The PLA has a tradition of paying heavy attention to minesweeping operations, Shi Hong, Executive Chief Editor of the Chinese mainland magazine, Shipborne Weapons, told the Global Times on Tuesday. With this measures, it thinks it can buy enough time and wait for US reinforcements, experts said at that time. Taiwan wrongly believes that the PLA would need a long time to clear the mines before launching a full scale amphibious assault. Taiwan has also been constructing minelayer vessels.īy laying mines in the Taiwan Straits, the island is attempting to slow down a potential PLA amphibious landing. Media reported last year that the US was pushing an arms sales surge to the island of Taiwan, including smart, underwater sea mines. This is the first maritime training exercise the Huimin and the Zhijiang have participated in since they entered service, according to CCTV. ![]() The drill featured multiple modules and all combat factors, as the four MCMVs combined techniques of locating, dismantling and probing together, using sonar devices to detect suspected sea mines at night and clear them with a variety of equipment during the day, CCTV reported. Analysts said on Tuesday that minesweeping capacity is important for the PLA in the Taiwan Straits.Ī minesweeper flotilla attached to the PLA Northern Theater Command Navy, including the Rongcheng, the Yucheng, the Huimin and the Zhijiang, recently conducted a maritime exercise in an undisclosed area in the Yellow Sea for four days and nights, China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Saturday. The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy recently commissioned two new mine countermeasure vessels, or MCMV, and deployed them in a recent all-day exercise. The navy and the US ambassador to the Philippines, Harry K Thomas, have apologised for the grounding and promised to co-operate with its close ally.Three warships attached to a naval flotilla under the PLA Southern Theater Command, including the amphibious dock landing ship Wuzhishan (Hull 987) and comprehensive supply ship Chaganhu (Hull 967), steam in formation during a combined arms training exercise. Photo: China Military Online Thomas Carney, commander of the navy's Logistics Group in the Western Pacific, told reporters last week that the investigation would look into all the factors that may have led to the grounding, including a reported faulty digital chart, sea conditions, weather and the state of the ship's navigational equipment. He said the navy would face fines for damaging the environment. Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said last week that the US navy must explain how the ship got off course. ![]() The navy is investigating the incident, which caused Philippine government agencies and environmentalists to express concern about the extent of damage to the coral reef. The navy's support vessels siphoned off remaining fuel and salvage teams removed heavy equipment and hazardous material. The ship began listing and taking on water through holes in the wooden hull. The grounding caused no casualties to the ship's 79 crew and officers, who were taken off the vessel after it crashed into the reef in shallow waters. Stockman gave no time frame for the operation. ![]() The navy had said previously that the ship would be lifted by crane on to a barge and taken to a shipyard, but apparently the damage was too extensive and it will have to be cut up and removed in pieces. He said the Philippine coastguard was reviewing the plan, but gave no other details.
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