The Dragon’s Moves | March 2019

Prasun K. Sengupta

The International Defence Exhibition (IDEX) 2019, held from February 14 to 16 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), hosted more than 1,200 exhibitors, while the NAVDEX 2019 naval expo that was held concurrently from February 17 to 21, played host to 20 warships from 15 countries, and 100 exhibitors from 23 countries. Both expos were held over 133,000 square metres of internal and external area, and were co-inaugurated by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid, Vice-President, Prime Minister of the UAE, ruler of the Emirate of Dubai and its minister of defence.

Type 08 8×8 with 8 HJ-10A Red Arrow ATGMs

The IDEX component of the expo this time showcased the growing military-industrial capabilities of UAE-based original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like Caracal, now a subsidiary of Emirates Defence Industries Co, recently signed weapon deals with Malaysia, India and South Korea. It is also already supplying the German military with firearms, taking the group’s overseas sales to more than 25 per cent of its total. Caracal, which takes its name from a desert hunting cat, was established in 2007 and has since developed a strong reputation for producing side-arms, close-combat assault weapons and sniper rifles. Today, EDIC Caracal’s portfolio includes combat pistols, a 9mm submachine gun, three tactical rifle platforms and varying types of sniper rifles. In India, Caracel has secured an order for supplying 93,895 5.56 x 45 CAR 816 close-quarter carbines to the Indian Army.

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China’s Exhibits

Several China-based OEMs displayed a wide range of weapon systems for land, air and naval warfare — all of them being targeted at potential customers located in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Chinese shipbuilder China Shipbuilding and Offshore International Company (CSOC) the export arm of Chinese shipbuilding group China Shipbuilding Industry Corp (CSIC), showcased 22 types of products, including diesel-electric submarines, the Type 054 AE guided-missile frigate (FFG), a 3000-tonne trimaran FFG, a 500-tonne missile gunboat, P-50S rapid intervention craft, unmanned autonomous boats, and a range of heavyweight and lightweight torpedoes.


A notable CSOC exhibit was its JARI armed but unmanned surface vessel (USV), which was first showcased at the Africa Aerospace & Defence expo last September in South Africa. The 20-tonne JARI has a length of 15 metres, breadth of 4.80 metres, draught of 1.80 metres, maximum speed of 42 Knots, and a range of 500 nautical miles. Its missions include anti-submarine, anti-surface and anti-air warfare. The modular JARI comes equipped with an optronic sensor atop a superstructure that also houses an active phased-array radar system with four antennae, plus a dipping sonar, navigation radar, and SATCOM antenna, eight small vertical launch system (VLS) cells for surface-to-air missiles (SAM), a lightweight torpedo launcher, and a forward-mounted 30mm machine gun and rocket launcher for counter-surface engagements. The JARI can be remote-controlled either from a shore-based facility, or from a mother warship. The USV is propelled by a single water-jet. CSOC’s 3,000-tonne trimaran FFG has a length of 136 metres and is crewed by a complement of 110 personnel. Its maximum speed is listed at 30 Knots, while the propulsion system comprises four diesel engines and twin water-jets. A 16-cell VLS housing SAMs is located between the bridge and the 76mm main gun. Two close-in weapon systems are installed at the rear of a helicopter hangar, while two quad-stacked anti-ship cruise missile canisters are located between the bridge and hangar superstructure.

Another modular USV to be showcased was China State Shipbuilding Trading Co’s (CSSC) XLOONG, which is reportedly capable of performing interdiction, patrol and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations. The USV’s angled shape is designed to minimise radar cross-section, while its interchangeable mid-body section can be configured for housing medium-range anti-ship cruise missiles, rocket launchers or an eight-cell silo for a range of vertically launched precision-guided surface-attack missiles. In addition, eight more vertical launch cells are located within the vessel structure (four on each side). According to CSSC, the XLOONG USV incorporates a high degree of autonomy regarding both route-planning and task-planning/mission management, with multiple USVs operating together as part of a collaborative ‘swarm’. In addition to operating fully unmanned, the XLLONG can also be used in a manned mode.

State-owned China North Industries Corp (NORINCO) showcased for the very first time a heavy infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) that makes use of the VT-4 main battle tanks hull. Weighing 50 tonnes, this heavy IFV is operated by three crew members, and can host seven infantry soldiers. In addition to its main turret-mounted armament of one 100mm rifled-bore cannon and 30mm co-axial cannon, the heavy IFV also comes armed with two rear-mounted and remotely-operated 12.7mm machine guns. Another NORINCO land warfare system exhibited at the expo was the Type 08 8 x 8 vehicle that comes armed with eight canister-encased HJ-10A Red Arrow anti-armour guided-missiles. The HJ-10A comes in four different variants, including TV-/ infra-red-guided anti-tank and anti-fortification types. It can also be mounted on a variety of vehicles, including trucks, armoured personnel carriers and IFVs. The HJ-10A is meant for use by Company-sized formations, with one command and reconnaissance vehicle, up to eight missile-launch vehicles and four transport vehicles with reloads. The HJ-10A’s anti-armour variant can penetrate up to 320mm of armour, and its fragments can penetrate 8mm of armour after detonation. The anti-fortification variant of the HJ-10A can destroy reinforced concrete walls that are up to 1.2 metres thick.

Another China-based company, Poly Technologies Inc, displayed the Silent Hunter anti-drone defence system that uses an electrically-powered fibre-optic laser director. Three different engagement ranges are available: 200 to 2,000 metres at 10kW output, 200 to 3,000 metres at 20kW output, and 200 to 4,000 metres at 30kW output. The detection/capture range of a target is 4km. Although it is primarily designed to search, track, and destroy low-flying drones at speeds not exceeding 60 metres/second at an altitude of 200 meters, it is powerful enough to ablate or penetrate five 2mm steel plates at a range of 800 metres or a single 5mm steel plate at 1,000 metres. The Silent Hunter was used operationally for the very first time to safeguard the September 2016 G-20 Summit venue in Hangzhou, China.

Growing China-Myanmar Military-Industrial Ties

Following extensive politico-economic lobbying, China has convinced Myanmar’s Navy to procure three Type 041B/S-26 Yuan-class diesel-electric submarines at concessional prices. The contract for this procurement is due for signature later this year and it will be similar to the one inked between China and Thailand last year. China in September 2018 began the construction of a Type 041/S-26T diesel-electric submarine for the Royal Thai Navy under a Baht13.5 billion (USD411 million) deal agreed upon in 2017. The steel-cutting ceremony was held at the Wuchang Shipyard in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, to mark the start of the project. The Royal Thai Navy had signed a contract with the state-owned China Shipbuilding Industrial Corporation (CSIC) for one S-26T diesel-electric submarine–derived from the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 041B, or Yuan-class–in May 2017 and this submarine is expected to be delivered by 2023. Once completed, this submarine will have a displacement of 2,600 tonnes, a top speed while submerged of 18 Knots, and will be able to remain submerged for up to 20 days.

In August 2010, Myanmar had allowed two PLAN warships to dock at Thilawa port near Yangon while returning from counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden. In May 2011, Myanmar’s President Thein Sein was in Beijing discussing a plan to allow the PLAN’s warships to dock in Myanmar’s ports and get access to the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. In November 2011, Chen Bingde, the then Chief of the General Staff of the PLA, met with Myanmar’s Commander-in-Chief of the Tatmadaw (armed forces), Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, in Beijing. During this meeting, it was noted that the two militaries had been cooperating in areas such as high-level visits, personnel training, frontier defence and equipment.

In March 2012, a nine-member delegation from Myanmar headed by Vice Admiral Nyan Tun, the then Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Navy, visited the Dalian Naval Academy of the PLA. In April 2013, about 20 Myanmar Navy officers and ratings began basic submarine familiarisation and training in Pakistan, at the Submarine Training Centre, PNS Bahadur. During a visit to Russia in June 2013, however, Senior Gen Hlaing opened discussions for the purchase of two Type 636 diesel-electric submarines. He also visited the St. Petersburg-based Severnaya Shipyard.

In October 2016, Gen Fang Fenghui, a member of China’s Central Military Commission (CMC) and Chief of the CMC’s Joint Staff Department, hosted talks with Senior Gen Hlaing and future naval cooperation. On 21 May 2017 three warships from the PLAN’s Task Group 150 led by Rear Admiral Shan Hao, and comprising the Changchun (DDG-150), a guided-missile destroyer; the Jinzhou (FFG-532), a guided-missile frigate; and the Chaohu (890), a replenishment tanker — held its inaugural naval exercise with Myanmar in the Gulf of Martaban. The one-day joint exercise followed a port call in Thilawa by the PLAN warships. Participating warships of the Myanmar Navy were the guided-missile frigate UMS Aung Zeya and the guided-missile corvette UMS Anawrahta.

On 21 November 2017 Senior Gen. Hlaing visited Beijing, where he met with President Xi Jinping and discussed the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership between the two countries’ armed forces. During his visit, Chinese officials had informed him of China’s support for Myanmar — including the Tatmadaw’s handling of the conflict in Rakhine (Arakan) state. The Deputy Commander of the PLA’s Southern Theatre Command, Lt Gen. Chen Zhaohai, met with the Tatmadaw’s Deputy Commander-in-Chief Vice Senior General Soe Win to discuss strategic cooperation between the two-armed forces. Similarly, the President of the China Institute for International Strategic Studies (CIISS), Admiral Sun Jianguo, discussed regional and bilateral issues with Myanmar’s military leaders and key politicians from the ruling and main opposition parties.

Following this, Myanmar’s de facto leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was invited to Beijing to deliver an opening address at a high-level World Political Parties Dialogue organised by the Communist Party of China (CPC) in December 2017. While in Beijing, she met with President Xi Jinping and discussed accelerating the momentum of the strategic partnership between Myanmar and China. State Suu Kyi and Xi then agreed during a meeting in Beijing to establish a new China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (CMEC) connecting Kyaukpyu and Kunming. The project includes the construction of a road and the restart of the suspended rail project. Mandalay, Myanmar’s second-largest city and the traditional hub for trade with southern China, would serve as a waypoint along this new economic corridor. Ultimately, Chinese planners envision the Kyaukpyu-to-Kunming oil and gas pipelines as just the first step in a new trade route that could change the economics of China’s hinterland.

While Admiral Tin Aung San, Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Navy was visiting Beijing on 12 January 2018, a few days later 17 January 2018, the third round of China-Myanmar 2+2 High-level Consultations led by Myanmar’s ministry of foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence was held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. China’s Vice Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou, and Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff Department of the CMC Shao Yuanming co-chaired the consultations with Union minister of the ministry of international cooperation U Kyaw Tin of Myanmar and Chief of the No.1 Special Operations Bureau of the Tatmadaw Tun Tun Naung. In addition, Suu Kyi and Senior Gen Hlaing met with the visiting Chinese delegation.

In late November 2018, Ning Jizhe, deputy head of China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), visited Myanmar and met with Suu Kyi and the minister of planning and finance, along with other ministers. A week later, on December 6, the CMEC implementation steering committee, led by Suu Kyi, met. Thus, years after the launch of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Myanmar was finally moving rapidly to embrace President Xi Jinping’s project.