US, China in Mine Hunt Exercises

US, China in Mine Hunt Exercises
By REGAN MORRIS, Associated Press Writer

SINGAPORE (AP) - The U.S. warship USS Inchon sailed out of Singapore Wednesday for mine hunting exercises with sailors from 15 other nations, including China, which recently rejected Washington's request to allow the USS Inchon to enter Hong Kong.

Sailors from 16 Pacific nations started the exercises Tuesday in the inaugural mine hunting and diving exercise led by host Singapore.

The mine countermeasure ship USS Inchon left its berth at Singapore's Changi Naval Base early Wednesday for exercises in which pilots practice landing on the vessel's flight deck, said Navy spokesman Lt. John Perkins.

The 11-day exercises also involve hunting fake mines in the waters of Singapore neighboring Indonesia, an area that has some of the world's busiest and most vital shipping lanes.

Washington last month requested permission for the USS Inchon to visit Hong Kong from June 28 to July 3. China rejected the request without explanation.

An April 1 collision between a Navy spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet and a U.S. offer to sell weapons to Taiwan has strained ties between Washington and Beijing.

The Chinese have not sent any ships to Singapore and are acting as observers in the mine clearing exercise, said Capt. Randolph Young, commodore of a U.S. mine countermeasures squadron.

The current mine clearing exercise includes 15 ships and 1,500 personnel, 1,200 of them from the Navy, said Singapore's Col. Kevin Santa-Maria.

Wednesday June 13, 9:17 AM
Emerging rivals US and China join naval exercises against mines
SINGAPORE, June 13 (AFP) -
Sixteen Asia-Pacific navies, including those of emerging rivals the United States and China, are taking part in an inaugural exercise aimed at keeping the world's busiest sea lanes safe from the threat of mines.
While the danger is not immediate, these devices are easy to manufacture, obtain and deploy, making it necessary for the region's navies to be prepared to deal with any disruption in the vital maritime routes, officials said.
A secure maritime environment is important to Asia's continued economic growth as more than half of the world's shipping tonnage passes through the Malacca Straits, Singapore Straits and the South China Sea, said Singapore Minister of State for Defence David Lim.
Captain Randolph Young, who commands a squadron of US Mine Countermeasure ships taking part in the 12-day exercises, which formally opened Tuesday, said there was no immediate threat.
"But certainly mines are easy to employ and could easily be a threat," he told reporters aboard the Japan-based USS Patriot, one of three US Mine Countermeasure ships taking part in the exercise.
"There are a lot of mines that are made all over and certainly this area is an area that could potentially be mined... but it's not something that we envision occuring anytime real soon.
"It's more of a safety thing to make sure that that doesn't occur."
Asked if armed groups such as pirates could get hold of mines, he said: "Pirates can get hold of any weapons today. Yes, they could if they want to, I would say probably on a smaller scale but certainly it's possible."
Heavily armed pirates aboard fast boats prowl the Indonesian side of the Malacca Straits as well other waters in Southeast Asia.
Fifteen ships and 1,500 personnel are taking part in the first Western Pacific Mine Countermeasure Exercise and Western Pacific Diving Exercise to be held in the Malacca Straits.
The navies of Australia, Canada, China, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam are involved, but only five countries have sent ships.
A parallel exercise, in which teams of specially trained divers are sent to retrieve and detonate mock mines at sea, will be held.
It is believed to be the first time that naval personnel from the United States and China will train side by side since bilateral ties were hammered in April when Beijing detained a downed US spy plane and its crew.
Captain Young said that China had not sent ships to the Singapore exercise and he understood that it was participating as an observer.
Young said it was "critical" that the United States learn to operate with other countries in the area of combatting mines because the region's economic development hinged on free and open shipping routes.
"These are very important straits, so we are all interested. (For) all the countries it's to their benefit to make sure that they stay open," he said.
Singapore's Lim, addressing the opening ceremonies Tuesday, called for greater cooperation to keep the lanes safe for global shipping.
The exercise is "part of the growing web of multilateral exercises and interactions in the region," he said.
"By promoting opportunities for interaction, (exercises) help promote greater dialogue and bilateral ties between countries in the Asia Pacific region.
"And in doing so, they strengthen the framework of multilateral co-operation that underpins a stable and secure environment conducive for social and economic development."
China's Army Said in Large Exercise
Updated: Fri, Jun 01 6:11 AM EDT
By JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press Writer BEIJING (AP) - China has massed thousands of troops and will deploy some of its most high-tech weaponry in war games to practice capturing a Taiwanese island and attacking an aircraft carrier, a state-run newspaper said Friday. The drills, involving land, sea and air forces and code-named "Liberation One," begin this month on and around China's Dongshan Island, off the southeastern Chinese coast in the straits that separate China and Taiwan, the Beijing Morning Post said. China's Foreign Ministry described the drills as routine. "Every country has military exercises, this is normal," a spokeswoman said.
But a report on a Web site operated by the government's Xinhua News Agency said they were "a military warning" to the administration of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian. Chen has angered Beijing by refusing to endorse its view that China and Taiwan are one country. The exercises are China's first large-scale war games since Chen's election last May and are among the largest ever conducted by the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the Beijing Morning Post said. The world's biggest army, with 2.5 million members, is trying to reshape itself into a modern fighting force. "The main military targets of these exercises will be attacking and occupying an outlying Taiwanese island and attacking an aircraft carrier," the Beijing Morning Post said. The drills "demonstrate the Chinese government's determination to protect sovereignty and territorial integrity." Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949, but Beijing still regards the island as part of its territory. China has repeatedly threatened to attack Taiwan if its government indefinitely rebuffs Beijing's demands for talks on unification or if it declares outright independence. If meant as a warning to Chen, the drills would mark an escalation in Chinese efforts to force him to accept the "one-China principle." Beijing said after Chen's election that it would give him time to take steps to ease tension. But recently Beijing has expressed mounting frustration over Chen's refusal to endorse "one China." The Chinese army's plans to practice attacking an aircraft carrier appeared designed with U.S. forces in mind. President Bush angered Beijing in April by approving a large package of weapons for Taiwan and by saying that U.S. forces could be used to defend the island from Chinese attack. An April 1 collision between a U.S. Navy spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet also strained relations. In Taiwan, a Ministry of Defense spokesman said China routinely holds drills this time of year because the weather is favorable. "We have not seen signs that the drills are a threat to Taiwan," said the spokesman, speaking on customary con***ion of anonymity. The spokesman said all nations hold military exercises and that Taiwan should not get alarmed when China does. He also said that combined exercises - involving jets, warships and troops - are routine in maintaining a modern military. Such drills by nature will be large, he said. The Beijing Morning Post said forces taking part in the exercises will include missile batteries, amphibious tanks, submarines, warships, marines and Russian-made Su-27 fighters - among the most modern weapons in China's growing arsenal. Nearly 10,000 troops have been taking up position on Dongshan since mid-May, the newspaper said, quoting a report in a pro-Beijing Hong Kong newspaper. "Dongshan Island is now full of all types of Liberation Army units. Troops that have reached the site of the exercises are intensifying training in order to prepare for the big maneuvers," the newspaper said.
China Says War Games Are Routine
Updated: Tue, Jun 05 6:23 AM EDT
BEIJING (AP) - China said Tuesday that war games under way on an island opposite Taiwan are routine annual exercises.
"As long as a country has a military force there will be military exercises," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Sun Yuxi. The war games are "within the sovereignty, within the territory of China, which has nothing to do with any other countries."
Sun said the drills, on China's Dongshan island off the southeastern coastal province of Fujian, were aimed at improving the fighting abilities of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the world's largest military.
Sun's low-key description of the maneuvers contrasted with reports in state-run media. They said the Dongshan exercises would practice how to seize an outlying Taiwanese island and attack an aircraft carrier - an apparent references to U.S. naval forces.
"The military exercises are routine annual exercises," Sun said. "Don't confuse it with other issues."
The state-run Beijing Morning Post newspaper said nearly 10,000 troops were taking part. Their weapons include missiles, amphibious tanks, submarines, warships and Russian-made Su-27 aircraft - among the most modern weapons in China's growing arsenal.
The newspaper said the war games, called `Liberation One," would be among the largest the 2.5 million-member PLA has ever conducted