Japan Institute for National Fundamentals
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Speaking out

Fumio Ota

【#337】China Militarizing East China Sea As Well

Fumio Ota ／ 2015.11.18 (Wed)


November 16, 2015

　　　　　The Japan Ministry of Defense has announced the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s Dongdiao-class AGI (Auxiliary General Intelligence ship) repeated east-west passages in waters south of the Senkaku Islands on November 11 and 12. In July, the Japanese government released photos of many Chinese offshore platforms under construction in the East China Sea (see Speaking Out #317 on July 27, 2015). Late last year, reports said China had been creating a military base on Nanji Islands in Zhejiang Province facing the East China Sea.

Objectives of intelligence ship passage
　　　　　This Dongdiao-class AGI is a new intelligence vessel, commissioned in 2010. Given a large number of parabola antennas on her superstructure, it may have served for SIGINT (Signals Intelligence). One of its conceivable missions is to intercept communications. The AGI could also coordinate with OTH (Over The Horizon) Radars using HF (High Frequency) sent from continental China and reconnaissance and surveillance satellites launched one after another over recent years to effectively monitor the sea in question, developing a network with the DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile dubbed as “carrier killer.”
　　　　　But the reported repetitive east-west passages indicate that a likelier objective may have been to obtain undersea acoustic propagation and exploit the data for submarine operations. In the past, a submarine sailed almost the same passages as an AGI did. In such case, the PLA Navy may be preparing for separating the Senkaku Islands from the Southwest island chain including Okinawa. To be more specific, the PLA Navy submarines want to destroy amphibious vessels which carry U.S. Marine Corps as well as Japan Ground Self Defense Force deploying toward the Senkaku Islands. As the AGI has a function to launch not only an Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) but also probably Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV), it may have used the latter this time to obtain undersea acoustic propagation data.

Building heliport on Nanji Islands
　　　　　The PLA started heliport construction on the Nanji Islands last year. The Nanji Islands locate some 300 kilometers from the Senkakus, 50 kilometers closer than Chinese continental bases. Some people may wonder the significance of the small distance gap. Given that the combat radius of the PLA’s Z-9W and Z-19 attack helicopters is about 700 kilometers, however, the shorter distance of 300 kilometers means that these helicopters could depart from the Nanji Islands for assault operations on the Senkakus and make a safe return. In a manner to indicate such operations, the PLA has recently mobilized massive attack helicopters for assault exercises.
　　　　　While we may tend to pay attention to artificial islands where China is constructing in the South China Sea, we have to recognize that China is also making steady military preparations over the East China Sea under its sovereignty.

Fumio Ota is a JINF Planning Committee Member and retired Vice Admiral of Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force.