Asian countries

The 15^th Shangri-La Dialogue kicks off in Singapore on June 3, with a keynote speech by Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha. The region's most prestigious defense meeting gathers military leaders from around the globe to discuss security and defense policy.

This year talks are likely to be dominated again by discussions of the South China Sea disputes ahead of an arbitration ruling on China’s claims to the waters expected mid-year. Combating terrorism and cyber-warfare will also be on the agenda.

U.S. and China Muscle Up

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter will lead the U.S. delegation for the second year running. Two years ago his predecessor Chuck Hagel traded barbs with a Chinese general over China’s territorial claims.

Military Spending by Year

United States

China

$

1988

2015

China Spooks Asia

China's growing military might is a cause of concern for countries in the region, particularly its navy, now the biggest in the region. The East China Sea and South China Sea fleets are responsible for naval security around Taiwan and the South China Sea. The North Sea fleet protects Beijing and the northern coast.

North Sea Fleet East Sea Fleet South Sea Fleet ● Aircraft carrier ●●●● Ballistic missile subs ●●● ●● Nuclear attack subs ●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●● Diesel attack subs ●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●● Destroyers ●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●● Frigates ●● ●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●● ●●●●●●●● Corvettes ●●● Amphibious docks ●● ●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●● Tank landing ships ●●●● ●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●● Med. landing ships ●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●● Missile patrol craft ●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●South China SeaQingdaoNingboZhanjiangThe PLA NavyNorth SeaHeadquartersEast SeaHeadquartersSouth SeaHeadquartersNorth SeaHeadquartersEast SeaHeadquartersSouth SeaHeadquartersThe fleet is soon to be augmented by a Zumwalt-class destroyer, of which Admiral Harry Harris, head of U.S. Pacific Command, once said: “If Batman had a ship, this’d be it.”The U.S. Navy 7th FleetThe U.S. Seventh Fleet is based in Yokosuka, Japan and covers the Indo-Pacific from Russia to the Antarctic and the International Date Line to the India-Pakistan border.● Aircraft carrier ● Command ship ●●●●●●●● Guided missile cruisers ●●● Guided missile destroyers SubmarinesThe U.S. Navy 3rd FleetThe Third Fleet is a combat-ready power in control of ships, submarines, and aircraft stationed in California, Washington, and Hawaii.●●●●● Carrier strike groups ●●●●●●●●●● Submarines●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●● ●●●●●●●●●● Supply ships ●● 400 Aircraft

China is on a modernization drive and has programs to produce everything from submarine-launched missiles to nuclear and conventionally powered attack submarines, destroyers, corvettes, and other naval assets. It is also building a second aircraft carrier.

The new carrier is based on the Soviet era Liaoning aircraft carrier currently in service. Military analysts speculate that the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) will build and operate at least three aircraft carriers.

The U.S. is also beefing up its presence in Asia, and is sending littoral combat ships, jet fighters, surveillance planes and another aircraft carrier to the region.

Everything that is new and cool that the United States is developing is going to the Pacific.

― Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr., Commander of U.S. Pacific Command

Beast Patrols

Another area of Asian competition is the region’s coast guards. China has Asia’s biggest one — a civil fleet whose presence limits the need for navy-on-navy encounters that risk escalation. However, China has been using its coast guard to assert territorial claims, seeking to avert international condemnation that might result if it employed warships.

Regional Coast Guard Fleets

Coast Guard Spending

Large vessels

Small vessels

China

95

110

205

$1.74B a year

Japan

53

25

78

$1.5B

Vietnam

50

55

$100-200m

Indonesia

8

Philippines

4

$100-200m

Malaysia

2

Sources: Office of Naval Intelligence, Lyle Morris, Rand Corp.

China is finishing its second giant coast guard cutter, dubbed “The Beast” by the Global Timesnewspaper. China Coast Guard vessel 3901, with a 12,000-ton displacement, will carry 76-millimeter rapid fire guns, two auxiliary guns and two anti-aircraft machine guns, the paper says. Along with its sister ship, the 2901, they will be the world’s biggest coast guard vessels.

They are bigger than many U.S. warships. The USS Lassen, which patrols the South China Sea for the U.S. Navy, is an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, which typically displaces about 9,700 tons.

Military Wish List

The expansion of China’s military and coast guard, its territorial disputes, and tension on the Korean peninsula over North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, have prompted countries around the region to upgrade and expand their militaries and civil maritime law-enforcement agencies. Here is a snapshot of some of the biggest recent and upcoming deals.

Australia

12 P-8A Poseidon surveillance jets

Boeing (USA)

$3.2 billion

3 Hobart-class destroyers

AWD Alliance (Australia)

$8 billion

12 Shortfin Barracuda submarines

DCNS Group (France)

$35 billion

12 Offshore patrol vessels

Short list:

Damen / Fassmer / Lurssen

$2.2 billion

9 Frigates

Short list:

BAE Systems / Fincantiere / Navantia

$25 billion

India

About 90 jet fighters

Short list: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Saab

3 Aircraft carriers

(India)

6 Kalvari submarines

DCNS Group (France)

$3.5 billion

5 S400 Air-defense missile systems

Almaz Antey (Russia)

8 Shivalik-class destroyers

Mazagon Dock / GRSE (India)

$9.2 billion

4 Kolkata-II-class destroyers

Mazagon Dock

$6.5 billion

Indonesia

Thailand

Vietnam

3 Attack submarines

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (South Korea)

$1.1 billion

8-10 SU-35 Fighter jets

Sukhoi (Russia)

28 MBT-3000 Main battle tanks

China North Industries Corp (China)

$150 million

6 Kilo-class submarines

Admiralty Shipyards (Russia)

$1.8 billion

Pakistan

South Korea

40 F-35A Fighter jets

Lockheed Martin (USA)

$6.2 billion

36 Apache attack helicopters

Boeing (USA) / KAI (South Korea)

$1.5 billion

8 Yuan-class submarines

Karachi / Wuchang Shipbuilding (China)

8 F-16 Planes

Lockheed Martin (USA)

$700 million (Not finalized)

Japan

17 SH-60K Anti-submarine helicopters

$924 million

1 Destroyer

(Japan)

$1.56 billion

Soryu-class submarine

(Japan)

10 fighter jets

Lockheed Martin (USA)

$2.2 billion

2017

Singapore

Malaysia

32 Military utility helicopters

$1 billion

2 218SG Submarines

ThyssenKrupp (Germany)

6 Frigates

Boustead Naval Shipyard (Malaysia)

4 A-400M Military transport planes

Airbus (France)

Philippines

12 FA-50 Jets

KAI (South Korea)

$420 million

Asian defense spending is expected to keep growing as countries move to secure their land and sea borders and acknowledge the need for awareness across their national territory, according to defense analysts.

Force modernization is another driving factor, according to Dan Enstedt, Chief Executive Officer of Saab Asia Pacific. “This is particularly true in the realm of air and naval forces where whole-scale modernization is essential for many nations to be able to operate effectively and affordably into the future.”

SOURCE: Data compiled by Bloomberg, IISS, IHS Jane's, Japan Ministry of Defense

ADDITIONAL WORK: Christopher Cannon, Cedric Sam and Yue Qiu

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