International Warships Welcomed in Sydney Harbor

Warships from 17 nations including the United States and China were welcomed in Sydney Harbor on Friday as the city celebrates the centenary of the fledgling Australian navy fleet's first visit.

Thousands of spectators lined the harbor shores under blue skies to watch the warships power into Australia's largest city.

Seven Australian warships entered the harbor in line as the first Australian navy fleet of seven cruisers and destroyers did for the first time on Oct. 4, 1913

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Around 40 warships plus 16 tall ships will participate in the International Fleet Review on Saturday, which is the main event commemorating the arrival of the original Royal Australian Navy fleet a century ago.

Governor-General Quentin Byrce, who represents Australia's head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, welcomed the ships on Friday and will officially review the fleet on Saturday.

Prince Harry, fourth in line to the British throne, will also attend Saturday's event.

Australia was a collection of six independent British colonies until they federated in 1901. Battlecruiser HMAS Australia became the navy's first flagship two years after it was launched in Britain.

The United States sent guided missile cruiser USS Chosin and China sent destroyer Qingdao.

The Defense Department said warships were also sent by Britain, Brunei, Micronesia, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Spain, Thailand and Tonga.

China elevates Malaysia ties, aims to triple trade by 2017

 






























(Reuters) - Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday he and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak had agreed to elevate ties to a "comprehensive strategic partnership", aiming to boost military cooperation and nearly triple two-way trade to $160 billion by 2017.

The Chinese and Malaysian leaders spoke soon after U.S. President Barack Obama canceled a week-long tour of four Asian nations due to the U.S. government shutdown.

 

 

Najib said he agreed with Xi, who is visiting Malaysia ahead the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Indonesia, to encourage more joint military exercises and visits between the nations.
China is already Malaysia's largest trading partner, with two-way trade last year totaling 181 billion ringgit ($57 billion).

Deadly hornets kill 41 people in China, injure over 1,500

By Madison Park and Dayu Zhang, CNN

Hong Kong (CNN) -- Swarms of aggressive hornets, in their fall mating season, are inflicting a deadly toll in a central Chinese province.

Hornets have killed 41 people and injured 1,675 people in three cities in Shaanxi province since July, according to the local government. Thirty-seven patients remain in critical or serious condition.

Over the summer and early fall, giant hornets have invaded schools full of children and descended upon unsuspecting farm workers.

One of them is Mu Conghui, a woman who was attacked in Ankang City while looking after her millet crop.

"The hornets were horrifying," she told Xinhua, the Chinese state-run news agency. "They hit right at my head and covered my legs. All of a sudden I was stung and I couldn't move.

"Even now, my legs are covered with sting holes."

Two months, 13 dialysis treatments and 200 stitches later, Mu still remains hospitalized and unable to move her legs.

In central China, 37 patients remain in critical or serious condition after hornet attacks.

The influx of venom to the human body can cause allergic reactions and multiple organ failure leading to death. Patients like Mu have been receiving dialysis to remove the toxins from her body. In photos, patients bore deep dark craters scattered across their limbs, the size of bullet wounds.

Government authorities say these attacks are from a particularly venomous species, the world's largest hornet, known as the Asian giant hornet or vespa mandarinia.

The giant hornet extends about 3.5 to 3.9 centimeters in length, roughly the size of a human thumb. It has an orange head with a black tooth used for burrowing, according to an animal database at the University of Michigan. 

Dr. Wang Xue, director of the intensive care unit at First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University and an expert of the provincial hornet sting treatment guidance unit, warned in a Shaanxi government release that hornets tend to be aggressive and more active during September and October -- their breeding season. The hornets do not go into hibernation until December, according to local government authorities.

Local authorities have deployed thousands of police officers and locals to destroy the hives. So far, about 710 hives have been removed and at least 7 million yuan (about $1.1 million U.S.) sent to areas affected by hornets, according to a government press release.

The spate of attacks could be caused by the unusually dry weather in the area, authorities say. The arid environment makes it easier for hornets to breed. Urbanization could also be a contributing factor, as humans move into hornets' habitats.

People can inadvertently irritate the hornet hives, as most are tucked away in secluded places, such as tree hollows or even underground.

The Asian killer hornet, also known as Vespa mandarinia, is the world's largest hornet.

The provincial government has warned residents to wear long sleeves when outdoors, and not to attempt driving away the swarms or removing their hives.

Vespa mandarinia are known as formidable, carnivorous killers, found in eastern and southeastern Asia, especially in Japan. About 30 to 50 deaths are reported each year in Japan from such attacks, according to Japanese studies.

The species is also destructive to western honey bees. Research in Japan suggests tens of thousands of honey bee hives are damaged by the giant hornets each year.

The species feed their young with the larvae of other insects and use their mandibles to sever the limbs and heads of their prey. The hornet's venom sting is a neurotoxin so powerful that it dissolves human tissue, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

The giant hornets are attracted to bright colors, human sweat, alcohol and sweet flavors and smells. They are especially sensitive to when animals or people run, according to Xinhua.

One victim told local media earlier this month that "the more you run, the more they want to chase you." Some victims described being chased about 200 meters (656 feet) by a swarm.

Every breeding season, the giant hornets produce an average of 10,000 offspring. They feast on other insects such as beetles, wasps and bees, launching coordinated attacks on the hives of their prey.

How China Would Fight the US (And Win)

The piece notes: “While the People's Liberation Army continues to acquire more advanced weapon systems, it will still take China at least 30 years to compete with the United States and build the world's most powerful military force…”

My own opinion: We would need to break this down in terms of looking at the various branches of China’s military across different domains, but who cares! Beijing certainly doesn’t.
OK, some explanation is needed for such a bold assertion.

Modern militaries are designed with certain objectives in mind. While Beijing is clearly focused on a possible challenge by U.S. forces intervening in some sort of future conflict (yes, A2/AD comes into play), China’s armed forces are designed to win, according to most experts, “local wars under informationized conditions.”
Clearly, not every situation under this concept has Beijing’s security professionals worried about American intervention or some sort of plane to plane, ship to ship match-up between the two. And that is exactly how Beijing likes it — for the time being.

Simply put: China does not need to match America symmetrically, only to defend what it defines as its “core interests.” An asymmetric strategy suits Beijing’s aims just fine in this regard.

In looking at some of the domains Chinese forces operate in, not every single one assumes America as the main adversary.

For example, in discussing China’s land forces — in which the article actually references Dennis Blasko, one of the world’s best analysts on China’s land forces –  one needs to ask who Beijing would actually be fighting on land these days? Things in Central Asia look quite good for Beijing, with no pressing challenges to consider at the moment. Sino-Russian relations are quite chummy, and there is little to no danger of a fight between these two giants.

In fact, China’s lack of concern regarding Russia has allowed it to pour resources into other areas of its armed forces. Beyond peacekeeping forces through the United Nations, China does not seem intent on deploying land forces overseas anytime soon, and clearly not against American forces. It would be a waste of resources to devote vast sums of money to land forces where there is no rival for China to be concerned about in the near-term. Clearly, Beijing is modernizing its land assets, but not at the speed of other areas where it faces much more robust challenges.

This brings us to China’s forces on the high seas — a domain where Beijing has devoted considerable time and energy. Looking at Beijing’s rivals in the South China Sea, if a conflict were to develop between China and pretty much every other major claimant (with the exception of Taiwan), Beijing would defeat its rivals quickly and with relative ease. One of China’s biggest irritants in the South China Sea, the Philippines, has very few maritime assets at its disposal. Its best vessels are ancient U.S. Coast Guard ships, hardly a match for Beijing's latest destroyers or land-based missiles.

China’s dispute with Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands is obviously very different. The Japanese Navy is one of Asia’s best. At the moment, I would give the edge to Japan’s Navy in a one to one matchup with China based on its level of skill, training and sophistication. However, considering the large amounts and growing accuracy of Beijing’s missile forces, and its new class of anti-ship ballistic missiles, nothing could be assumed once the bombs start falling. In time, however, considering Beijing’s growing military budget, focus on 5th generation fighters and increasing naval register, Japan will be hard pressed to hold onto its advantages.

And that brings us naturally to the showdown everyone loves talking about, the much discussed U.S.-China military comparison. While it makes sense for even the most accomplished scholar to try and make direct comparisons of the two nations’ armed forces, the important point is this: Beijing certainly doesn’t.

Chinese military planners have stated time and time again they have no plans to try and match U.S. forces ship for ship, or carrier for carrier. China’s military — at least for the moment — is much more focused on the area around the first island chain, while America’s defense planners are focused on projecting power globally — two very different missions.

This is why understanding China’s much discussed “counter-intervention” strategy or A2/AD is so important. China intends to make things as difficult for America in the event of a conflict as possible. Why bother developing multiple carrier battle groups that would cost billions to build and billions more to maintain? If China can use large amounts of cruise and ballistic missiles, modern conventional submarines, sea-mines and other less costly assets to keep U.S. forces far from areas of contention or do real damage in a fight, that would suit Beijing just fine.

Unfortunately, a simple comparison between militaries is not as easy as the headline writers would have us believe. The true test for a nation’s military is quite simple: can it achieve the goals its leadership lays out and the internal goals it sets for itself? Sadly, that does not lend itself to a sexy headline (although we'll do our best…); however, this is the question we must ask of China’s military today and going forward.

7 dead, 4 trapped in coal mine explosion in China

FENGCHENG CITY, China, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Seven people died and four were still trapped after a coal and gas explosion at a mine in east China's Jiangxi province, rescuers said.

The explosion took place about 5:45 a.m., local time, Monday in Fengcheng City in Qujiang County while miners were working 2,847 feet underground, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.

Four miners were killed immediately and rescuers pulled the bodies of three more from the Jiangxi Coal Group Corp. mine Tuesday.

Rescuers said the gas density in the mine was high, making the chance of survival for the four trapped miners slim.