With the tension rising in the East China Sea, pitting two nations without much sense of humour, no one seems to notice something on the light side. For the past week or so, the Japanese government has been blaming the Chinese for acting provocatively.
They claim that a Chinese warship, one of the Jiangwei class frigates, painted a Japanese DDG (Guided missile destroyer) with her targeting radar. Basically, warships got three types of radars - for navigation, early warning (to find enemy ships, planes, missiles etc.) and targeting - i.e., to determine range, direction and speed of the said target so that you can fire at it accurately.
In normal combat situation, once you use the targeting radar and have 'locked on' - that is, you get detailed data re. the target, you can immediately fire your guns or missiles or torpedoes or whatever you have with good chance of actually hitting, damaging or destroying it.
The Jianwei class does carry anti-ship missiles, so technically, with just one hit, a Japanese destroyer can be crippled. During the Falklands War, it was demonstrated that one Exocet missile can totally neutralise a British Type 42 destroyer; the US frigate Stark, hit by a single Exocet during the Gulf crisis in the 80s, was totally disabled and had to be towed out of the combat zone.
The Chinese allegedly did this when the distance between the Chinese and the Japanese flotillas was only three kilometres. The Japanese government is concerned that this can easily lead to a fatal mistake, precipitating an accidental war. This indeed reminds me of the accidental shoot-down of an Iranian jetliner by the USN, when the USS Vincennes accidentally mistook it for Iranian F-14. And the liner was not even doing anything hostile, just flying in the warship's direction.
Or, the Soviet shoot-down of KAL007 flight from Alaska to Seoul in the Cold War years. This liner obviously strayed from the planned flightpath because the old-fashioned captain of the flight, who did not wholly trust modern navigational equipment, took a wrong turn and flew almost directly above a Soviet airbase. The Soviets thought it was an American spy-plane buzzing the Soviets, obstinately and arrogantly refusing to leave.
With warship so close to each other, you have only split seconds to react, leaving a tiny margin for error. Back in the 1980s, when Iranians used Chinese "Silkworm" anti-ship missiles at US warships, the US Navy easily splashed them down, but, they had ample warning time. With just two nautical miles separating the two sides, the defender could not do much. Especially if the Chinese had used naval guns, there was no way the Japanese could have dodged shells. Any unnecessary act of hostility or any act that might indicate a commencement of hostility must be avoided. Hence the Japanese anger, and the US State Dept. also expressed their concerns.
The Chinese government says that they have no knowledge of the incident and even accuses the Japanese of fabricating it. Though this possibility cannot entirely be ruled out, it is more likely that the Chinese sailors on the spot are acting on their own. Back in the 90s, it was widely reported that the underpaid Chinese sailors were often selling weapons to pirates in Southeast Asia. A lack of discipline was indeed a major problem for the Chinese navy. Today, probably they are better paid and more disciplined, but, equally they are more obnoxious and angry with the perceived Japanese aggression.
But, I cannot help seeing a funny side to it. For the past six months or so, the Chinese navy has been letting us know that they do watch old American blockbuster movies like Top Gun. In fact, the game of using the targeting radar to scare enemy off is what is depicted in the movie. And the Chinese have been at it since their first fleet carrier was shown in public for the first time. The style of carrier op technician on board became an online phenomenon.
The Tom Cruise character (call-signed Maverick) became a hero in the first half of the movie by using his targeting radar and locking on to an enemy warplane buzzing another American fighter plane. I bet the Chinese sailor or sailors who did the same to the Japanese must be calling themselves 'Maverick'! (Of course I could be totally wrong, I must add)
So, I think we should not dismiss the possibility that this latest dispute between China and Japan might be provoked by some silly game by bored Chinese naval personnel. Let us just pray that the Japanese develop some sense of humour too...
They claim that a Chinese warship, one of the Jiangwei class frigates, painted a Japanese DDG (Guided missile destroyer) with her targeting radar. Basically, warships got three types of radars - for navigation, early warning (to find enemy ships, planes, missiles etc.) and targeting - i.e., to determine range, direction and speed of the said target so that you can fire at it accurately.
[The victim... the Japanese DDG]
In normal combat situation, once you use the targeting radar and have 'locked on' - that is, you get detailed data re. the target, you can immediately fire your guns or missiles or torpedoes or whatever you have with good chance of actually hitting, damaging or destroying it.
The Jianwei class does carry anti-ship missiles, so technically, with just one hit, a Japanese destroyer can be crippled. During the Falklands War, it was demonstrated that one Exocet missile can totally neutralise a British Type 42 destroyer; the US frigate Stark, hit by a single Exocet during the Gulf crisis in the 80s, was totally disabled and had to be towed out of the combat zone.
[The Chinese frigate. In the box, you can see eight anti-ship missile tubes]
The Chinese allegedly did this when the distance between the Chinese and the Japanese flotillas was only three kilometres. The Japanese government is concerned that this can easily lead to a fatal mistake, precipitating an accidental war. This indeed reminds me of the accidental shoot-down of an Iranian jetliner by the USN, when the USS Vincennes accidentally mistook it for Iranian F-14. And the liner was not even doing anything hostile, just flying in the warship's direction.
Or, the Soviet shoot-down of KAL007 flight from Alaska to Seoul in the Cold War years. This liner obviously strayed from the planned flightpath because the old-fashioned captain of the flight, who did not wholly trust modern navigational equipment, took a wrong turn and flew almost directly above a Soviet airbase. The Soviets thought it was an American spy-plane buzzing the Soviets, obstinately and arrogantly refusing to leave.
With warship so close to each other, you have only split seconds to react, leaving a tiny margin for error. Back in the 1980s, when Iranians used Chinese "Silkworm" anti-ship missiles at US warships, the US Navy easily splashed them down, but, they had ample warning time. With just two nautical miles separating the two sides, the defender could not do much. Especially if the Chinese had used naval guns, there was no way the Japanese could have dodged shells. Any unnecessary act of hostility or any act that might indicate a commencement of hostility must be avoided. Hence the Japanese anger, and the US State Dept. also expressed their concerns.
The Chinese government says that they have no knowledge of the incident and even accuses the Japanese of fabricating it. Though this possibility cannot entirely be ruled out, it is more likely that the Chinese sailors on the spot are acting on their own. Back in the 90s, it was widely reported that the underpaid Chinese sailors were often selling weapons to pirates in Southeast Asia. A lack of discipline was indeed a major problem for the Chinese navy. Today, probably they are better paid and more disciplined, but, equally they are more obnoxious and angry with the perceived Japanese aggression.
But, I cannot help seeing a funny side to it. For the past six months or so, the Chinese navy has been letting us know that they do watch old American blockbuster movies like Top Gun. In fact, the game of using the targeting radar to scare enemy off is what is depicted in the movie. And the Chinese have been at it since their first fleet carrier was shown in public for the first time. The style of carrier op technician on board became an online phenomenon.
[The American original. Carrier launch operation on board a Nimitz class nuclear aircraft carrier. Scenes like this were shown in Top Gun]
[And these are Chinese sailors imitating what they saw on Top Gun]
["Aircraft carrier style" by the supposedly humourless members of Communist China!]
So, I think we should not dismiss the possibility that this latest dispute between China and Japan might be provoked by some silly game by bored Chinese naval personnel. Let us just pray that the Japanese develop some sense of humour too...
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