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One of Indonesia's main concerns is to give external powers no good reason for
intruding into the Straits of Malacca, hence joint Singapore‐Malaysia‐Indonesia naval
patrols, eyes in the sky surveillance and Thai cooperation at the western end of the
Straits.
Indonesia has a doctrine of archipelagic defense ‐ a kind of defensive entrapment. In
other words, if a country should attack Indonesia and try to land forces it would face
guerilla war by local forces. This is a simplified version of the doctrine.
Indonesia has been slow to respond to Vietnam's initiative to step up naval
cooperation with its neighbors. Vietnam conducts joint patrols with Cambodia and
Thailand. Malaysia agreed to do so in 2009. Last year Hanoi and Jakarta only
discussed the idea. The main concern, as with joint China‐Vietnam patrols in the Gulf
of Thailand, is to prevent illegal fishing and suppress piracy. In 2008 for the first time
Vietnamese naval ships visited Thailand. The following year Vietnamese ships made
their first visit to Malaysia and China. It is possible to see that the web of
Vietnamese‐initiated joint naval patrols as having the hidden agenda of encouraging
greater military cooperation by ASEAN states. This would be a mild form of
deterrence directed against China.
Indonesia does not consider itself a party principal to the South China Sea dispute.
Rather as an honest broker it has hosted low level track 2 talks on the South China
Sea for over a decade as a confidence building measure. These talks were initially
funded by Canada but when they got nowhere Canada pulled out. Indonesia picked
up the tab.
Malaysia and Singapore have a special dynamic in their relationship quite separate
from any concern about China. They have a kind of competitive rivalry and sometime
defense analysts see a glimmer of mini arms race in their procurements. Malaysia,
unlike Singapore, has features in the South China Sea to protect. Singapore has the
special partnership arrangement with the U.S.
Thayer Consultancy Background Briefing:
ABN # 65 648 097 123
China and Singapore
Submarine Acquisitions
Carlyle A. Thayer
March 30, 2010
[client name deleted]
Here are some additional questions I have on the navy and am wondering whether
you know the answers. #3 pertains directly to something you told me:
1. What % of the overall PLA budget does the Chinese navy get? Does the navy get
the largest share of the budget, as I've seen reported in some place, and does it also
have the fastest growing portion of the budget?
ANSWER:
Official Chinese figures on defense spending do not itemize expenditure by service
but by category. It is not possible to determine from these figures how much goes to
the navy. For example both land and sea based ballistic missiles are included in the
same category. The Pentagon’s annual report to Congress also lists overall spending
but does not break these figures down into services (army, navy, air force, rocket
forces etc.). I have been able to find only one source (April 2009) that states China
has increased its naval budget by 60 percent over the past four years (presumably
2005‐2008)>
2. Is it correct that the Chinese navy has built at least 2 Jin‐class submarines, the first
ones in the navy with ballistic missile capabilities? When were these built?
ANSWER: China’s first SSBN was the Xia‐class and only one was produced. It was
equipped with surface launched ballistic missiles (CSS‐N‐3).China currently has two
Jin‐class submarines, the first was launched in 2004 and became operational in 2007,
and the second was launched in 2006 and became operational in 2009. China also
has at least two more Jin‐class submarines under construction, one is due for sea
trials in 2011 and the other in 2013.The (US) Office of Naval Intelligence reports that
five Jin‐class submarines may be built in total.
The Jin‐class are strategic ballistic nuclear submarines (SSBN) equipped with up to 12
CSS‐NX‐4 surface launched ballistic missiles.
3. Is it correct that Singapore has bought at least 2 new submarines from Sweden
and launched one last year? I think you might have mentioned that Singapore had
acquired 4‐6, but I can only find reports on the Internet of 2 being purchased. Am I
missing accounts of the other subs?
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