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Ian Ellis Profile picture
@ianellisjones
Apr 17, 2023 • 9 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X
🚨 NEWS: The USS Milius (DDG 69) conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit on April 16 local time.

The @USNavy guided missile destroyer “transited through a corridor in the Strait that is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal State.”
Official statement: Image
Live thread tracking US Navy movements in the Western Pacific based on public data:
From @USNINews:

Contrary to international law, China requires permission from foreign warships to transit the strait.

The transit of Milius is the first announced Taiwan Strait transit since the guided-missile USS Chung-Hoon (DDG-93) made the passage in January. Image
This is the *third* freedom of navigation operation for Japan-based Milius in less than one month:

March 24: Sailed near the Paracel Islands (claimed by PRC).

April 10: Passed within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef & the Spratly Islands.

April 16: Transits Taiwan Strait. Image
PLAN response:
Update from @USNINews:

In a Monday statement, the PLA Eastern Command said the Chinese monitored the passage from the Milius transit.

“The troops of the PLA Southern Theater Command will always stay on high alert and resolutely safeguard China’s national sovereignty and… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
News this morning: China announced “major military activity” to take place tomorrow April 18 in the Yellow Sea.

I’ve been tracking the latest developments in a live thread here:
The US, Japan, and South Korea militaries are operating near the Korean Peninsula as of Monday, April 17.

South Korea’s navy said Monday’s three-way naval drills took place in international waters off the country’s eastern coast.

More detailed analysis here:

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More from @ianellisjones

Ian Ellis Profile picture
May 10
🚨 New video: Fleet of at least 12 Chinese ships (5 Coast Guard & 7 other vessels) operating within Taiwan’s restricted waters — & coming as close as 4 nautical miles to its territory.

This is the most number of ships within Kinmen’s waters on record.

Tracking the latest news here:
More pics from CGA via Taiwan News:

Image
Image
Image
Read 8 tweets
Ian Ellis Profile picture
May 4
New images show massive “Manta Ray” underwater drone underway 👀

The extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) demonstrates “first-of-kind capabilities” for a new class of long-duration, long-range, payload-capable UUVs.

DARPA is engaging with the U.S. Navy on next steps. Image
The Manta Ray prototype uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) built by Northrop Grumman completed full-scale, in-water testing off the coast of Southern California in February & March 2024. Testing demonstrated at-sea hydrodynamic performance, including submerged operations using all the vehicle’s modes of propulsion & steering: buoyancy, propellers, & control surfaces.
“Our successful, full-scale Manta Ray testing validates the vehicle’s readiness to advance toward real-world operations after being rapidly assembled in the field from modular subsections,” said Dr. Kyle Woerner, DARPA program manager for Manta Ray.

“The combination of cross-country modular transportation, in-field assembly, & subsequent deployment demonstrates a first-of-kind capability for an extra-large UUV.”Image
Read 6 tweets
Ian Ellis Profile picture
May 4
Rare sighting of USS JIMMY CARTER (SSN 23) coming into San Diego for a quick turn.

The Seawolf-class nuclear-powered fast attack sub is regarded as the most secretive sub in the U.S. Navy & specially modified for covert seabed warfare.

Much is a mystery—but here’s what we know: Image
Source/credit:
Larger & more advanced than the other two Seawolf boats, USS JIMMY CARTER (SSN 23) has likely been tasked with some of the U.S. Navy’s most secretive missions. 

It’s also the only one modified for seabed warfare – unreported missions deep below the waters that can target critical infrastructure such as power cables, telecom cables, & natural resource extraction systems.Image
Read 10 tweets
Ian Ellis Profile picture
May 3
“Over my last 3 years, the security environment has changed drastically — & not in a good way.”

Adm. Aquilino, in his final public interview in uniform after a 40-year career 👇

⑴ “The main theme that’s really concerning — & that everyone has to see — is it links authoritarian nations [China, Russia, DPRK] in ways that we haven’t seen in our history in a long time.”

⑵ China has “expanded their military capability, their verbalization is more aggressive, & their actions are more aggressive. & they’ve now accelerated to dangerous. Perhaps most dangerous in the Philippines.”

⑶ Beijing “clearly made a risk determination that taking aggressive actions is within their interest & to the benefit of their strategic objectives. More aggressive rhetoric & certainly more aggressive actions.”

Admiral (soon to be retired) John Aquilino most recently served as Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Quick thread with a few more clips & quotes:
Interview by @nickschifrin & great thread with highlights (+ link to full video)
“Chinese actions are certainly destabilizing to the region... they are putting at risk the Philippine Coast Guardsmen, sailors, & those fishermen that operate in their exclusive economic zone — within the full rights of the Philippines.”
Read 10 tweets
Ian Ellis Profile picture
May 1
China is surging ships in the South China Sea, spying & shadowing in Philippine territory, sending aircraft & stationing warships around Taiwan.

Beijing could ramp up military activity before or after Taiwan’s presidential inauguration on 20 May.

New map & security snapshot 🧵 Image
As we enter summer exercise season, when cross-Strait weather is ideal for military operations, there’s significant firepower in the region.
2024 YTD & April data: Image
Read 12 tweets
Ian Ellis Profile picture
Apr 29
In the most hotly contested waterway in the world, the risk of Asia’s next war hinges increasingly on a ramshackle ship...

“Sierra Madre has become the epicenter of escalating tensions between the Philippines & China—a trip wire that could draw the U.S. into an armed conflict”🔥
China claims the vast majority of the South China Sea and, in recent months, has ramped up efforts to prevent the Philippines from providing supplies to personnel aboard the Sierra Madre. Analysis of ship-tracking data and videos over the past year shows that Chinese coast guard and militia ships have repeatedly swarmed and collided with Philippine resupply vessels. The Chinese vessels have also increasingly deployed water cannons at close-range, at times disabling Philippine ships and injuring sailors.

China has spent the past three decades expanding its presence in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which a third of global shipping passes, according to the United Nations. Beijing may not intend to start a war here, analysts say, but repeated confrontations at sea between vessels have raised the potential for fateful accidents, also potentially provoking a U.S. response.

Source: WaPoImage
“The United States has significantly increased its deployment of Navy personnel in the Philippines in direct response to the situation at the Sierra Madre, said a U.S. State Department official.”
Read 8 tweets

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