China has air superiority

MANILA, Philippines -  Should a shooting war break out over the disputed Spratly Islands, China could easily achieve air and sea superiority due to the increased focus Beijing has given to improving its force projection capabilities in the West Philippine Sea and South China Sea.

According to documents obtained by News5, China gradually developed its facilities on Woody Island in the Paracel Islands – making it an unsinkable aircraft carrier. The runway on Woody Island has been extended and hangars and fuel depots have been constructed, which enable China to base and deploy its latest generation of multi-role fighters.

From Woody Island, China will have no problem sending its warplanes to the Spratlys as this is well within the operational radius of its fighters. China’s multi-role fighters can reach as far Metro Manila.

Apart from the unsinkable aircraft carrier, China is scheduled to start sea trials of its first aircraft carrier, the Shi Lang.

Apart from China and the Philippines, the other claimants of the Spratlys are Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam. The Spratlys are believed to have huge deposits of oil, natural gas and minerals and is also considered a major fishing area.

The Paracel Islands are being disputed by China and Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said defense modernization remains one of the priorities of the Aquino administration but stresses that they cannot just go on a shopping spree. In an interview with News5, the defense secretary admitted that internal security still had top priority even if the peace talks are ongoing with the communist insurgents and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Gazmin said they have adopted the process which they termed the “Defense System of Management.” He explained they are balancing the needs and requirements with the government’s capability to fund these.

“Our number 1 problem is the internal security operations,” Gazmin told News5 in an interview prior to the reports of Chinese intrusions. “The equipment needed to address internal security operations are a priority.”

“We do not need jets, we need helicopters, transports ... with endurance in air. In the navy, you don’t need blue water equipment – what you need is for island, transport and for use in flood and earthquake,” he added.

But Gazmin said this doesn’t mean they are giving up on modernization.

“My dream is to equip the soldiers with the most modern equipment to be able to address the needs of the times,” he stressed, adding he wants to leave as legacy the long wished for modernization of the Armed Forces.

Documents obtained by News5 show that China is estimated to have stationed eight aircraft variants on Woody Island, whose capabilities range from multi-role to air superiority to ground attack. The warplanes – which include the Sukhoi-27 fighter-bomber (NATO codename: FLANKER) and J-7 close support aircraft (NATO codename: AIRGUARD), which is China’s version of the Russian MIG21 (NATO codename: FISHBED) – have no trouble reaching the Spratlys as the disputed area is well within their operational radius.

However, one warplane can cover the whole island of Luzon, including Metro Manila.

The Sukhoi-30MKK (NATO codename: FLANKER G) is a long-range multi-role supersonic fighter with an operational radius of 1,620 nautical miles but can extend up to 2,800 nautical miles with inflight refueling. The FLANKER G is one latest generation fighter that carry out air superiority or ground attack missions. It is capable of carrying up to eight tons of weaponry, including TV guided air-to-ground missiles, anti-ship missiles and air-to-air missiles.

Aside from Woody Island, China can also deploy its fighters from two other bases: Lingshui Airfield on Hainan Island and from Guanzhou. Also located on Hainan Island is a Chinese naval base, from where submarines can be deployed into the South China Sea.

But it is not only China that can deploy warplanes to the Spratlys. The other claimant countries – namely Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam – have fighters that can reach the Spratlys.

Malaysia is equipped with modern fighters and ground attack planes, such as US built multi-role fighter F/A-18D Hornet, the Russian built multi-role fighter MiG-29 (NATO codename: FULCRUM) and British built Hawk 108 ground attack plane. These aircraft variants are based at Labuan Air Base and the base’s location allows Malaysian aircraft to reach any point of the Philippines.

Taiwan’s Air Force is equipped with fighters, such as the improved version of the US built F5e/F Tiger II and the French built Mirage 2000-5. These warplanes are based at Taitung Air Base and allows Taiwan to reach the Spratlys as well as the whole of Luzon.

Vietnam is equipped with the same warplanes as China and from its bases in Bien Hoa and Phan Rang, it can reach the Spratlys.

Last month, there was a report of foreign aircraft that flew over the Spratlys which were widely believed to have been Chinese. However, the Philippine Air Force could not confirm the nationality as the planes flew at a high altitude.

China is nearing completion of its first true aircraft carrier, with sea trials scheduled in the coming months. The Chinese aircraft carrier is a Kuznetzov-class carrier, which was bought at an auction in 1998 from Ukraine. A private Chinese firm bought the uncompleted carrier, named Varyag, for $20 million and had planned to make it a floating hotel, amusement and gambling destination in Macau.

China took possession of the Varyag when the hotel-gambling project folded. The Varyag was brought to a shipyard in Dalian, China where it was used as a basis to build its first aircraft carrier. The Chinese aircraft carrier was named the Shi Lang, after a Chinese admiral that conquered Taiwan in 1681.

Unlike US aircraft carriers, the Shi Lang will not be equipped with steam catapults but with a ski jump to launch its planes. The Shi Lang will be equipped with 30 Sukhoi-33 carrier borne multi-role fighter (NATO codename: FLANKER D) as well as with anti-submarine warfare helicopters.

A 2010 US Defense Department report to the US Congress said China has begun training 50 pilots to operate fixed wing aircraft from an aircraft carrier. The same report said China’s buildup in the South China Sea “are related to securing its extensive sovereignty claims in the region as they relate to exploiting regional natural resources.”

“A stronger regional presence would position China for force projection, blockade and surveillance operations to influence the critical sea lanes in the region, through which some 50 percent of global merchant traffic passes,” the US Defense Department stated.

The report also highlighted: “Such an increased presence including surface, sub-surface and airborne platforms, and possibly one or more of China’s future aircraft carriers, would provide the PLA (People’s Liberation Army) with an enhanced extended range power projection capability and could alter regional balances, disrupting the delicate status quo established by the 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.”