THE ARMS RACE (Reuters video) China puts final satellite for Beidou into orbit. (AP) Japan PM to bolster defense after scrapping missile system. (CBS NEWS) (Video) U.S. "not going to allow Russia and China to continue" increasing nuclear stockpiles, top negotiator says(Business Insider) The US wants to kill part of an 8,000 mile-long undersea cable linking Hong Kong with LA over China spying fears. (The National Interest) Will China Have Global Naval Dominance by 2030? (Reuters) U.S. to sidestep arms pact to sell armed drones. (The National Interest) China Finishes Its Second Large Amphibious Assault Ship. (Reuters) U.S. Senate panel authorizes $9.1 billion for 95 F-35 jets made by Lockheed. (Defense News) Senate panel OKs $6 billion military fund to confront China. (The National Interest) Two of America's Most Powerful Aircraft Carriers Have Just Joined Forces. (The National Interest) China Just Added Two New Nuclear Missile Submarines to Its Fleet. (Bloomberg) A U.S.-China Cold War Could Be Good for Investors, After All
https://quandiemvietnam.blogspot.com/2020/06/the-arms-race-cu-o-c-ch-y-ua-vu-trang.htmlWorld
Radiation Leak in Europe Points to a Possible Russian Weapons Test
June 29, 2020, 2:15 PM PDT
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| Photo credit: Russian Defence Ministry - Getty Images |
Radiation monitoring stations across northern Europe have detected above normal—but still safe—levels of radioactivity.
One of the radioactive isotopes detected, Iodine 131, is generated by nuclear fission.
Russia has denied being the source of the radioactivity, but the country had similar leaks in 2017 and 2019. The radiation may be due to the testing of a new nuclear-powered cruise missile.
Radiation detectors across northern Europe have picked up a short-lived, non-dangerous release of radioactivity experts believe came from Russia. Authorities believe the leak, which was first detected in early June, is coming from western Russia. One possibility is that the test is in some way related to a new nuclear-powered cruise missile, which caused an accident in 2019 and several deaths.
The Associated Press reports that officials in Finland, Norway, and Sweden detected man-made radionuclides—that is, radionuclides that do not naturally occur in nature. According to the Barents Observer, Iodine 131 was detected by air monitoring stations at Svanhovd and Viksjøfjell, Norway, as well as a nuclear weapons monitoring facility at Svalbard. Analysis by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health indicates the source of the radiation is western Russia.
Iodine 131 is a radioisotope created as a result of nuclear fission, which is why scientists believe the radiation release is the result of an accident at a nuclear facility. According to the CDC, exposure to large amounts of Iodine 131 can cause burns to the eyes and skin. Iodine 131 ingested into the human body accumulates in the thyroid gland, causing thyroid cancer. Iodine 131 has a half-life of eight days, meaning it can disappear from the environment relatively quickly.
The amount of Iodine 131 released is considered “tiny” and not dangerous.
Finnish authorities also reportedly detected small levels of cobalt, ruthenium and cesium in mid-June. In late June, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, an international organization that monitors the globe for signs of nuclear weapons tests, detected radioactive isotopes across southern Sweden.
Business
Revealed: The Pentagon’s Pacific Plans for the B-21 Stealth Bomber
https://www.yahoo.com/news/revealed-pentagon-pacific-plans-b-143000586.html
Click here to read the full article.
The Pentagon plans to deploy its emerging B-21 stealth bomber in the Pacific as part of a decided effort to ensure technical superiority, sustain deterrence, and, if needed, hold potential adversaries at risk.
The plan, articulated by Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs David Helvey, incorporates the integration of surveillance assets, submarines and what the Pentagon envisions as a new generation of stealth technology contained in the B-21.
“We're making investments to ensure that we maintain operational readiness and strengthen the conventional capabilities that we have that are our enduring advantage such as submarines, the new B-21 Stealth bomber, the P-8 aircraft,” Helvey told reporters June 18, according to a Pentagon transcript.
Helvey discussed the anticipated operation of the B-21 in the context of increased U.S.-allied training operations, coordinated strategic policies and a specific focus upon the “deterrence of any actors that would look to undermine or threaten our shared interests,” as he put it.
Operating a B-21 in the Pacific, conducting patrols such as those now increasingly being performed by B-2s, B-52s and B1-bs in the Pacific theater, would present a new series of interwoven complexities for potential adversaries.
Given that the B-21 is largely a “black” program, very few details are known about its technical characteristics, however, developers have emphasized that it incorporates a new generation of stealth technology, bringing an ability to hold “any target, anywhere in the world . . . at risk.”
Slated to be operational in just the next few years, the B-21 could not come at a better time, given the rapid advances known to be occurring with Chinese surface-to-air defenses. While Russian S-400s and emerging S-500s have long been believed to be among the most advanced and concerning, there is now growing consensus that China’s technological progress in this area is also quickly gaining ground.
The most cutting edge air defenses increasingly draw upon faster computer processing, digital networking between otherwise separate “nodes,” and multi-frequency radar technologies. A 2017 assessment in Deagle.com of the HQ-9 specifically cites that the Chinese air defenses are in part based upon the U.S. Patriot and Russian S-300 Systems. The newer HQ-9B is cited to be able to hit ranges out to three hundred kilometers.
“The HQ-9 has a track-via-missile terminal guidance system and proximity fuze taken from the Patriot and ‘cold-launch’ and aerodynamics from tube-launched S-300 missiles,” the Deagle.com report states.
Despite the technological progress of air defenses, retired Lt. Gen. David Deptula, Dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, maintains an “imperative for stealth,” explaining that the most advanced stealth bombers will remain very difficult to hit.
“Even if a radar can detect, it now has to track, and when it transfers that data to engage it will have to shoot a missile using much smaller radar than that used for detection. Also, fusing of the interceptor weapon can be affected by low observability technology,” Deptula previously told the National Interest. “Bi-static radar can help detect low observable aircraft. However, to intercept a stealth aircraft requires the transfer of detection from a large acquisition radar to a much smaller interceptor radar either on an aircraft or a missile that can track—or maintain continuous “lock-on” of the low observable aircraft
The B-21 image released by the USAF depicts a design that does not use vertical flight control surfaces like tails. Without vertical surfaces to reflect radar from side aspects, the new bomber will have an RCS (Radar Cross Section) that reduces returns not only from the front and rear but also from the sides, making detection from any angle a challenge, the Mitchell Institute writes.
On the topic of RCS, an interesting essay called “Radar and Laser Cross-Section Engineering,” from the Aerospace Research Central, cites the emergence of new coating technologies, including “radar-absorbing materials and artificial metamaterials.” (Text written by David Jenn, an author from the Naval Postgraduate School).
Newer methods of infrared or thermal signature reduction are connected to engine and exhaust placement. Internally configured engines, coupled with exhaust pipes on the top of an aircraft can massively lower the heat emissions from an aircraft, such as the structure of the current B-2.
All of these emerging technical factors continue to inform a growing consensus regarding future war threats—that the B-21 may quite possibly be the only platform that will be able to penetrate certain enemy weapons and advanced air defenses for decades to come.
Kris Osborn is the defense editor for the National Interest. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
Image: Reuters
Defense News
Smith wants $3.6B plan to counter China, and way more study
https://www.yahoo.com/news/smith-wants-3-6b-plan-023312569.html
WASHINGTON ― Congressional defense leaders now have at least three competing plans to push back on China in the Pacific. Which will they choose?
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., introduced his own $3.6 billion Indo-Pacific Reassurance Initiative plan Thursday―a response to two plans, each called the Indo-Pacific Deterrence Initiative―that would spend more and be more prescriptive about how the Pentagon would spend that money.
“Our goal in this was to send a signal to our partners and allies that we have an enduring commitment to the region and that collectively we want to help address the full spectrum of security threats that our partners and allies in the region face,” a committee aide said in a conference call with reporters Thursday.
Among other things, Smith’s plan identifies $3.6 billion in base budget already part of the president’s budget request, and it requires the Pentagon produce a raft of analysis before Congress beefs up the U.S. presence in the Pacific.
The language is part of the HASC draft of the annual defense policy bill, due to be marked up in committee on July 1.
Smith’s plan and the others represent Congress’s efforts to sharpen the Pentagon’s spending and focus in the region, even as Defense Secretary Mark Esper has said China is his department’s top adversary. Each was inspired by the multiyear European Deterrence Initiative, which has consumed $22 billion since its inception after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
HASC’s top Republican, Rep. Mac Thornberry, of Texas, has proposed an Indo-Pacific Deterrence Initiative that spends $6 billion―all in FY21―on specific priorities that include air and missile defense systems as well as new military construction in partner countries.
Thornberry will offer amendments during the markup to get the bill closer to his plan, according to a memo he released Thursday. Smith’s plan lacks “several important elements,” and the amendments will be “focused on specific authorities and investments needed to strengthen greater cooperation with allies and partners,” the memo said.
Smith’s plan would require another strategy from the defense secretary and chief of Indo-Pacific Command for all the forces, equipment and facilities and they would need to reassure allies, with a detailed budget, timeline and list of locations for proposed assets. Budget justification materials would be required in fiscal 2022 and each year after.
Responding to a requirement in the FY20 National Defense Authorization Act, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command previously provided Congress with a plan for $20 billion in spending through FY26 so that the combatant command can fulfill the National Defense Strategy and maintain an edge over China.
The idea with the new legislation, a HASC aide said, was to further establish a basis for the initiative and get the Defense Department into regular talks with Congress to describe how the military was meeting Congress’s objectives and spending what Congress has provided, the HASC aide said.
Congress will have to internally negotiate the final dollar amount for any such fund and what those funds would buy. Once approved by the full House, its version of the NDAA would be reconciled with the Senate’s version―due on the Senate floor next week―which also contains its own Indo-Pacific Deterrence Initiative.
The the Senate Armed Services Committee-approved plan authorizes $1.4 billion in 2021 (which is $188.6 million more than the president’s budget request) and $5.5 billion in 2022. It also emphasizes investment in an array of specific enabling capabilities and infrastructure.
Its transparency measures aren’t as comprehensive as the HASC bill, but it requires the Pentagon provide detailed information in its annual budget request, including projections for spending over five years.
Compared with the SASC bill, Smith did not propose additional funding as SASC did, nor did he include off-budget wartime funds, a HASC aide said.
“So there’ll be some differences to work out as we go through this,” the aide said, “but we think there’s a bipartisan consensus to try to get it done.”
Inhofe, in a floor speech Thursday, touted the SASC bill’s goal of countering Russia and China, which has “antagonized and harassed Taiwanese, Malaysian, Vietnamese, and Indonesian vessels in the South China Sea.”
“The Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act is all about sending a message to China and Russia,” Inhofe said. “It says, ‘There is no way you can defeat us — so don’t even try.’”
Business
Senate panel OKs $6 billion military fund to confront China
https://www.yahoo.com/news/senate-panel-oks-6-billion-165555677.html
WASHINGTON ― Plans for a Senate-crafted version of the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, a new military fund to boost deterrence against China in the Pacific, is one step closer to becoming law.
The Senate Armed Services Committee has approved nearly $6 billion for the fund in its version of the annual defense policy bill, the panel announced Thursday. It authorizes $1.4 billion in fiscal 2021, which would be $188.6 million above the administration’s budget request, and $5.5 billion for fiscal 2022. The bill also directs the defense secretary to create a spending plan for all of the funds.
“The best way to protect U.S. security and prosperity in Asia is to maintain a credible balance of military power, but, after years of underfunding, America’s ability to do so is at risk,” the committee’s summary stated. “The FY21 [National Defense Authorization Act] establishes the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI) to send a strong signal to the Chinese Communist Party that America is deeply committed to defending our interests in the Indo-Pacific.
“PDI will enhance budgetary transparency and oversight, focus resources on key military capability gaps, reassure U.S. allies and partners, and bolster the credibility of American deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.”
Though not all details of the fund were immediately made public, SASC Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., previously said they would sponsor a measure to enable U.S. military operations in the region, beyond supporting new weapons platforms.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper has said China is his department’s top adversary, but Congress has worked to sharpen the Pentagon’s spending and focus in the region. The PDI would follow the form of the multiyear European Deterrence Initiative, which has consumed $22 billion since its inception after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.
Congress will have to internally negotiate the final dollar amount for PDI and what those funds would buy, but House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., and ranking member Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, have expressed support for the idea. Though the Senate’s approach differs, Thornberry has also proposed spending $6 billion―all in FY21―on priorities that include air and missile defense systems as well as new military construction in partner countries; Smith hasn’t released his own plan.
Once approved by the full Senate, its version of the NDAA would be reconciled with the House’s version, which the HASC is expected to make public late this month before it goes through markup July 1 and advances to the House floor.
With an eye on China beyond the PDI, the SASC bill also encourages the Air Force to establish an operating location in the Indo-Pacific region for F-35A fighter jets and to allocate “sufficient resources and prioritize the protection of air bases that might be under attack from current or emerging cruise missiles and advanced hypersonic missiles, specifically from China."
There are also a number of provisions aimed at safeguarding America’s technology and industrial base from Chinese intellectual property theft and “economic aggression,” according to the summary. The bill would also require reports from the Pentagon on how to mitigate the risks from vendors like Chinese telecom firms Huawei and ZTE when basing U.S. troops overseas.
The SASC summary said its proposed PDI would:
Increase lethality of the joint force in the Pacific, including by improving active and passive defense against theater cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missiles for bases, operating locations and other critical infrastructure.
Enhance the design and posture of the joint force in the Indo-Pacific region by transitioning from large, centralized and unhardened infrastructure to smaller, dispersed, resilient and adaptive basing; increasing the number of capabilities of expeditionary airfields and ports; enhancing pre-positioning of forward stocks of fuel, munitions, equipment and materiel; and improving distributed logistics and maintenance capabilities in the region to ensure the sustainment of logistics under persistent multidomain attack.
Strengthen alliances and partnerships to increase capabilities, improve interoperability and information sharing, and support information operations capabilities with a focus on countering malign influence.
U.S.
The U.S. Navy Just Landed Another Littoral Combat Ship
Click here to read the full article.
In the world of professional football there had long been a rivalry between the NFL’s (formerly) San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs, but the city that is known as "the birthplace of California" is now the home port for the USS Kansas City (LCS 22), the twenty-first Independence-variant littoral combat ship to be commissioned into the U.S. Navy. The warship arrived in its new homeport at the end of last month.
“I am extremely proud of all the hard work the crew has done to complete the sail around and prepare us to officially join the fleet on commissioning day,” said Cmdr. RJ Zamberlan, Kansas City’s commanding officer when the ship arrived in San Diego. “We are honored and excited to represent the Navy, the nation, and our namesake, as well as fulfill the ship’s motto, ‘United We Stand, Divided We Fall.’”
LCS 22 was designed and built by Austal USA in collaboration with General Dynamics in Mobile, Alabama. Prior to its departure from Mobile, the ship’s crew conducted a twenty-one-day restriction in movement (ROM) in accordance with the U.S. Navy pre-deployment guidelines.
Last Saturday, the Navy commissioned Kansas City administratively via naval message, due to public health safety and restrictions of large public gatherings related to the novel coronavirus pandemic and transitioned the ship to normal operations.
“This Independence-variant littoral combat ship will continue our proud naval legacy and embody the spirit of the people of Kansas City,” said Secretary of the Navy Kenneth J. Braithwaite. “I am confident the crew of the USS Kansas City will extend the reach and capability of our force and confront the challenges of today’s complex world with our core values of honor, courage and commitment.”
USS Kansas City is the second ship to be named for Kansas City, the largest city in Missouri—however, the name was originally assigned to a heavy cruiser that was under construction during World War II. Construction was canceled after one month due to the end of the war. The name Kansas City was then assigned to the Wichita-class replenishment oiler AOR-3 in 1967, and that ship saw service in the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm before being decommissioned in 1994.
USS Kansas City will be homeported in San Diego with her sister ships, which include the USS Independence (LCS 2), USS Coronado (LCS 4), USS Jackson (LCS 6), USS Montgomery (LCS 8), USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10), USS Omaha (LCS 12), USS Manchester (LCS 14), USS Tulsa (LCS 16), USS Charleston (LCS 18), and USS Cincinnati (LCS 20).
Mission-Focused, But Problematic
The LCS is a fast, agile, mission-focused platform that is designed to operate in near-shore environments, but also capable of conducting open-ocean tasks and addressing twenty-first-century coastal threats including submarines, mines and swarming small craft. The LCS is also capable of supporting forward presence, maritime security, sea control and deterrence.
However, the Navy has dealt with issues with the first four of its LCS vessels, and earlier this year the Navy’s budget director suggested it would cheaper to decommission the vessels than to upgrade and repair the warships. After spending $30 billion over a period of around two decades, the U.S. Navy has managed to acquire just thirty-five of the thirty-thousand-ton-displacement vessels.
One issue is that the LCS warships aren’t as crucial for inshore naval warfare as one suggested. The “program has fulfilled little if any of its early promise yet could provide value in the future if put to creative tactical use.”
While the modular design of the ship was hyped up, it lacked its striking potential once its over-the-horizon anti-ship missile that constituted its main battery for surface warfare was canceled. Instead, the Navy substituted Longbow Hellfire missiles, which while lethal had an effective range of just 6.84 miles—something that was seen as a problem as anti-ship missiles can now strike targets from hundreds of miles.
Efforts to upgrade the vessels have included installing the Naval Strike Missile, a thirteen-foot-long, sea-skimming missile that would become the LCS’s most powerful weapon. In addition, the Navy has explored ways that its Fire Scout drones could be employed on the LCS. The Fire Scout drone is an indispensable part of the ship's surface, countermine and anti-submarine warfare missions; it is equipped with advanced mine-hunting sensors, aerial surface scanners and target-locating Electro-Optical/Infra-Red cameras.
With these upgrades it is hoped that the Navy can right the course for the LCS—but already it has canceled twenty future LCSs in place of twenty new missile frigates.
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. He is the author of several books on military headgear including A Gallery of Military Headdress, which is available on Amazon.com.
Image: Wikimedia Commons / Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kevin C. Leitner
World
Did Russia Just Send a Submarine Through the Bosphorus?
Click here to read the full article.
In a Twitter post, a respected Turkish ship spotter showed evidence that a Russian Kilo-class submarine allegedly passed through the Bosphorus, in violation of the Montreux Convention. At press time, we were unable to confirm the report independently, however, if true, the news would be very significant.
The Montreux Convention, officially known as The Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits, was signed in 1936 and strictly regulates naval traffic through the Bosphorus, a narrow passage that separates Greece from Turkey and connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. Although merchant vessels enjoy unrestricted access to the Bosphorus and can pass without restriction, so-called vessels of war are subject to various restrictions, depending on their country of origin, where they were built or purchased, and their tonnage.
Regarding submarines specifically, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that, “only submarines belonging to riparian states can pass through the Turkish Straits, for the purpose of rejoining their base in the Black Sea for the first time after their construction or purchase, or for the purpose of repair in dockyards outside the Black Sea.” This crafty submarine appears to be acting in violation of this clause.
According to the respected naval expert H I Sutton, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet does not have any nuclear-powered submarines, though it received several Project 636.3 Kilo Class submarines. These diesel-electric attack submarines can fire land-attack and anti-ship missiles in addition to their standard torpedo armament. While the Romanian Navy also has one Kilo-class submarine, it reportedly hasn’t sailed for years and therefore is likely not the same Kilo submarine as the one in this incident.
Sutton explained the implications of this latest maneuver, writing that,
“Russia has been unhappy with the details of the agreement in the past, but has adhered to the terms in respect of submarines. Despite this Black Sea Fleet submarines have been deployed to the Mediterranean. They even fired cruise missiles into Syria. But they got there via a different route. Those submarines deployed to Syria before they were delivered from their shipyards, to the Black Sea. They thus passed through “for the first time after their construction.” This latest move cannot be explained this way.”
If Moscow did violate the treaty, what are the implications of this new Russian boldness?
If the Montreux Convention continues to be flouted, Russia could potentially move submarines—and other surface warships—through the Bosphorus with impunity, and potentially strengthening their position in either the Mediterranean or the Black Sea.
The Mediterranean is a place of particular interest to Russia. Now, with confirmed reports of Russian activity in Libya, Russian interest in the Mediterranean makes sense and could serve to strengthen their position and defend their interests along Europe’s southern border.
Likewise, if the Montreux Convention is dead, then there could be an incentive for other countries to sail their own warships or submarines into the Black Sea to monitor or challenge Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Watch this developing situation closely.
Caleb Larson is a defense writer with the National Interest. He holds a Master of Public Policy and covers U.S. and Russian security, European defense issues, and German politics and culture.
Image: Reuters
U.S.
US Navy announces intent to ink $10B in contracts for first 2 Columbia subs
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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy is poised to ink almost $10.4 billion in contracts with General Dynamics Electric Boat to procure the first two Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines, which carry more than a dozen nuclear missiles on constant deterrent patrols.
The announcement, released by the Defense Department Monday afternoon, detailed an award of $869 million to Electric Boat to complete design work on the subs as part of a contract modification. The announcement also establishes the Navy’s intent to award an additional $9.5 billion for the first two hulls, which will happen once Congress officially approves the two-ship buy and appropriates the money.
“The intent would be to award that option as soon as possible after the FY21 appropriation to ensure we keep this No. 1 priority on track,” said James Geurts, the Navy’s assistant secretary for research, development and acquisition. “That will allow us to begin full-rate construction of the first ship, begin advanced construction on the second ship, with the intent of beginning construction of the second ship in 2024.”
Nuclear deterrent still the US Navy’s top priority, no matter the consequences, top officer says
The first ship is slated for a 2028 deliver and to go on its first patrol in 2031. The total buy is planned for 12 submarines.
In a statement Rep. Joe Courntey, D-Conn., who represents the Electric Boat’s district, praised the announcement, saying it was years in the making.
“This award is the culmination of nearly a decade’s worth of preparation for this milestone moment for our region and our nation,” Courntey said. “The replacement of our sea-based strategic deterrent comes only once every other generation, and this work is already fueling unprecedented growth in the workforce in Groton and transformation of the shipyard.”
The Columbia-class subs are the Navy’s top acquisition priority, and a monstrously expensive one at that. All in, the program will cost roughly $109 billion, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report, and the service faces an enormous challenge in balancing the rest of the fleet’s priorities with the Columbia bill.
World
China warns risk of naval incident with US on the rise
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The United States runs regular operations in the South China SeaThe United States runs regular operations in the South China Sea (AFP Photo/Catherine LAI) |
Tensions between the two superpowers have soared on multiple fronts since President Donald Trump took office in 2017, with both countries flexing their diplomatic and military muscle.
The United States' regular "freedom of navigation" operations in the South China Sea -- where China and neighbouring countries have competing claims -- angers Beijing, and China's navy usually warns off the US ships.
For its part, Beijing has infuriated other nations by building artificial islands with military installations in parts of the sea.
"The US military deployment in the Asia-Pacific region is unprecedented," said Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute of South China Sea Studies, a government think tank.
"The possibility of a military incident or an accidental shot fired is rising," Wu said.
"If a crisis were to erupt, the repercussions on bilateral relations would be catastrophic."
Wu spoke at the presentation of a report by his institute on the US military presence in the region.
The report said the US has deployed 375,000 soldiers and 60 percent of its warships in the Indo-Pacific region. Three US aircraft carriers have been sent to the region.
During former president Barack Obama's eight years in office, the US navy conducted four freedom of navigation operations while there have been 22 of them under Trump, Wu said.
The two militaries "Should step up communication" in order "to prevent strategic misunderstanding and miscalculation", according to the report.
High-level military meetings should resume, a direct phone line should be opened and joint naval manoeuvres should be done, it says.
The report says China does not regard the United States are a potential rival or "envisage a new cold or hot war with the US".
The document warns that "deteriorating military relations would substantially increase the possibility of a dangerous incident, a conflict or even a crisis."
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