China expansion in the SCS despite Wuhan Virus demands Australia respond with real attack submarines, not make belief French diesel electrics; stimulus funding better used in building infrastructure, technical know how to support Virginia class fast attacks subs

by Ganesh Sahathevan

Paramilitary policemen wear face masks as they march in formation into a pedestrian underpass next to Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Feb. 4, 2020.

The Australian Government says "Operation Gateway is Australia's enduring contribution to the preservation of regional security and stability in South East Asia. For Operation Gateway, the Australian Defence Force provides maritime surveillance patrols in the North Indian Ocean and South China Sea."

The reports below demonstrate why Australia requires an immediate attack submarine capability if it is to remain relevant to Operation Gateway.While the Australian Government is beset with confusion trying to provide a sensible response to the Wuhan Virus, the PLA continues with its South China Sea expansion. 

As reported on this blog, the Wuhan Virus is probably a force majeure event  with regards the DCNS/Naval Group "Attack Class" submarines.

The "Attack Class" nomenclature was an afterthought by the Australian Government to hide the fact that the subs are duds , and serves to illustrate why Australia should cancels the DCNS contracts and instead direct the savings  into a program for  leasing actual Virginia Class (Fast)  Attack submarines from the United States. 

The Wuhan Virus stimulus package can be used in part to finance the infrastructure required to support the new defence capability.  END 

To BE READ WITH 

Annotated map showing the path of five Chinese maritime militia ships passing through the Union Banks in the Spratly islands during the first three weeks of March, 2020.
Then, 
VOA has reported:

China held joint exercises March 15 with Cambodia despite risk of offending Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries that resent China’s military presence in the region. 

A Chinese fishing boat “militia” that has pestered the Philippines in the sea’s disputed Spratly Islands never went home in response to the coronavirus outbreak, said Carl Thayer, Southeast Asia-specialized emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

ALSO 
On 21 March 2020 the SCMP reported:

Chinese military aircraft recently conducted an anti-submarine drill over the 

South China Sea

, the 

People’s Liberation Army

 said on Friday, amid a growing number of patrols and exercises by US warships in the region.

The drill, which involved two aircraft, was conducted earlier this month, not long before the US naval and marine units took part in expeditionary strike force training in the disputed waters, the PLA Navy said in a report.

And from Manila:

While the world is turning topsy turvy over the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that started in China, it’s still business as usual for the Asian giant in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea).

Two research stations were recently launched on two of China’s large man-made islands in the West Philippine Sea — Kagitingan (Fiery Cross) and Zamora (Subi) Reef, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported on March 20.