Naval News Today
China’s new naval base triggers US concerns
China’s new underground nuclear submarine base close to vital sea lanes in Southeast Asia has raised US concerns, with experts calling for a shoring up of alliances in the region to check Beijing’s growing military clout.
The base’s existence on the southern tip of Hainan Island was confirmed for the first time by high resolution satellite images, according to Jane’s Intelligence Review, a respected defence periodical, this month.
It could hold up to 20 submarines, including a new type of nuclear ballistic missile submarine, and future Chinese aircraft carrier battle groups, posing a challenge to longstanding US military dominance in Asia.
China should not pursue such “high-end military options,” warned Admiral Timothy Keating, the top commander of US forces in Asia, in an interview with the Voice of America last week.
He underlined America’s “firm intention” not to abandon its dominating military role in the Pacific and told Beijing it would face “sure defeat” if it took on the United States militarily.
Aircraft carrier Reagan to start 6-month deployment May 19
The aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan will leave May 19 for a six-month deployment with its air wing and five San Diego-based escort ships.
More than 7,000 sailors are scheduled to deploy. While the Navy typically doesn’t reveal the destinations of its carrier strike groups, the deployments usually include time in the Persian Gulf.
The Reagan, the newest of the Navy’s nine Nimitz-class carriers, will be accompanied by the cruiser Chancellorsville, the frigate Thach and the destroyers Decatur, Gridley and Howard.
As ice melts, N. Command eyes Arctic patrols
As the Arctic ice cap shrinks, the Pentagon is eyeing the expanding navigable waters as possible entry points for security threats that must be monitored more closely, the chief of the U.S. Northern Command told The Associated Press.
Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart also said in an interview that defense officials are working with the Federal Aviation Administration and Canadian authorities to determine how unmanned aircraft can be used to monitor the northern border without interfering with busy commercial air traffic routes.
In North Dakota, the Grand Forks Air Force Base is expecting to receive at least one drone that will be used by the U.S. Border Patrol, said Tech Sgt. Joseph Kapinos, a base spokesman. No arrival date has been set, he said.
“That’s not really military. We’re just in a support role,” Kapinos said. “The base itself is expected to get Predators in the future, but that date has not been nailed down.”
Canada announces 20-year plan to rebuild military
The initiative will include major combat fleet replacements of surface combat ships, maritime patrol craft, fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft, fighter aircraft, and land combat vehicles and systems.
Canada will also increase its troop numbers to 70,000 regular soldiers and 30,000 reservists, for a total increase of 11,000 troops.
“If you want to be taken seriously in the world, you need the capacity to act — it’s that simple,” said Harper.
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Bio: I currently teach security studies at the graduate level, hold a BS in management and a MA in national security studies, and am pursuing a MA in systematic and philosophical theology. I've written for Navy Times, Proceedings, Armed Forces Journal and a number of blogs. As a 24-year veteran of the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserve, I attained the rank of Commander, deployed five times for four different conflicts and served as a Foreign Area Officer and a Surface Warfare Officer. During my seven years in the private sector, I worked in the fields of information technology and publishing, and even ran for public office once.
