Indholdsfortegnelse for Issue 6 i War at Sea

CHINA is resurgent, but it is not just about power. Beijing wants to create a new - world order. Xi Jinping is a leader like no other, commander of a powerful leader and President of a super-power. After decades in the shadows of poverty and viewing itself as a victim, Beijing is demonstrating to the world the capability of a nation that can build an economy that sits at the top of global trade as well as field a powerful navy. China’s leader is building his naval forces in order to project power and political influence to achieve his aims. The tension and potential threat of conflict between China and Taiwan should not be under-estimated. Beijing views its national security as being intrinsically linked to the island and President Xi…

President Jinping promised to wipe out corruption, but at the same time has tightened up on ‘freedom of speech.’ Shortly after his appointment, a terrorist attack in Tiananmen square by separatists Uighurs from Xinjiang province tested his resolve. Jinping made it clear that the province was part of China and after a second terrorist attack, he ordered an offensive against the Uighurs. The Chinese public is heavily monitored by secret police and other agencies. But nowhere in the world, including North Korea, is the population overseen as strictly as it is in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. The situation in this province is regularly described by the international community as ‘cultural genocide’. Mosques are not welcome; the traditional language and religion are not accepted and all traces of Uighur independence…

Since the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, when Chinese students called for political reform, which resulted in a massacre in which hundreds died, Beijing has done little to shed its ‘dictatorial and bullying reputation. In 2020, President Xi Jinping’s administration approved a new law ensuring that only people it deems ‘patriots can govern the former British colony of Hong Kong’ and clamped down on any form of antigovernment protest. The new security law introduced in 2020, caused concern across Hong Kong amid fears that it would impact all areas of life. China has also closed down internet sites they do not approve of. In early 2021, Hong Kong’s internet service provider confirmed that they had blocked access to a prodemocracy website that documented incidents that took place during the 2019…

In January 2011, the then United States President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao issued a joint statement at the end of Hu’s visit to Washington. It announced their joint commitment to a future ‘positive, cooperative, and comprehensive US- China relationship.’ Both reinforced a desire for a prosperous China and the United States. Following the meeting, both governments exchanged ideas and plans for economic issues and more open communication. But the arrival of President Trump in the White House came as the relationship was cooling off. Xi Jinping had succeeded Hu Jintao in 2013 and his administration came with a strong more aggressive approach to foreign policy. Likewise, President Trump announced a strategy of ‘America First’ and alleged that China was constantly making cyberattacks on the US, was a…

The mission of the fleet is to protect China’s coastal waters and project naval power in out of area’ regions to influence Beijing’s political aims. China has the world’s largest arsenal of naval mines, ready to be used to protect its littoral waters in time of conflict. It also has a new naval base on Hainan Island which has up to 20 bomb-proof pens to shelter China’s nuclear boats from spy satellites - as well as allowing them to be maintained and re-supplied out of sight. At the southernmost tip of Hainan Island, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy is shaping its next phase of power projection in the South China Sea. The top secret Yulin Naval Base is the most strategically important military base in the South China Sea.…

Sitting on China’s doorstep, Taiwan is closely allied with the United States adding to Beijing fears the island could be used as a platform for western forces to mount operations into mainland China. Politicians in Beijing claim they have made numerous offers to Taiwan, based on economic gains, to tempt the island back into the fold. But the obvious lack of progress is forcing Beijing to flex its military power with an increase in recent naval wargames in the Taiwan Straits in what appears to be a demonstration to remind the island’s administration of China’s overwhelming capability. China and Taiwan have had separate governments since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. But Beijing has long tried to limit Taiwan’s international activities and reunite the island. Tensions have…