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Chinese naval expert denies PLA joining fight against ISIS
Staff Reporter 2015-09-29 16:01 (GMT+8)
A Chinese naval expert has denied reports that the People's Liberation Army is sending a team of "military advisers" to Syria to assist in the fight against the the Islamic State jihadist terror group.
Over the weekend, several media outlets have picked up a report from the Lebanon-based news website Al-Masdar, which cited a Syrian army official as stating that a Chinese naval vessel is on its way to Syria with dozens of military advisers on board.
"The Chinese will be arriving in the coming weeks," the unnamed official is quoted as saying, adding that the military advisers will later be followed by troops.
The report claims that the ship has passed the Suez Canal in Egypt and is making its way through the Mediterranean Sea. Once they arrive in Syria the Chinese advisers will be joining Russian personnel in the Syrian port city of Latakia, the report added.
A second report from the Israeli military news website DEBKAfile states that China's only aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, has already been spotted at the Syrian port of Tartus on the Mediterranean coast along with a Chinese guided missile destroyer.
DEBKAfile's military sources claim that the Liaoning passed through the Suez Canal on Sept. 22, the day after Russian president Vladimir Putin met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Moscow. The arrival of a Chinese military presence "has upended the entire strategic situation surrounding the Syrian conflict, adding a new global dimension to Moscow and Tehran's military support for [Syrian president Bashar al] Assad," the report said.
A third report from the Moscow-based Pravda quotes Igor Morozov, a member of the Russian Federation Committee on International Affairs, as stating: "It is known that China has joined our military operation in Syria. The Chinese cruiser has already entered the Mediterranean, followed by its aircraft carrier."
The timing of these reports claiming that China has joined the fight against ISIS is significant, as Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria have just agreed to establish a joint information center in Baghdad to coordinate their anti-ISIS operations. A Chinese hostage was also recently put up "for sale" by ISIS in an online magazine.
However, Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, told China's nationalistic Global Times tabloid Sunday that reports of the Liaoning heading to the Mediterranean are "purely rumors."
China will not send cruise ships to support any side in the Syrian civil war as Beijing will uphold a "fair and objective stance" in the conflict and respect the independent choice of the Syrian people, he said. This position is in line with China's official "non-interference" approach to the internal affairs of other countries.
Zhang notes that the reports may have been confused by the movements of the PLA Navy's 152 Fleet — headed by the Jinan guided-missile destroyer along with the Yiyang frigate and the Qiandaohu supply ship — which has been conducting activities in the Mediterranean this year. After completing a four-month escort mission, the fleet began a five-month global tour from Aug. 23 that began from the Gulf of Aden region includes passing through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean and Baltic Sea. The fleet passed through the Mediterranean in late August/early September and has so far visited Sudan, Egypt, Denmark and Finland, he said.
Zhang states that the 152 Fleet's voyage is planned and has no direct connection to the Middle East. The fleet will next head to Poland, the US, Cuba and Mexico, he said.
Chinese naval expert denies PLA joining fight against ISIS
Staff Reporter 2015-09-29 16:01 (GMT+8)
A Chinese naval expert has denied reports that the People's Liberation Army is sending a team of "military advisers" to Syria to assist in the fight against the the Islamic State jihadist terror group.
Over the weekend, several media outlets have picked up a report from the Lebanon-based news website Al-Masdar, which cited a Syrian army official as stating that a Chinese naval vessel is on its way to Syria with dozens of military advisers on board.
"The Chinese will be arriving in the coming weeks," the unnamed official is quoted as saying, adding that the military advisers will later be followed by troops.
The report claims that the ship has passed the Suez Canal in Egypt and is making its way through the Mediterranean Sea. Once they arrive in Syria the Chinese advisers will be joining Russian personnel in the Syrian port city of Latakia, the report added.
A second report from the Israeli military news website DEBKAfile states that China's only aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, has already been spotted at the Syrian port of Tartus on the Mediterranean coast along with a Chinese guided missile destroyer.
DEBKAfile's military sources claim that the Liaoning passed through the Suez Canal on Sept. 22, the day after Russian president Vladimir Putin met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Moscow. The arrival of a Chinese military presence "has upended the entire strategic situation surrounding the Syrian conflict, adding a new global dimension to Moscow and Tehran's military support for [Syrian president Bashar al] Assad," the report said.
A third report from the Moscow-based Pravda quotes Igor Morozov, a member of the Russian Federation Committee on International Affairs, as stating: "It is known that China has joined our military operation in Syria. The Chinese cruiser has already entered the Mediterranean, followed by its aircraft carrier."
The timing of these reports claiming that China has joined the fight against ISIS is significant, as Russia, Iran, Iraq and Syria have just agreed to establish a joint information center in Baghdad to coordinate their anti-ISIS operations. A Chinese hostage was also recently put up "for sale" by ISIS in an online magazine.
However, Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute, told China's nationalistic Global Times tabloid Sunday that reports of the Liaoning heading to the Mediterranean are "purely rumors."
China will not send cruise ships to support any side in the Syrian civil war as Beijing will uphold a "fair and objective stance" in the conflict and respect the independent choice of the Syrian people, he said. This position is in line with China's official "non-interference" approach to the internal affairs of other countries.
Zhang notes that the reports may have been confused by the movements of the PLA Navy's 152 Fleet — headed by the Jinan guided-missile destroyer along with the Yiyang frigate and the Qiandaohu supply ship — which has been conducting activities in the Mediterranean this year. After completing a four-month escort mission, the fleet began a five-month global tour from Aug. 23 that began from the Gulf of Aden region includes passing through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean and Baltic Sea. The fleet passed through the Mediterranean in late August/early September and has so far visited Sudan, Egypt, Denmark and Finland, he said.
Zhang states that the 152 Fleet's voyage is planned and has no direct connection to the Middle East. The fleet will next head to Poland, the US, Cuba and Mexico, he said.