South China Sea Intelligence Briefngs Weekly Briefing: February 28th At The Open Source Briefing, we remain committed to providing the public with ongoing developments around the globe. United States Author: Kevin O’Connell ​ ​ Courtesy of USNI News th February 24 ​ saw the USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54) conduct a routine transit of ​ the Taiwan Strait.[1] Transits of the Taiwan Strait by United States Navy Destroyers ​ ​ have been a regular occurrence of late and are intended as a clear indication of resolve towards ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific. nd th February 22 -26​ ​ saw the United States and Japan participate in the bilateral ​ ​ Resilient Shield 2021 exercise. Resilient Shield 2021 is a “computer-based Fleet Synthetic Training-Joint (FST-J) exercise focused on Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD), designed to test U.S. Naval tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) against potential regional threats while ensuring Japanese and U.S. forces are well-rehearsed in executing those TTPs.”[2] The exercise involved more than 77 Japanese and American ​ ​ The Open Source Briefing 1 ​ commands including USS Barry (DDG-52) and possibly a RC-135S Cobra Ball which nd th made flights out of Kadena AFB on the 23 ​ and 26 .​ [3][4][5] Ballistic missile defense ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ continues to be an important part of U.S. strategy in the Indo-Pacific due to increasingly capable North Korean and Chinese ballistic missile capabilities. Courtesy of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Separate from Resilient Shield 2021, the United States Coast Guard and Japan Coast Guard engaged in a bilateral exercise in the vicinity of the Ogasawara Islands on th February 25 .​ The exercise involved USCGC Kimball (WMSL-756) and Japan Coast ​ Guard (JCG) Akitsushima (PLH-32). While United States Coast Guard international deployments are standard operational procedure, these joint exercises may be connected with the recently announced tri-service maritime strategy that calls for an increased role for the service in the Indo-Pacific including the South China Sea.[6] ​ Finally, there has been quite a bit of airborne and naval activity over and on the South China Sea this week. Of note at sea was an encounter between Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) 3004 and USNS Impeccable (T-AGOS-23) which appeared to cross paths The Open Source Briefing 2 ​ nd in relatively close proximity on February 22 .​ [7] The CCG has been known to harass ​ ​ ​ ​ commercial and naval ships in the South China Sea, but there is no indication at this rd time that this interaction was anything less than professional. February 23 ​ saw the ​ USNS Effective (T-AGOS-21) arrive in Singapore, while the USNS Guam (T-HST-1) re-entered the SCS.[8][9] ​ ​ MQ-4C Courtesy of @is_keelu RC-135U Courtesy of @is_keelu ​ ​ rd Of note in the air was a February 23 ​ MQ-4C Triton flight that appears to have ​ diverted from its straight-line flight path to circle a particular point at sea twice, just South of Taiwan. It is unclear what if anything was present at this location but the flight plan was off pattern. A second off pattern flight-path was recorded by a RC-135U th Combat Scent on February 26 .​ The RC-135U made a northerly diversion from its ​ generally westbound flight path which brought it unusually close to the southern coast of Taiwan before it turned back west and flew over the southern portions of the Taiwan Strait.[10] Again, there is no indication of why the RC-135U followed this flightpath, but it ​ ​ is noteworthy and worth monitoring due to its break from past observations. The Open Source Briefing 3 ​ China and Taiwan Author: Tad Unruh ​ ​ The South China Sea is becoming crowded with the navies of multiple western nations, as increasingly more countries are pushing back against Chinese claims in the region. In February alone, the French have sent an attack submarine and naval support ship, with plans for another transit by an amphibious assault ship and frigate;1 the Royal Canadian Navy sailed near the SCS in January, a British aircraft carrier strike group is in the area, and the Australian navy has been conducting exercises with the Japanese and US navies.2 The SCS is continuing its reputation as a hotbed of proxy concerns for China’s worrying expansionism in the region. China is repeatedly using gray-zone warfare to counteract this pressure from what it sees as meddling western influence. Included in the gray zone warfare is China’s continuation of incursions into Taiwanese airspace. There have been 16 individual incidents as of February 23rd, where one or more Chinese planes have breached Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. Next week’s brief will comment more on the total flights, incidents, and political ramifications of the entire month of February. It recently came to light that Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessels have been conducting drive-by’s of Vietnam’s oil and gas platforms at Vanguard Bank in the South China Sea (not in the Spratly or Paracel Island chains).3 This CCG campaign began just days after Beijing’s new law came into effect in late January. This law allows CCG vessels to elect for the use of force if unfriendly vessels do not heed warnings. According to Radio Free Asia, Malaysian ships have challenged the CCG on its new law, by sailing close to a CCG vessel that has been lingering at the Malaysian-claimed Luconia Shoals twice since mid-January.4 February 24th Wednesday, things heated up considerably in both the SCS and Cross-strait conflicts. China and Singapore announced and begun joint naval drills, including search and rescue, communication exercises. Where they were: Included in the exercises on the Chinese side were the Guiyang and guided-missile frigate Zaozhuang, part of the 36th Escort Taskforce, and the Formidable-class stealth frigate, RSS Intrepid, and the Independence-class littoral mission vessel, RSS Sovereignty for the Singaporeans.5 Chinese state media organ CCTV announced that over 10 bombers, mostly H6J and The Open Source Briefing 4 ​ H-6G types, affiliated with the PLA Southern Theater Command executed maritime assault and strike exercises in an undisclosed part of the SCS.6 Concurrently on Wednesday, the USs Arleigh-Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur transited the Taiwan Strait in a freedom of navigation operation.7 February 28th It came to light on Sunday that the USNS Impeccable, a naval surveillance ship, had been trawling around in the Paracel Islands since February 23rd.8 In response, the PLA staged live-fire drills with the guided-missile destroyer Yinchuan, guided-missile frigate Hengyang, the amphibious dock landing ship Wuzhishan, and the support ship Chagan Hu.9 on the last day of the month China also announced that it would enact military exercises for the entirety of March, possibly in response to the ongoing international presence bearing down on the SCS and the US’s continued approach. According to a China Maritime Safety Administration notice, “Military exercises will be held in a circular zone with a radius of five kilometers in the South China Sea, west of the Leizhou Peninsula, from Monday to March 31, and the entry of other vessels is prohibited.”10 Philippines Author: Bang Tongco ​ During the week, the Philippine Navy (PN) received its latest Jose Rizal-class guided-missile frigate in Manila, with the PN Chief stating that the Service does not have a dedicated port to handle its large ships. Meanwhile, the nascent Philippine The Open Source Briefing 5 ​ Space Agency (PSA) and the Department of Science and Technology’s Advanced Science and Technology Institute (DOST-ASTI) upgraded its Ground Receiving Station (GRS) in Davao City to receive data from AIS monitoring satellites which cover the Manila-claimed West Philippine Sea (WPS). The BRP Antonio Luna on 26 February docked in South Harbor, Manila, and was received by PN Flag Officer-in-Command VAdm Giovanni Bacordo and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar [1]. Bacordo hailed the arrival of the Luna as a landmark moment for the PN’s ongoing modernization. However, Bacordo admitted that the PN has yet to operate its own port which is capable of maintaining its large vessels [2]. Bacordo disclosed that none of its large vessels--to include its two Tarlac-class Landing Helicopter Docks and two Jose Rizal-class frigates--are docked in PN ports, rather, all four vessels use civilian facilities in South Harbor, Subic, and other similar ports around the Philippines. Bacordo revealed that the PN remains interested in using the now-defunct South Korean-operated Hanjin Heavy Industries Shipyard in Subic Bay, adding that the area’s deep and protected harbor was ideal for the Navy’s large ships [2]. Villar, for his part, reaffirmed the DPWH’s support for the PN’s program to build its own ports and upgrade existing ones [2]. The Open Source Briefing 6 ​ The BRP Antonio Luna in South Harbor, Manila. In the background is the PN research ship BRP Gregorio Velasquez and in the far left is the Presidential Yacht BRP Ang Pangulo (the President). Image courtesy of the PN. The DOST-ASTI on 25 February reported that it was upgrading its Davao GRS to receive data from the NovaSAR-1 satellite in a bid to enhance Manila’s disaster response and maritime domain awareness [3]. DOST Secretary Fortunato de la Pena said that the GRS would enable scientists to obtain timely data to aid in disaster response. The DOST-ASTI recalled that the NovaSAR-1 satellite is equipped with a synthetic aperture radar made by Airbus UK and an AIS receiver produced by Honeywell Aerospace, allowing the satellite to monitor weather and to collect ship information across the Philippine EEZ, respectively [3].