Friday, April 18, 2025

Capitalism with Chinese characteristics example of the Day: Warship billboard advertisements

Yesterday, a photo of a fourth batch Type052D DDG under construction at the Dalian Shipyard leaked on the "China Internet" together with a series of billboard advertising pushing Sinopec's "X-power" marketing campaign (link), acting as a great representation of today's Chinese capitalism. 

Here are some considerations for advertising (link) on a modern DDG as borrowed from City Bus (link)

 Why advertise on a bus errr I meant on a PLAN Naval Major Surface Combatant like a Destroyer? 

  • The answer here is simple: Exposure. Based on the location of your advertisement, you’re appealing to a fixed audience for a longer period of time than other outdoor advertising media types. If your ads are inside a bus, you have a captive audience in the passengers for the duration of their ride


How to select your route? (now change to PLAN's ocean-going route to maximize the commercial impact)

  • There are a few factors that can contribute to how you pick the bus route you’ll use for advertising and relying on the expertise of an outdoor media company like Effortless Outdoor Media is a great way to narrow your choices down. By conducting a needs analysis with each client, we help figure out the goal of your outdoor advertising campaign and then work to locate the right places to advertise. Having a partner in ad placement is crucial because it saves time and money while ensuring a higher level of success with your campaign, however, some additional things to consider when selecting a bus route are:

 



Friday, July 15, 2016

Photo of the day: Dalian shipyard's 2nd and 3rd Type 052D LUYANG III-Class Destroyer (12th overall)

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Photos of the day: Dalian shipyard 2006 vs 2016


Note the second-hand, Ukrainian Riga class floating casino in the background.  Not sure what will they do with that rusty bucket.  I am telling you, Chong Lot Travel Agency's US$20 million investment is a complete waste -- as of 2016, not a single slot machine is found there generating gambling income.


 2006, DDG115 Shenyang under construction


Aug 2016



2x Type 051C (DDG115 and DDG116)



Aug 2016 with 2xType052D

Thursday, April 17, 2025

PR Collection Of The Day: Communists of the world unite??

Apart from recent high-profile, leadership-level encounters, military contacts are being taken to a new level between the "People's Liberation Army" of China and the "People's Army" of Vietnam.

  • Chinese, Vietnamese defense ministers jointly preside over 9th China-Vietnam Border Defense Friendship Exchange (link
  • China, Vietnam hold 9th border defense friendship exchange (link)

On a somewhat unrelated note - is me or the Communism inspirited notion of "Liberation" has been over used to this "day".   "Day of the Liberation”, of course, is what I am referring to, which took place on April 30th 1975 when the fall of Saigon happened. (link)




Vietnamese, Chinese navies conduct joint patrol in Gulf of Tonkin
April 16, 2025 at 05:45:53 (link)

The Vietnam People's Navy is deploying a naval task group, along with ships 015 and 016, to China to join a series of exchange activities and a joint patrol with the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy in the Gulf of Tonkin from April 10 to 19.
 
Vietnamese and Chinese naval officers and sailors prepare for a joint patrol. (Photo: Ministry of Defense)

Key events include high-level meetings between the commanders of the Vietnamese and Chinese patrol fleets, friendly sports exchanges between naval officers and sailors of both countries, and the countries’ 38th joint patrol in the Gulf’s waters.

The Vietnam People's Navy is deploying a naval task group, along with ships 015 and 016, to China to participate in a series of exchange activities and a joint patrol with the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy in the Gulf of Tonkin from April 10 to 19.

Key events include high-level meetings between the commanders of the Vietnamese and Chinese patrol fleets, friendly sports exchanges between naval officers and sailors of both countries, and the countries’ 38th joint patrol in the Gulf’s waters.

Taking part in this mission are Vietnam’s most advanced surface combatants – the missile frigates 015 and 016. This marks the first time these modern warships are participating in a joint patrol in the Gulf of Tonkin.

The Chinese navy, meanwhile, sends two missile frigates, hull numbers 628 and 630, to the operation.

As part of the joint mission, the two navies will also carry out coordinated training exercises in search and rescue operations and visual signalling.








Saturday, December 28, 2024

PLAN is visiting Vietnam again, more signs of a changing time

Photos of DDG 173 Changsha and and Type 071 LPD 999 Jinggangshan ships of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy visiting Da Nang, Vietnam (link) (link)






Wednesday, September 11, 2024

Photo Collecton Of The Day: Sailing Back To Cam Ranh Bay

 


 

 

 










 

 

PANO - On September 10, sailing vessel Po Lang (coded 86) with 95 officers, sailors and cadets led by Captain Liu Kue Wu, Second-in-Command of the training vessel unit of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, docked at Cam Ranh International Port, starting a courtesy visit to Khanh Hoa province.

https://en.qdnd.vn/military/intl-relations-and-cooperation/chinese-sailing-vessel-visits-khanh-hoa-province-569829


Senior Captain Truong Dang Thuan, Chief of the Office of the Vietnam Naval Academy, hosted the reception. The event saw the attendance of representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs of Khanh Hoa province and several functional agencies, representatives of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam and Chinese Defense Attaché to Vietnam.
Sailing vessel Po Lang docks at Cam Ranh International Port, Khanh Hoa province.

During the four-day visit, the commanding staff of Vessel Po Lang will pay courtesy visits on leaders of the Khanh Hoa provincial People’s Committee, Naval Region 4 Command, and Vietnam Naval Academy. Meanwhile, the Chinese officers, sailors and cadets will attend sports competitions with troops of the Vietnam Naval Academy and visit the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense’s functional units. 

 

 

 

 

Friday, September 06, 2024

Vietnam's Cam Ranh Bay Naval Base, Tales Of Two Visits

On July 15th, 2024, the US Navy's 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) visited Vietnam's Cam Ranh Bay (link).  Along with other USN visits in that region, it was accompanied by media coverage and, of course, OpEd speculation across the spectrum.  (link) (link) (link)

Following the general secretary of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam's visit to China (link) on August 18th, the PLAN paid a visit to the same Cam Ranh Bay (link)   It was accompanied by little or no fanfare, as were earlier PLAN visits in that region; it has "It was another Tuesday" feel to it.

Those two nations take different approaches to their military foreign affairs, that's for sure.

 


2x 07LPD and 1x Type 052D DDG 174 Hefei at Cam Ranh Bay

 



 

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Vietnam and China to conduct a joint patrol in Tonkin Gulf

Hopefully this is a sign that involving parties are putting the course of events back to normal after the all the excitement surrounding the South China Sea.

Original news in Vietnamese (here
Vietnam and China to conduct a joint patrol in Tonkin Gulf

http://en.baomoi.com/Info/Vietnam-and-China-to-conduct-a-joint-patrol-in-Tonkin-Gulf/3/154626.epi

Báo QĐND English -
Vietnam and China to conduct a joint patrol in Tonkin Gulf

PANO - Two Vietnamese naval boats, the HQ375 and HQ376 (under Corps M62, Naval Region D), representing Vietnam People’s Navy and Army, on June 18th, departed to take part in a joint patrol with China People’s Liberation Navy’s boats in the Gulf of Tonkin.

This is the 11th joint patrol that has been conducted since the two navies signed an agreement on Joint Patrol Status in October 2005.

As scheduled, the joint patrol started at 8am on June 19th and will finish at 10.15am on June 20th (Hanoi time) with a journey of 306 nautical miles.

The joint patrol aims to promote the traditional friendly neighbourhood cooperation relationship between Vietnam and China, as well as enhance the mutual understanding and trust between the two armies and navies.

The patrolled area is the delimitated waters that border Vietnam and China in the Tonkin Gulf. The patrol also targets to maintain security and order at sea, put forward the implementation of the Fish Farm Agreement, stabilise normal production activities of the two countries’ fishermen in the Tonkin Gulf and to share experiences between the two navies.

After the joint patrol, under the instruction from Chinese boats, two Vietnamese boats, led by Colonel Nguyen Van Kiem, Deputy-Chief-of-Naval Staff, will dock at Zhanjiang port to start their official friendly visit and exchange with China People’s Liberation Navy.






Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Possible New People's Armed Police 8-men Mobile Light Infantry Squad TOE

In this news release by the Eastern Theater Command - you know the one that's facing a certain island east of China - a People's Armed Police light mobile infantry squad is depicted.  

Would you like to know more?


 

The squad is based on a hand-me-down WZ551/ZSL92/Type92 6x6 APC (notice the 12.7mm HMG mount and the old style PAP green camo)., as shown in the picture below and others found online in China -- while the other members of this eight-man squad are equipped with a QBZ-191 5.8×42mm assault rifle and maybe a QBU-191 Designated Marksman Rifle or QJB201 SAW, the drive, like their PLA counterparts, is without a rifle.  One of the infantry is issued with a DZJ-08 80mm Single-Shot Light Recoilless Weapon

During maneuver the commander stays inside of the APC with the drive, while the other 6 are outside, doing what they do best.   






Wednesday, February 07, 2018

Mechanized Infantry Battalion, People's Armed Police

Here is a quick overview of a mechanized infantry battalion belonging to China's second ground force, the People's Armed Police (PAP):


Group Photo with ~340 "police officers" 


班(单)车行动  mechanized infantry squad (10 "police officers")  

Mechanized infantry company (2x4 WZ551/Type92 APC)
14 Troop Buses








 

Saturday, March 15, 2025

PLA 9-man infantry squad, March 15th, 2025 TOE update

While the basic structure of a PLA infantry squad from the Light and Medium Combined-Arms Brigades remains unaltered.   However, their Table of Equipment has seen major changes since my previous update, in 2017.   

As of March 15th, 2025:

  • 3x radios per squad
  • 2x QJB201 5.8×42mm Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), second and fourth guys from the right.  They are seem carrying a PF-89 80mm "one hit wonder" rocket
  • 1x QBU191 designated marksman 5.8x42mm with QMK-191 variable-magnification (3–8.6×) telescopic sight, the 1st guy from the right
  • The two-man PF98A 120mm rocket team (fourth and fifth from the left). The ammo carrier now issued with 5.8×42mm QBZ-191 assault rifle, a major upgrade over the previous QSZ92 sidearm only,
  • Similar to 2017, the IFV driver is armed with QSZ92 sidearm only (third guy from the left).  The IFV gunner is now also issued with 5.8×42mm QBZ-191 assault rifle.   Both the drive and the IFV gunner stay with the IFV after landing their combat infantry comrades.  







Saturday, September 02, 2017

A first look: PLA's new 9-man "ZBL09" infantry squad (twitted by the PLA Daily)

- The IFV driver (fourth from the left) and gunner (fourth from the right) are armed only with QSZ92 5.8x21mm pistol, their jobs are to man the IFV and its 30mm/HQ73C ATGM turret.

-  A two-man PF98A 120mm rocket team (first and second from the right), they also carry QSZ92 as their sidearm

- QBB95 squad automatic weapon operator is the second one from the left.  He is a private

- The squad leader (corporal, right in the middle) is supported by his second fire-team leader (third from the right).  He also leads the first fire-team

- STAR TREK “Red Shirts" are the two on the left.