This Chinese Island Holds the Secrets to Beijing’s Massive Naval Expansion | WSJ Coordinates

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Hainan, South China Sea, Alexander Neal, France
2. 3:00 – 6:00: Hainan, Fujian, HSU-001, JL-3
3. 6:00 – 8:46: Cambodia, Hainan, Ream Naval Base, South China Sea

Notable quotes from "This Chinese Island Holds the Secrets to Beijing’s Massive Naval Expansion | WSJ Coordinates"

• [Narrator] The tropical island of Hainan is known as China's Hawaii, but behind its pristine beaches hides a secret.

  about Hainan · at 0:02

• That also offers geographical projection for the people's liberation army into the South China Sea region submarines, which can follow down this channel into the really deep…

  about South China Sea · at 0:49

• It's a very interesting feature of the Longpo naval base and very significant attempt at protecting China's seaborne nuclear deterrent.

  about Longpo Naval Base · at 2:06

• And they could be armed with China's latest submarine launched ballistic missile, JL-3.

  about JL-3 · at 3:01

• That's enough room to accommodate any of China's three aircraft carriers, including its latest, the Fujian, which is over 1000 feet.

  about Fujian · at 3:59

• (speaking in foreign language) In 2019, Beijing for the first time openly unveiled their HSU-001 underwater drone.

  about HSU-001 · at 5:18

• In 2019, China signed a secret agreement allowing its armed forces to use part of the ream naval base in Cambodia.

  about Cambodia · at 6:23

• [Narrator] The US State Department said it has serious concerns about China's plans for the ream naval base.

  about US State Department · at 7:50

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Alexander Neal — Person · 1 mention · first at 0:42
  Alexander Neal is a former defense analyst for the British government.
• Xi Jinping — Person · 1 mention · first at 6:03
  The development of these UUVs is all part of Xi Jinping's drive to ensure that he has a modern fighting force capability at parity with that of the United States.

Companies & orgs

• People's Liberation Army (PLA) — Company · 1 mention · first at 0:53
  That also offers geographical projection for the people's liberation army into the South China Sea region submarines, which can follow down this channel into the really deep…
• US State Department — Company · 1 mention · first at 7:50
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China — Company · 1 mention · first at 8:32
  [Narrator] In a statement, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is part of China's territory and that it opposes the island's independence.

Products & tech

• JL-3 — Product · 1 mention · first at 3:04
• Fujian — Product · 1 mention · first at 4:03
• HSU-001 — Product · 1 mention · first at 5:24

Places & events

• Hainan — Place · 8 mentions · first at 0:02
• South China Sea — Place · 4 mentions · first at 0:53
• United States (states) — Place · 4 mentions · first at 1:34
  The number of nuclear submarines that China wields is beginning to look along the sort of capabilities that the United States, France, and the UK has.
• Taiwan — Place · 3 mentions · first at 0:37
  What's happening on Hainan Island reveals how China plans to challenge US naval supremacy and how it's preparing for a possible war over Taiwan.
• Cambodia — Place · 3 mentions · first at 6:30
• Ream Naval Base — Place · 2 mentions · first at 6:27
  In 2019, China signed a secret agreement allowing its armed forces to use part of the ream naval base in Cambodia.
• France — Place · 1 mention · first at 1:34
  The number of nuclear submarines that China wields is beginning to look along the sort of capabilities that the United States, France, and the UK has.
• Longpo Naval Base — Place · 1 mention · first at 2:06
• Yulin Naval Base — Place · 1 mention · first at 5:47
  But it's interesting that this kind of weaponry is being developed at yulin naval base and is indicative of the PLA Navy's requirement to substantially increase its unmanned underwater capabilities.
• China — Place · 1 mention
• United Kingdom — Place · 1 mention

Full transcript with timestamps

0:02 - [Narrator] The tropical island of Hainan is known as China's Hawaii, but behind its pristine beaches hides a secret. On this hill above a luxury hotel is a surface to air missile site guarding two of China's most important naval facilities, Yulin and Longpo. In recent years, Beijing has begun dramatically expanding the two bases to accommodate a growing fleet of vessels and to provide a home for China's new seaborne nuclear deterrent. What's happening on Hainan Island reveals how China plans to challenge US naval supremacy and how it's preparing for a possible war over Taiwan.

0:42 Alexander Neal is a former defense analyst for the British government. - Nainan a very important location strategically. that also offers geographical projection for the people's liberation army into the South China Sea region submarines, which can follow down this channel into the really deep parts of the South China Sea, which allow for difficulty in detection. - [Narrator] Satellite images show significant work to expand the facilities in Hainan. Additional piers have been built allowing up to 12 submarines to dock at the base.

1:18 - The ability to replenish, resupply and re-arm these submarines is really a significant development in a very short period of time. The number of nuclear submarines that China wields is beginning to look along the sort of capabilities that the United States, France, and the UK has. - [Narrator] The base is also equipped with a large facility to service China's nuclear submarines. An entrance into the mountain up to 60 feet high can be seen here leading to what is thought to be a weapons loading facility. - We can actually see an overhead view of a nuclear submarine that's being coaxed into the tunnel.

2:02 So we have two tugboats here positioning the submarine. It's a very interesting feature of the Longpo naval base and very significant attempt at protecting China's seaborne nuclear deterrent. - [Narrator] A wider look at the area shows there's a system thought to transport weapons across the base to arm the submarines. - The tunnel facility entrance here and the underground submarine base inside this mountain. And then you have a tunnel entrance here and it's thought that at some point along this railroad warheads and missiles will be loaded onto some kind of rail car and it's concealed obviously because the PLA doesn't want adversary to know when and how they are arming their nuclear submarines.

2:52 (speaking in foreign language) - [Narrator] The Pentagon now believes that at least one nuclear armed submarine is on constant in the South China Sea. And they could be armed with China's latest submarine launched ballistic missile, JL-3. - The submarines could penetrate the first island chain and launch from the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean and hit the Eastern seaboard of the United States. - [Narrator] China says it keeps its nuclear capabilities at the minimum level required by national security and has pledged not to use nuclear weapons first.

3:31 China has made significant infrastructure upgrades to the basis in Hainan to accommodate different types of vessels. Satellite imagery shows an extensive facility to repair ships known as a dry dock being built in recent years. - We see the scale of the dry dock. We see a number of vessels in the smaller dry dock, and then the infrastructure around the dry dock itself beginning to come into shape. - [Narrator] The dry dock is about 1500 feet long. That's enough room to accommodate any of China's three aircraft carriers, including its latest, the Fujian, which is over 1000 feet.

4:09 This dry dock is part of a wider infrastructure expansion of the base. The upgrades allow China to arm repair and dock dozens of warships quickly. - You have the wharf along here. This is a new wharf being built. We have the expanded military base here and a highway connecting them all along this coastline. And in addition, this very large weapon storage facility connected up under the mountain with this naval base here as well as with the dry dock here. - [Narrator] The infrastructure upgrades seen in Hainan are designed to support China's expanding naval fleet.

4:51 China has now overtaken the US as the world's largest navy with more than 370 vessels. This is projected to grow to 435 by 2030. The US has about 296 vessels and the Navy plans to increase this number to over 300 by the early 2030s. China is also using the base in Hainan as a testing ground for new technology. (speaking in foreign language) In 2019, Beijing for the first time openly unveiled their HSU-001 underwater drone. Analysts have spotted unidentified underwater drones at the yulin base. - We see a couple of unmanned underwater vehicles on the key side here being partially concealed by retractable covers.

5:45 But it's interesting that this kind of weaponry is being developed at yulin naval base and is indicative of the PLA Navy's requirement to substantially increase its unmanned underwater capabilities. The development of these UUVs is all part of Xi Jinping's drive to ensure that he has a modern fighting force capability at parity with that of the United States. Within a decade or so. - [Narrator] China is not only expanding its naval bases at home for the first time, it's establishing a new naval outpost in Southeast Asia.

6:23 In 2019, China signed a secret agreement allowing its armed forces to use part of the ream naval base in Cambodia. - And ream naval base is strategically important for the PLA in the sense that it has the ability to mount patrols in the Gulf of Thailand in this area, but also to patrol the Southern portion of the South China Sea is yet another sign of China's ambitions to saturate the South China Sea with a naval presence. - [Narrator] Since the deal was signed, there have been significant upgrades including a new pair that is long enough to accommodate a Chinese aircraft carrier.

7:04 - The base in general is starting to look like Chinese naval bases in Hainan - [Narrator] China denied allegations that it's taking control of the base, but new satellite imagery shows two Chinese vessels docked at the pier. The ships can be seen in photos posted by Cambodia's defense minister in December. The vessels remain docked at the base for months. Beijing says their deployment is not permanent and that it is helping to upgrade the base at Cambodia's request. - These Corvettes will be able to patrol out into the Southern reaches of the South China Sea.

7:40 So it's soaking up US Navy time and effort in monitoring the activities of the PLA navy at the ream naval base. - [Narrator] The US State Department said it has serious concerns about China's plans for the ream naval base. Defense analysts say, although conflict over Taiwan is not considered imminent, China's new outpost in Cambodia and its expansion in Hainan formed part of its preparations for war. - The United States asks if China has expressed peaceful goals for development across the region. What is all this huge expenditure aimed at?

8:17 The answer that many people fear may come to fruition is an invasion of Taiwan or some kind of escalation in the Taiwan Strait that could result in unmanaged conflict. - [Narrator] In a statement, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is part of China's territory and that it opposes the island's independence.

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "This Chinese Island Holds the Secrets to Beijing’s Massive Naval Expansion | WSJ Coordinates"?

In order: 0:00 Hainan, South China Sea, Alexander Neal, France; 3:00 Hainan, Fujian, HSU-001, JL-3; 6:00 Cambodia, Hainan, Ream Naval Base, South China Sea.

What is mentioned in this The Wall Street Journal episode?

19 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Hainan, South China Sea, United States (states), Taiwan, Cambodia, Ream Naval Base. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "This Chinese Island Holds the Secrets to Beijing’s Massive Naval Expansion | WSJ Coordinates"?

The episode runs 9 min; the transcript is about 1,249 words in 13 timestamped sections.

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