Photos of the day: Liu Huaqing -- Father of modern Chinese navy

After seeing the Chinese Navy's aircraft carrier test platform received its pennant number, perhaps it is time to look back at the person who made this possible.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Admiral Liu Huaqing enjoys a little R&R in San Diego

From ONI's China Navy 2009
http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/oni/pla-navy.pdf

Admiral Liu Huaqing was the third commander of the PLA(N)(1982-1988) and one of the foremost maritime strategists produced by the People's Republic of China. Born in 1916, Liu joined the PLA in 1930 and was a veteran of its Long March. His transition from the army to the navy began in 1952, after which he served in a variety of operational and technical assignments including Deputy Commander of the North Sea Fleet, Vice Minister of the 6th Ministry of Machine Building (Ship Building), and Deputy Chief of the General Staff, before assuming the position ofPLA(N) Commander in August 1982.

In a military dominated by the "great infantry" concept, Liu was much more than just an army officer serving in naval assignments. Instead, Liu proved himself to be a forward thinking maritime strategist who developed the PLA(N),s current strategy of"offshore defense," began the now robust program of naval diplomacy and foreign engagement, and laid the intellectual and technical foundations for the rapidly modernizing PLA(N) of today. In the final phase of his military career, Liu served on the Central Military Commission, where he would eventually become the senior vice chairman and one of the most powerful men in the Chinese military behind then-CMC Chairman Deng Xiaoping


Photo source http://www.defenseimagery.mil

Hug a Commie for Mommy.

A member of the Chinese delegation from the People's Republic of China is hugged by a person dressed in a koala bear suit at the zoo.

Photographer's Name: PH2 Ron Wood
Location: SAN DIEGO
Date Shot: 6/1/1980
Date Posted: unknown
VIRIN: DN-SC-83-07422

Photos of the day: Changbaishan on sea trial

As Changbaishan, the third Type 071 YUZHAO Class Amphibious Transport Dock LPD, leaves Shanghai on her first sea trial, the persistent rumors of a fourth Type 071 hull is no where to be found.

Ship pennant number 16

After spending only three days at sea for its 10th sea trial, the China navy aircraft carrier platform "ex-Varyag" returns to the dock in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province to be sported with the new ship pennant of number "16".

Come to think about it, it is no mere coincidence that the Chinese naval planners would assign their first aircraft carrier platform with the come-of-age pennant of "16".    They are to honor their high school idols John Hughes and Molly Ringwald of the Sixteen Candles fame, after all, "ex-Varyag" is their come-of-age story.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Global Liberation Army - Navy

Recently some of the China Navy's latest vessels, including their newly commissioned 052C Luyang II class DDG 152, are sporting a USN like “white pennant” and this does not sit well with some Chinese “forumers”.  They want to see a “China Navy with Chinese Characteristics” (bad English grammar included)  not a USN a.k.a “Global Liberation Army – Navy” wanna be.

My apologies to those who does get the GLA reference.   

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Putting their Photoshop skills to good use.

Folks at the Chinese military forums are having issues with the new PLA infantry gear -- they look too GLA (Global Liberation Army) like. In protest, they put their Photoshop skills to good use. In their view, if they are looking like the GLA, they might start acting like the GLA i.e. leaving their old non-intervention stand behind.  A change that is not welcomed.

Here is the PS-ed US DOD style photo.  I have to admit, the "price of freedom" slogan is a nice torch.

The original photo

What's the 'GLA' doing with its 'dumplings'? Find out online
http://military.globaltimes.cn/china/2011-05/659990.html
Source: Global Times
By Xu Tianran

A newbie entering an online military forum may be baffled by jargon including references to the "GLA" launching warships like "dumplings into boiling water."

But seasoned browsers know that GLA stands for "Global Liberation Army," a sarcastic nickname for the US military, while the dumplings refer to its mass production of naval vessels.

Initially invented as a precaution against the leaking of military secrets, such slang terms are now being popularized by military enthusiasts, Pei Shen, a senior editor at the military channel of the huanqiu.com website, said.

Taiwan, China vice ministers preside at joint maritime drill

Taiwan, China vice ministers preside at joint maritime drill

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/china-taiwan-relations/2012/08/31/352757/Taiwan-China.htm

The China Post news staff--The second cross-strait joint maritime search and rescue exercise was held yesterday in the waters between Xiamen and Kinmen, aimed at building a sound maritime search and rescue mechanism and maintaining peace across the Strait.

Around 600 rescue officers and coast guards from Taiwan and China took part in the exercise, which involved 18 vessels and two helicopters from Taiwan, as well as 11 ships and one helicopter dispatched by China.

The vice minister of Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration, Cheng Chang-hsiung, and China's vice transport minister, Xu Zuyuan (徐祖遠), jointly presided over the exercise in their respective capacities as honorary chairmen of the Chinese Search and Rescue Association and China's Association for Shipping Across the Taiwan Strait.

To avoid controversy, the vessels and helicopters of both sides sailed without flying their respective national flags, with drill flags used instead.

Cheng and Xu, each leading a group of officials, watched the exercise onboard the 2,000-ton Taiwanese frigate “Tainan.”

“It's the first time ever that Chinese government officials have been onboard a coast guard vessel from Taiwan,” Coast Guard spokesman Hsieh Ching-chin told reporters. “It's significant both historically and symbolically.”

The exercise played out a scenario where a passenger aircraft had crashed into the ocean, hitting a passenger boat shuttling between Kinmen and the mainland, the spokesman said. Other scenarios included rescue operations for overturned fishing boats and rescuing their passengers and crew, he said.

Meanwhile, Xu said yesterday that both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan have agreed to hold a joint maritime search and rescue exercise every other year, taking turns as host.

Xu made the announcement during the ongoing cross-strait maritime rescue exercise, the second such exercise since the first one in 2010.

The exercise aims to meet the mounting need for maritime emergency rescue abilities after the mainland and Taiwan started direct flights and shipments of commodities in 2008.

Last year, the maritime rescue coordinating center of Fujian province, which is on the opposite side of Taiwan across the strait, rescued 193 ships and saved 1,973 people through 209 maneuvers.

As of the first half of this year, cross-strait travelers rose 13.6 percent year-on-year to hit 840,000, while the volume of cargo and container transportation reached 27 million tons and 840,000 TEUs separately.

China's Vice Transport Minister Xu Zuyuan, standing in the front row, waves his hand while watching a cross-strait maritime search and rescue exercise from aboard the 2,000-ton Taiwanese frigate “Tainan,” yesterday.