China is taking a major step
Toward military dominance in the South China Sea
With a secret new weapon
Welcome to China Uncensored, I’m Chris Chappell.
China has made a lot of promises in the South China Sea.
First not to build artificial islands and call them territory.
They broke that.
Then they promised they wouldn’t militarize them.
They broke that.
They even flew nuclear bombers on these islands.
The Chinese military said it was so they could “reach
all territory, conduct strikes at any time and strike in all directions”.
That obviously has a lot of countries in Asia worried.
5 trillion dollars of shipping goes through the South China Sea each year. Plus it has
huge untapped oil and natural gas reserves. And the Chinese Communist Party claims all of it.
And now, the Party has built a new weapon in the South China Sea that may secure its
control over the region. A weapon the US military may be defenseless against.
So what is this terrifying new weapon?
Antennas.
Seriously, antennas.
Now maybe that doesn’t sound scary to you. Or maybe it does. Maybe you're antenna phobic.
The US military certainly is. Because they know what this means.
According to a new report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies,
China is ramping up its electronic warfare and communications capabilities.
These satellite photos show a massive build up of satellite dishes and antenna
At a base near the town of Mumian on Hainan Island. They work in conjunction with similar
antenna and radar facilities on Subi Reef and Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea.
So what’s so scary? These bases could give China the ability to turn the South China Sea
into “a communication and navigation ‘dead zone.’”
In other words, all of the United States' really expensive military equipment
could be worthless. Electronic and Communications warfare is the future of war.
That’s according to this recent Brookings Institute report.
It says, “The war of the future will not only be about explosions,
but will also be about disabling the systems that make armies run.”
“We could see effects as stodgy as making a tank impossible to start up,
or sophisticated as retargeting a missile midair.”
Imagine if China launches an invasion of Taiwan
and is able to redirect US missiles back at the aircraft carriers that launched them.
Does that sound far fetched? Just wait.
These military bases China has built are ideally placed, “to detect,
monitor—and interfere with—any electronic activity in the region”.
“Combat aircraft may not find their targets…Drones
may turn upon their owners. It could break the complex web of data sharing that’s supposed
to make modern weapons, such as the F-35 stealth fighter, overwhelmingly effective.”
Basically, digital devices in the area could be hacked.
And it’s already happened.
“Last year, a Chinese news report claimed a US combat aircraft
‘lost control’ while flying over the South China Sea.”
The news report said “The fighter planes were completely out of control
and could not communicate with the outside world, but they did not know what happened.”
The Chinese report seems to be talking about an incident in 2018,
when the USS Theodore Roosvelt sailed near the Philippines.
The Roosevelt sent out a surveillance aircraft. The pilot told Philippine news
that China had attempted to jam the aircraft.
“Intelligence gathered by the US during the patrol suggested that the Chinese
had placed communication jamming devices on some of the artificial
islands they had built in the South China Sea.”
Now that’s very different from the aircraft “losing control.”
Was the Chinese side exaggerating? Was the US side downplaying it?
Hard to say. But this is where the future of warfare is headed. And the fact the
Chinese Communist Party is rapidly building up its electronic and communications warfare capabilities
in the South China Sea, where many fear the next world war could start,
should have everyone a bit concerned.
But don't worry. China promises they only have peaceful intentions in the region.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.
Once again I’m Chris Chappell, see you next time.