China to reorganize military defense setup

In this Dec. 26, 2013 photo, Chinese People’s Liberation Army navy personnel salute in front of a new Type 052C guided missile destroyer Zhengzhou during its commission ceremony in Zhoushan, in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. China is considering reorganizing its seven military regions into five to respond more swiftly to a crisis, the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported. AP PHOTO

TOKYO—China is considering reorganizing its seven military regions into five to respond more swiftly to a crisis, the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

The news comes amid rising tensions over Beijing’s territorial claims in the region, with China and Japan squaring off over a chain of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.

Each of the new military regions will create a joint operations command that controls the Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as a strategic missile unit, the daily said, citing senior Chinese military officials.

The revamp would mark a shift from the current defense-oriented military that relies mainly on the Army to one that ensures more mobile and integrated management of the Army, Navy, Air Force and strategic missile units, Yomiuri said.

“It is a proactive measure with eyes on counteracting the Japan-US alliance,” the daily quoted one of the officials as saying.

Tokyo and Beijing are locked in a territorial row over the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which China also claims and calls the Diaoyus.

The United States, while insisting it does not take sides on sovereignty disputes, has said the islands are under Tokyo’s management and come under a security treaty in which it is required to defend officially pacifist Japan against attack.

Attack capability

China, which has been ramping up military spending over its past decade of strong economic growth, has also tussled with the Philippines and Vietnam over maritime territories.

Under the proposed military structure, China aims to strengthen its attack capability to secure air and naval superiority in the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) and East China Sea, the daily said.

It also said Japan plans to deploy its first “Global Hawk” unmanned surveillance planes at an airbase in Misawa, on the northern tip of Japan’s main Honshu Island, adjacent to a US air base where the same type of aircraft will be based later this year.

Japan’s defense ministry plans to deploy three Global Hawk drones between April 2015 and March 2016, Yomiuri said.

Misawa is located about 2,300 kilometers north of the Senkakus.

30 hours nonstop

Equipped with sophisticated sensors and radars, the Global Hawk drone is capable of flying more than 30 hours nonstop and detecting the movements of vessels, aircraft and missiles within a radius of 500 km from an altitude of 18,000 meters.

It does not have attack capability.

The defense ministry and the US Air Force will jointly maintain the drones to ensure they operate effectively, the report said.