China, Russia, and Iran Flaunt Naval Exercises in the Gulf of Oman (From CBS Radio “Eye on the World”)

Here’s China flaunting its ongoing support for Russia and Iran at a fraught moment in history. Three navies, China, Russia, and Iran, held exercises in the Gulf of Oman last week. “Not exactly co-equals,” said CBS Radio Eye on the World Host John Batchelor, “but all part of the “Axis of Resistance” and predator-states.

Listen here to the full segment as Rebecca Grant joins hosts John Batchelor and Gordon Chang. Highlights below.

Rebecca Grant: This is such a dangerous alliance. China, Russia, and Iran chose a very public location to hold this series of drills. The Gulf of Oman is an incredibly busy location, and the joint naval exercises were on full public display. And we have a lot of observers this time from the BRICS economic community that China’s trying to run. This is China really flaunting their support for Russia and for Iran at a really fraught moment in history.

Gordon Chang: President Trump is trying to pull the Russians away from the Chinese. Is this a message from China that this won’t happen?

Grant: One operational message from Russia is that their navy can still function. As you know, they are basically locked out of the Black Sea by Ukraine’s success with unmanned surface vessels and drones. For Russia to be able to operate, having lost a lot of the base access in Syria, it is to show the Russian navy is still in business. And I do think it’s absolutely a message that cooperation between the militaries of Russia and China, which we’ve seen on a huge upward trajectory, is still going strong. The Chinese are still learning how to do out-of-area operations. The Iranians are enjoying the spotlight and shooting off naval gunfire at night when it looks the prettiest. But the main concern is the ongoing link between China and Russia.

Batchelor asked about the Chinese naval exercises in the Tasman Sea that alarmed Australia.

Grant: China is projecting power. They did not used to do this, and they plan these naval exercises out so that one follows the other. What we’re seeing is the ability of China’s navy to do power projection, not with a lot of ships but with some sophisticated ships in multiple regions. China is telling us hey, we can go anywhere. Snuggled up against Australia, right in the middle of the Gulf of Oman, we saw their ships near Alaska last year. This is about China’s navy trying to show that, with their huge build-up of ships, they have hegemony.

Grant: This Type 052D destroyer they sent is particularly sophisticated. It’s the one with the stretched deck for helicopter operations. Scariest of all, the ship is only about 3 years old, and they’ve built 30 of them in the last 10 years.

For China, it is all about chipping away at American power and the Western rules of the road.

Chang: Clearly, they are trying to get the U.S. Navy to build more and faster.

Batchelor asked about the U.S. Navy’s power projection, with the fleet below 300 ships.

Grant: The U.S. Navy is projecting power right now; the USS Harry S. Truman strike group is in that region. Naval alliances are very strong. We will see a British aircraft carrier will operate in the Pacific this summer.

Grant: I think the Trump Administration will really stress seapower, with shipbuilding for submarines and aircraft carriers. They are supposed to pick a new Navy fighter this year, a very, very secret program that will be selected sometime in the spring or summer. The Trump Administration is full steam ahead with seapower. That underlines his idea about being more selective about land-based engagement; and that will mean relying more on seapower, whether in the Gulf of Oman or even in homeland defense.

Listen to the full interview here.