Based on the following articles --
"China’s Eyes in the Skies" (The Diplomat)
The PLA is in the process of creating an almost impregnable air defence system for China. Washington should take note.
The recent deployment of China's first four indigenous KJ-2000 AWACS aircraft marks an important milestone in the PLA Air Force’s long march from being a ‘numbers intensive’ low technology force, to a much more modern high technology one.
More fundamentally, though, the AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) extends China's deep and broad network of air defence Command Control Communications Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (C3ISR) systems into a key airborne area. In doing so, China is now acquiring the radar and passive early warning and air defence command, control and communications it needs to counter foreign fighters and cruise missiles.
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Once fully deployed and matured, this system will be effectively impregnable to regional air forces, and largely impregnable to US naval air power, itself the victim of chronic underinvestment. Indeed, the technology being deployed in strength by the PLA is so sophisticated that only the small planned inventory of US Air Force B-2A Spirit and F-22 Raptor aircraft will be capable of confidently penetrating a post-2015 PLA air defence network.
"China Launches Possible Spy Satellite" (UPI)
China launched a secret reconnaissance satellite with a Long March rocket Monday, the sixth satellite it has launched this year, authorities said.
The mission lifted off aboard a Long March 4C rocket from the Taiyuan launching center in northern China's Shanxi province, SPACE.com reported.
Independent tracking data showed the three-stage booster placing the satellite in an orbit about 380 miles high.
The state-run Xinhua news agency said the satellite would conduct scientific experiments, make land surveys, estimate crop yields and help respond to natural disasters.
But observers say it is likely a military high-resolution optical and radar reconnaissance satellite, SPACE.com said.
"Tensions Rise As China Launches Show Of Force" (NPR)
China's air force this week is conducting a five-day exercise involving scores of aircraft and 12,000 soldiers. Dubbed "Vanguard 2010," it is the latest sign of China flexing its muscles amid rising military tensions with the United States.
The strains — especially over operations in the South China Sea — represent a new area of dispute between China and the U.S.
China's military drills were once top secret, announced only after they were completed. But these days China's armed forces seem to want to broadcast its movements to the world.
This latest exercise is taking place in the central province of Henan and eastern province of Shandong, which abuts the Yellow Sea, and includes 100 military aircraft. It is the latest in a series of high-profile maneuvers, including naval exercises last week in the South China Sea, which were the largest of their kind.
"China Conducts Two Military Drills to Test Long-Range Striking Ability" (Oneindia News)
Chinese military conducted two exercises near the Yellow Sea on Sunday to test the troop's long-range striking precision.
On the other hand, the United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK) engaged themselves in a joint military drill that came to an end on Wednesday.
"According to the Xinhua News Agency, an army unit based at an inland province in the Jinan Military Command ferried combat forces and arms to "a coastal city" in Shandong province on Tuesday," reports China Daily.
Earlier on Tuesday, China's Central Television Station (CCTV) broadcast footage of the Nanjing Military Command testing a new long-range artillery rocket on land toward the Yellow Sea.
It is reported to be the first large-scale long-range artillery rocket drill carried out by China.
"China's Soft Power Is a Threat to the West" (ABC News)
Beijing Is Preparing to Conquer the World--Softly
China may have no intentions of using its growing military might, but that is of little comfort for Western countries. From the World Trade Organization to the United Nations, Beijing is happy to use its soft power to get what it wants -- and it is wrong-footing the West at every turn.Former Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen once told me, half with amusement and half with resignation, that military people around the world are all more or less the same. "They can only be happy when they have the most up-to-date toys," he said.
If this is true, Beijing's generals must be very happy at the moment. China has increased its military budget by 7.5 percent in 2010, making funds available for new fighter jets and more cruise missiles. Beijing's military buildup is a source of concern for Western experts, even though the US's military budget is about eight times larger. Some feel that China poses a threat to East Asia, while others are even convinced that Beijing is preparing to conquer the world militarily.
-- it's not at all surprising that China is beginning to throw its weight around and feeling confident enough to directly challenge its number one rival, like so:
"China PLA Warns U.S. Over Fresh Military Drill in Region" (Reuters)
BEIJING – China's People Liberation Army demanded a tough response to U.S. plans to send an aircraft carrier to naval exercises near its coast, saying that "respect" was at stake.
A commentary in the Liberation Army Daily on Thursday laid bare rancor over Washington's naval exercises with ally South Korea, and over its criticism of Chinese territorial claims to swathes of the South China Sea, where Taiwan and several Southeast Asian states also have claims.
"A country needs respect, and a military also needs respect. 'If someone doesn't hurt me, I won't hurt him; but if someone hurts me, I must hurt him," wrote Major General Luo Yuan in the paper.
"For the Chinese people and the Chinese military, those are by no means idle words."
The angry commentary in the PLA's top mouthpiece, carefully vetted by censors, also underscored Chinese military pressures weighing on Beijing as it crafts policy.
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