was published today in The Global Times, a newspaper affiliated with the Communist Party’s mouthpiece People’s Daily.
“In the face of the tide of market economy and Western ideology’s delusions, some of our military officials have failed to stand the test,” said Peng, a civilian military cadre of PLA who holds the rank equivalent to major general.

Baidu chief wants Chinese military to back artificial intelligence project
Source: South China Morning Post, (DoP): March 3, 2015
Robin Li Yanhong, the founder and chief executive of online search giant Baidu, is looking to the nation's military to support efforts which may make the mainland the world leader in developing artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
One of the country's wealthiest people, Li proposed in his capacity as a delegate to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) that the mainland establish the ‘China Brain’ project.


Second group of PLA officers probed
Source: China Daily, (DoP) March 3, 2015
China's anti-corruption campaign took another step forward in the PLA as a second group of 14 formerly high and well-connected officers were placed under investigation, according to an announcement by the military.
Investigation of the first group of military officers, in 2014, was announced in January and involved 16 individuals.
The latest move follows the call of President Xi Jinping, who also heads the CMC, to ‘cleanse the influence’ of Xu Caihou, a former three-star general and vice-chairman of the commission. He held the highest rank of the officers to face investigation in 2014.

Chinese military holds presentations on 'Chinese dream'
Source: Xinhua, (DoP): March 4, 2015
The PLA held presentations that showcased activities featuring the relations of the Chinese dream, a strong army and the dreams of servicemen.
More than 2 million members of the PLA and armed forces joined activities in 2014, which included 9,000 speech contests, according to a statement from the General Political Department of the PLA.
Representatives of soldiers and officers, and 13 military units which stood out in the activities, delivered presentations in the form of stories and speeches on the pursuit of dreams.

Major General Xing Yunming
Chinese military intelligence chief Xing Yunming held in graft inquiry
Source: South China Morning Post, (DoP): March 4, 2015
PLA graft-busters detain the former head of the overseas espionage agency, Major General Xing Yunming who has been arrested by military graft-busters. The chief of a Chinese military intelligence agency is under investigation for alleged corruption, just before the Lunar New Year, according to two independent sources.
Major General Xing Yunming, the former liaison office head of the PLA's General Political Department, was taken away by the army's anti-graft watchdog on February 17.
He was in charge of overseas espionage and is better known to the West as the vice-chairman of the government-backed China Association for International Friendly Contact.

Shanghai police train with 'bendable guns' that can shoot around corners
Source: South China Morning Post, (DoP): March 5, 2015
Photos released by Shanghai police show the city's SWAT team training with ‘bendable guns’ which allow the operator to see and shoot around corners.
The weapons have previously been rolled out to a number of other Chinese police forces, including in Beijing, Guangzhou and Xinjiang, where six ‘militants’ were shot dead by police in January amid increasing unrest in the majority Uyghur semi-autonomous region.

China's CJ-10 cruise missile is officially renamed DF-10
Source: WantChinaTimes (Taiwan), (DoP): March 5, 2015
The Second Artillery Corps, China's strategic missile force, recently changed the name of its Changjiang-10 or CJ-10 land-based cruise missile to the Dongfeng-10 or DF-10, the Sina Military Network based in Beijing reported on Mar. 4.
With an attack range of between 1,500 to 2,500 km, the DF-10 is designed particularly to strike at US carrier battle groups in the Western Pacific. The official Chinese media claimed that a single warhead carried by a DF-10 missile can sink a 10,000-ton vessel. The missile captured the attention of military experts around the world after its first public appearance in the military parade held in 2009 to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Confusion Over Pakistan-Chinese JF-17 Fighter's Engine Selection
Source DefenceNews.com, (DoP): March 5, 2015
There seems to be confusion over the engine choice of the Chinese-Pakistan jointly manufactured JF-17 fighter aircraft.
A report in Want China Times quoting a Moscow based publication states that the JF-17 Thunder aircraft is likely to be equipped with Snecma’s M88-2 engine. M88-2 currently powers Rafale twin-engine fighter designed by Dassault for the French Air Force.
However earlier reports by a Pakistani newspaper, Express Tribune reported that Pakistan will be importing engines from Russia directly following an NOC from China. Currently, the fighter is equipped with Russian origin engines.
“Pakistan was importing engines via China earlier. China has recently issued a no objection certificate (NOC) to Pakistan. Both the nations were earlier producing the fighter as a joint venture,” The Express Tribune Daily reported on 14 February.

China's military leaders pledge to uphold ‘Four Comprehensives’
Source: Xinhua, (DoP): March 6, 2015
China's military leaders vowed to fully implement the strategic layout of ‘Four Comprehensives’ put forward by President Xi Jinping and build strong armed forces at the ongoing national legislative session.
Joining panel discussions with military deputies to the National People's Congress, senior commanders pledged that the armed forces will work according to the strategy of comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society, deepening reform, advancing the rule of law and strictly governing the Party.
CMC’s Vice Chairman Fan Changlong said: “The armed forces will upgrade combat training, push forward the reform and discipline all soldiers and servicemen.”

Senior PLA military strategist ‘leaked state secrets, helped rebels in Myanmar’
Source: South China Morning Post, (DoP): March 6, 2015
A senior PLA strategist will face a military court on fraud charges that sources say are a cover for the officer's alleged leak of state secrets to armed rebels in Myanmar.
Major General Huang Xing, the former head of the research guidance department at the Chinese Academy of Military Science, was detained for ‘serious disciplinary violations’ earlier this year, a phrase often used by the Communist Party to refer to alleged corruption.
He was among the 14 generals The PLA Daily announced on Monday had been detained over the last two months for alleged graft or related crimes.

Incomplete Transformation: PLA Joint Training and Warfighting Capabilities

Source: China Brief of the Jamestown Foundation, (DoP): March 6, 2015
Western assessments of the PLA’s capabilities and ongoing transformation often fail to analyze two critical areas of concern to the PLA development of new operational methods (operational art and tactics) and required improvements in joint training. While the PLA is transitioning from coordinated to integrated joint operations, it recognizes inadequacies in joint training inhibiting the process that require reforms, including improved joint tactical training, updated joint courses and better instructors at military educational institutes, rigorous training evaluation, integration of operational plan requirements into training, new standardized joint training regulations, among others.

News Analysis: China's defense budget increase poses no threat to other states: experts
Source: Xinhua, (DoP): March 8, 2015
China unveiled a 10.1% rise in its national defense budget in 2015, but Egyptian political and military experts say that the increase does not pose any threat to other countries.
Mohamed Abdel-Wahhab al-Saket, a former Arab League ambassador to China told Xinhua that China's peaceful development policy requires military protection, especially amid the growing tensions and terrorist activities in many parts of the world, noting that China is among the big countries with the lowest annual military budget increase in the world.
The announcement of the Chinese new military budget came right ahead of the Third Session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC), confirming what NPC spokeswoman Fu Ying told reporters a day earlier.
"It is just a 10% growth in China's military budget, which is a normal and reasonable increase compared with the American, the European and the NATO military spending, etc," said the ex-diplomat, also member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs.

Developing Battlefields for Future Warfare in Different Spaces
Source: Study Times, (DoP): March 9, 2015
The Study Times published an article discussing how to develop the capability to build and enhance the battlefields for future warfare that may take place in different spaces.
Outer Space: Send more military satellites to occupy the diminishing number of space orbit tracks and spectrums, develop outer space battle and support exercises, and, in particular, develop a multi-approach space surveillance system for space threat warnings.
The Internet: In addition to developing infrastructure, there is a need to develop the Internet surveillance capability, create a global Internet map, establish attacking positions for global network warfare, and develop strategic preparations for large-scale network warfare.
The North and South Poles: Increase research activities in the polar areas and gradually build the polar bases’ infrastructure.
Deep-Sea Space: Build deep-sea exploration equipment and deep-sea research centers; create a deep-sea military and establish surveillance bases; deploy deep-sea weapons; improve the capability of deep-sea communication, supply, repair, and rescue.
Underground Space: Improve the protective camouflage system and also improve the underground construction capabilities.

Liaoning aircraft carrier
China Is Building Its Second Aircraft Carrier
Source: People’s Daily, (DoP): March 9, 2015
The People’s Daily recently reported that some senior Army generals confirmed that a fully China-made aircraft carrier is about to be completed soon. The new aircraft carrier will be much more advanced than the current aircraft carrier named Liaoning, which was only partially made in China.
Navy General Ding Haizhong stated that the Chinese Navy will get into exercises with the new ship as soon as it is delivered. The catapult technology used onboard the new carrier is considered very competitive even with the U.S. aircraft carriers.
Navy Admiral Liu Xiaojiang said the construction process is very sophisticated, so it may not be delivered in 2015. When asked how many aircraft carriers the Chinese Navy needs, Liu Xiaojiang expressed his opinion, saying, ‘the more, the better’. Some experts speculated that the total number planned was six carriers. Liu emphasized that staffing the aircraft carriers with enough qualified pilots is very challenging.

J-20s
Two J-20 prototypes seen on test flights in Chengdu
Source: WantChinaTimes (Taiwan), (DoP): March 10, 2015
Two prototypes of China's J-20 stealth fighter were photographed carrying out test flights in Chengdu recently, reports the Shanghai-based Guancha Syndicate.
The prototypes, 2013, 2015, are said to be installed with new avionics developed by Aviation Industry Corporation of China's Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group. Its chief designer Pu Xiaobo said the system he created has an open framework that builds on an unified optical interconnect module. The system has comprehensive features covering navigation, detection, identification, attack, management and pilots' health management. It also integrates flight management systems, electronics and aviation electronics, which will ensure the fighter jet can carry out a mission safely and the systems are able to share their resources with each other

Chinese military delegation starts 3-European nations visit
Source: China Military Online, (DoP): March 10, 2015
A 6-member PLA delegation left Beijing for an official visit to the Czech Republic, Romania and the Republic of Poland at the invitation of the militaries of these three countries.
The delegation is headed by Admiral Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of general staff of the PLA.
Thier entourage includes Lieut. General Peng Yong, commander of the PLA Xinjiang Military Command and Lieut. General Huang Guoxian, deputy commander of the PLA Nanjing Military Area Command (MAC) and commander of the air force of the Nanjing MAC.
[Note: General Peng Yong is commanding the sector opposite the Indian troops in Ladakh]

Roads in Tibet
All frontier defense units in Tibet to be reached by highways
Source: China Military Online, (DoP): March 10, 2105
The highways leading to six frontier defense units in Tibet has been under construction, according to relevant departments of the PLA’s Chengdu MAC. The six frontier defense troop units are the last ones in the Tibet Military Command which haven't no access to the highways.
Many frontier defense companies and sentry posts in Tibet are stationed in forests, valleys or in snowy mountains, it is very difficult and costly to build highways in
During 15 years from the 9th Five-Year Plan Period to the 11th Five-Year Plan Period, the Chinese government and the military continuously increased investment in the construction of frontier defense installations, as a result, the number of frontier defense units in Tibet without traffic has decreased to 6 from 19.
The construction of the six highways which started successively in 2014 is scheduled to be completed this year.

PLA delegates support ongoing anti-graft efforts
Source: Global Times, (DoP): March 10, 2015
Military representatives attending the ongoing annual legislative (NPC) and political advisory (CPPCC) sessions have expressed their support and confidence in the sweeping crackdown against corruption within the armed forces.
Shortly before the nation's two sessions started, a list of 14 senior military officers was announced on March 3, all of them placed under investigation over corruption charges.

Corrupt PLA cadres treating performance troupes like 'harems'
Source: WantChinaTimes (Taiwan), (DoP): March 11, 2015
Weak-willed cadres of the PLA are treating performance troupes like their own personal ‘harems’, says Communist history writer Cai Xiaoxin.
In an exclusive interview with Sichuan-based Honesty Outlook magazine, Cai, the son of revolutionary Communist major-general Cai Zhangyuan, said one of the areas in need of desperate reform is the PLA's performance troupes, who are tasked with boosting the morale of soldiers through singing and performances.
Cai said he believes the troupes serve an important purpose, but members require strong discipline and sacrifice to perform given the constant traveling, often to remote areas, and the need to maintain secrecy so as to not give away details about the stationing of military personnel.
However, the troupes have been prone corruption scandals, with some cadres abusing their power in the selection process to pick performers for personal reasons as opposed to the best interests of the PLA, Cai said.


China's Xi calls for closer civil-military integration to boost army combativeness
Source: Xinhua, (DoP): March 12, 2015
Chinese President Xi Jinping called to strengthen China's national defense and the combativeness of its armed forces, by greater civil-military integration.
Xi made the remarks while joining a plenary meeting of the PLA delegation at the ongoing legislative session. The armed forces should fully implement the strategic layout of ‘Four Comprehensives’ and the development strategy of civil-military integration in order to break new grounds in the PLA's capability building, Xi said.

General Gu Junshan
Disgraced former PLA officer purchased his way to the top
Source: WantChinaTimes (Taiwan), (DoP) March 13, 2015
Details of the corrupt deeds of China's disgraced ex-military heavyweights have gradually been revealed as authorities proceed with their investigation. The latest evidence shows that Gu Junshan, former deputy director of the PLA's General Logistics Department, had paid his way up.
Gu's promotion came unusually fast after he started working for the logistics department in late 2000s. He was promoted five ranks within eight years until he scored the post of lieutenant-general in July 2011. He has earned more than 30 billion yuan (US$4.8 billion) through graft and was supported by Xu Caihou, former CMC’s vice chairman.
Gu even shared with Xu his mistress Tang Can, a former artist dubbed the ‘PLA's top mistress’ who is now reportedly being jailed for several indictments including sexual bribery.

Breaking rank: military graft no longer taboo topic in China
Source: South China Morning Post, (DoP): March 14, 2015
In a departure from previous years, military corruption is being discussed at the parliamentary sessions in Beijing, with several PLA delegates conducting high-profile media interviews describing examples of misconduct in striking detail.
Avoiding the topic completely would have been a challenge given the widening scope of the crackdown, which has claimed dozens of leading officers in recent months. On March 2, three days before the sessions opened, the defence ministry named 14 generals who were either under investigation or had been convicted of graft.

Xu was expelled from the Communist Party in June.
Source: South China Morning Post, (DoP): March 16, 2015
The drive to stamp out corruption is in fact a bid by the Communist Party under Xi to reassert control over the military. This arises from Xi's experience as a vice-chairman of the CMC, under his predecessor Hu Jintao, by all accounts a weak chairman, when fellow vice-chairmen Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong exercised control, including over key staff appointments. As a result, corruption gathered momentum from top to bottom of the army.

Retired PLA general 'ashamed and scared' by corruption in China's military
Source: South China Morning Post, (DoP): March 16, 2015
Fighting capability compromised by the greed of many at the top, warns retired Luo Yuan, who likens problem to Qing dynasty's downfall
A hawkish retired PLA major general said he felt ‘a burning shame’ and was ‘scared’ at the number of top brass suspected of corruption.
"How come so many greedy guys get promoted to the top level? Are they qualified and capable of commanding an army to fight battles?" asked Luo Yuan in an interview with the South China Morning Post.
"The fighting capability of an army would be compromised as no soldier would fight for corrupt leaders … [they] would definitely disobey superiors who were promoted due to bribes," he added.

China Becomes the Third Largest Arms Exporter
Source: BBC Chinese, (DoP): March 16, 2015
BBC Chinese recently reported the results of research data released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). According to SIPRI, between 2010 and 2014, China surpassed Germany, France, and Great Britain in the international arms market to become the world's third largest arms exporter. China's current share of the world arms market is five percent. Two thirds of its exports were to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. China's customers also included 18 African countries. During the five-year period from 2010 to 2014, the Chinese arms export volume increased by 143 percent, compared to the previous five-year period. In the meantime, Germany's exports saw a decrease of 43 percent, while France decreased by 27 percent. The United States remains the largest arms exporter and Russia remains the second, holding 31 percent and 27 percent of the world market, respectively.

Former Chinese general Xu Caihou dies of cancer
Source: South China Morning Post, (DoP): March 17, 2015
Disgraced former PLA No 2 Xu Caihou died of bladder cancer. He was 71.
Xu, a former CMC’ vice-chairman, was facing prosecution for corruption after coming under investigation last year. He was the most senior PLA general to be probed for graft.
Xinhua said military prosecutors had decided to drop the charges against the general, but would continue to process his alleged illicit financial gains in accordance with the law.

Troops in special operation training
Source: China Military Online, (DoP): March 17, 2015
A PLA battalion stationed in the Tibet Autonomous Region maneuvered to a comprehensive training base in southwest China's Yunnan Province to conduct training on special operations subjects on March 15, 2015.

FBI investigates claims of possible Chinese military link to cyber attacks
Source: Reuters, (DoP): March 19, 2015
British sources said that hackers accessed network of Register.com, which manages more than 2.5 million domain names and offers web management services.
The FBI is looking into whether the Chinese military was involved in a cyber attack on Register.com, a unit of internet services company Web.com, a British newspaper reported.
The Financial Times, citing sources familiar with the inquiry, said the hackers had apparently had access to Register.com’s network for about a year.
However, the newspaper reported that the attack did not disrupt or result in theft of client data.

As China Prospers, the Military Recruiter’s Job Gets Harder
Source: New York Times, (DoP): March 20, 2015
Who could possibly bemoan rising prosperity, greater economic freedom, a declining birthrate and increasing university enrollment?
Perhaps a Chinese military recruiter. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a career in the PLA is becoming less attractive for talented young people, even as the country’s armed forces are increasingly in need of educated soldiers, sailors and airmen to operate its rapidly growing arsenal of advanced weapons.
Working against the military is the country’s one-child policy, now well into its third decade, which has led to a generation of only children in China’s cities who have a variety of career choices other than a rigorous soldier’s life.

China's self-made single crystal blade ready for aviation use
Source: WantChinaTimes (Taiwan), (DoP) March 23, 2015
China has made a significant breakthrough on the development of the blades used in aircraft engines. The technology can be applied to other new models for military use, reports the Chinese-language Guancha Syndicate.
According to China Aviation News, Southern China Aviation Industry Aviation Industry Group, affiliated with China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC), announced the results of the advanced single crystal blade development on March 18.
A blade to an aviation engine is like a major organ to the human body. As aircraft models evolved, the development of blades has gradually shifted to a single crystal blade, which in China was previously purchased from overseas.
The first prototype production passed examinations and the yield rate was 40% higher than those outsourced from overseas, the report said.

PLA to relax cellphone regulations
Source: China Daily, (DoP): March 23, 2015
The PLA will loosen its tight controls on the use of cellphones by service members, the PLA General Staff Headquarters.
Issues pertaining to cellphone use by personnel of the PLA have attracted a lot of attention and are a difficult problem in service members' management, the statement said in announcing the revisions.
"Along with the evolution of information technology, service members' demand for information has grown," the statement said. "Responding to this situation, we will make some changes to the current stipulations on the use of cellphones to meet service members' reasonable needs."
In addition, rules governing PLA members' use of the Internet and uniform code for civilian personnel will also be adjusted. The revisions are part of the PLA's ongoing efforts to update three regulations that govern service members' conduct and discipline. The updated versions will take effect next year.

Lanzhou MAC conducts intensive training for chiefs of staff at six levels
Source: Xinhua, (DoP): March 24, 2015
The Lanzhou MAC of the PLA launched an intensive training for its chiefs of staff at six levels in a comprehensive training base at the foot of the Helan Mountains in mid March of 2015.
Nearly 200 chiefs of staff from troops at different levels from the MAC to divisions, brigades and regiments participated in the training.
During the three-day intensive training, the training and examination subjects were fully arranged for all participants from 8 am to 9 pm every day, except the lunch breaks.
Classified into two levels, namely, campaign and tactical levels, the training contents also included examination contents to test chiefs of staff's planning and command capabilities.
The intensive training aimed to upgrade the capability and quality of all chiefs of staff of the Lanzhou MAC and improve the overall construction for the command headquarters under the MAC. This is the largest intensive training for chiefs of staff in scale organized by the Lanzhou MAC.

PLA builds military 'Taobao'
Source: Chinadaily.com.cn, (DoP): March 26, 2015
The Chinese PLA is building a military-version of Taobao, China's largest online shopping website, in an effort to cut costs and improve efficiency in procurement.
The military online shopping mall will come online in the second half of this year, said The PLA Daily. The general logistics department and its Beijing subordinate units will use the service first before the rest of the army.
The service, which is modeled after commercial shopping websites, is based on the information networks of the PLA.
The service will be open to bidding from potential suppliers to provide diversified items. Officers and soldiers can buy computers, office equipment, and other daily goods on the shopping website after it is put into use, said the report.

PLA bribery probe to continue
Source: China Daily, (DoP): March 27, 2015
Investigations into suspects who had connections with Xu Caihou - the former No 2 military official who died of cancer this mont while facing a corruption probe - will continue to the end, a Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman said.
The remarks from ministry spokesman Geng Yansheng dispel suspicions that the death of Xu might hinder investigation into the sprawling wrongdoings centered around him and others.

SAF cavalrymen patrol on horseback
Source: China Military Online, (DoP): March 27, 2015
Due to the limitation of special geographical conditions, officers and soldiers of a cavalry company of the Second Artillery Force (SAF) of the PLA have to carry out guard and patrol missions by a traditional way of riding horses, an ancient patrol way in the Iron Age. This cavalry company is honored as the ‘Plateau Cavalry’.

Chinese Navy Commander meets Pakistani counterpart
Source: China Military Online, (DoP): March 26, 2015
Admiral Wu Shengli, commander of the Navy of the Chinese PLA (PLAN), met with Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah, chief of naval staff of Pakistan, in Beijing on March 25.
Wu Shengli said China and Pakistan are all-weather strategic partners. The navies of China and Pakistan have been always maintaining close contacts and keeping pragmatic cooperation in fields including exchange of visits, joint exercises, personnel training and anti-terrorism, said Wu, adding that since 2007, the PLAN has participated in the ‘Peace’ series multinational joint maritime exercises sponsored by the Pakistani navy for four times.
He hoped that the two navies can strengthen exchange and cooperation in fields including anti-terrorism, anti-piracy, disposal of dangerous goods, search and rescue, and humanitarian rescue and disaster reduction, so as to upgrade the joint operation capabilities of the two navies to the maximum extent.
As for the personnel training, the PLAN Commander expected the two navies to hold more exchange activities between naval colleges and young officers such as dispatching midshipmen to each other's naval colleges for on-campus training and having exchange of visits paid by young officers during the navigation.

General  Fan Changlong and Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah
China vows anti-terror cooperation with Pakistan
Source: China Daily, (DoP) March 27, 2015
China is willing to deepen cooperation with Pakistan in anti-terrorism, maritime security and military technology.
The pledge was made by CMC’s Vice Chairman Fan Changlong during his meeting with the Chief of Naval Staff of Pakistan Muhammad Zakaullah in Beijing.
China has supported Pakistan on its state construction and army building, said Fan, adding that China hopes to enhance coordination and cooperation with Pakistan on regional security affairs.
China will work with Pakistan to push forward the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor within the framework of China's ‘Belt and Road’ initiatives and build a community of shared destiny, said Fan.


Communist Propaganda of The Day: Can't tell them apart
Source: The China Post (Taiwan), March 30, 2015
The Taiwanese Army Command Headquarters said that it has ordered the immediate removal of a controversial Army recruitment poster and is conducting internal discussions to determine the proper punishment for personnel responsible for creating the poster.
According to the Chinese-language Apple Daily, a reader revealed a controversial poster and claimed that the poster was found during a family reunion day at the 206th Army Infantry Brigade located in Guanxi Township, Hsinchu County.
Reportedly, the poster in question is a recruitment poster for the Republic of China Army (R.O.C.A.) seeking to draft full-time soldiers. However, the Apple Daily reader reportedly noticed that the servicemen on the poster were PLA (PLA) soldiers from mainland China, and not from Taiwan.

Chinese army urged to implement ‘Four Comprehensives’

Source: Xinhua, (DoP): March 30, 2015
A Chinese military leader has urged the army to learn and implement the strategic layout of the ‘Four Comprehensives’ put forward by President Xi Jinping and improve ideological and political work.
During an inspection trip to the PLA troops in Hebei and Shanxi provinces, CMC’s Vice Chairman Xu Qiliang said learning and implementing the ‘Four Comprehensives’ is a major political task for the army.
Xu also urged the army to study CMC’s Chairman Xi Jinping's speeches on national defence and military building and to resolutely follow the central leadership and Xi.
these places with adverse terrain conditions . Without highways, it is a headache for the frontier defense troops to hold maneuvers, replenish materials and have a vacation leave.

To read The PLA Digest - February 2015, click here...

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