00:00The effects of the U.S. Hormuz blockade is now being felt.
00:04A sanctioned Chinese tanker that claimed to have evaded the Hormuz blockade
00:10has effectively made a U-turn.
00:14That is being reported just now.
00:16The vessel, identified as part of a network accused of helping Iran bypass sanctions,
00:23initially cleared the strategic waterway.
00:27It cleared the Strait of Hormuz.
00:28It entered the Gulf of Oman.
00:31Now we are being told it has since made a U-turn after it was challenged by U.S. naval
00:39enforcement.
00:40And that is the image that we are providing you.
00:44Just to explain that ships from the Persian Gulf and especially this ship was part of a Black Fleet tanker,
00:56a Dark Fleet tanker.
00:57It managed to cross the Strait of Hormuz, came into the Gulf of Oman.
01:03But that is where the U.S. is blockading all ships exiting the Strait.
01:08The moment they are asked to identify themselves, whether they are coming from the Iranian ports,
01:14any of the eight Iranian ports, or they are making, or they are coming from any of the other ports,
01:19whether of Saudi Arabia or Qatar or Kuwait or Iraq, should they be coming from any other port,
01:25they are permitted to cross.
01:33The U.S. Navy has deployed a number of warships, surveillance aircraft, and now close to 10,000 personnel to
01:43enforce the blockade across the Gulf of Oman.
01:47In the first phase of enforcement, multiple commercial vehicles, they were intercepted, checked,
01:53and then directed to turn back with at least six ships complying without escalation.
02:00That's the information that is coming in.
02:02But then this brings us to another aspect of China telling the United States what it is doing is irresponsible,
02:11irrational, and it will lead to an escalation of words to that effect.
02:16In case China decides to directly get involved in this conflict because their energy supplies are being impacted,
02:24it's important to understand how the capabilities of the two countries stack up against each other,
02:30especially at sea and in the air where modern wars are being decided.
02:35Not that it will lead to an escalation to that level, at least not just as yet,
02:39but there are many who argue that this entire mission undertaken by the United States is part of a larger
02:47plan.
02:48First, take control of Venezuela oil.
02:50Remember, Venezuela amongst the largest suppliers of oil to China and then Iran.
02:56Again, China is the largest customer of Iranian oil.
03:00Is that the wider game plan as some analysts argue?
03:03That America is trying to choke oil supplies to China in the long run.
03:10Look at how the military balance is.
03:13Total military personnel, they stand at 3.17 million for China compared to 2.13 million for the United States
03:19of America.
03:20But it's unlikely to be a ground scenario where troops would face off.
03:24Ground forces, China has a numerical advantage.
03:26But future wars, like we've seen, they're more about air power, naval power and missile power.
03:34China's military personnel at 2.5 million, the double of the United States, 1.17 million.
03:42If we were to talk about self-propelled artillery, China again leads with nearly 3,000 systems.
03:48The U.S. can field about 1,500.
03:51However, this is not a war on ground.
03:53At sea, this military balance shifts.
03:57This is where the capability gap also becomes far more complex.
04:01The U.S. Navy is 11 aircraft carrier strike group Navy, the largest in the world.
04:07China is at 3.
04:09And again, the capabilities are not the same.
04:12The U.S. Navy has about 6 lakh personnel, much more compared to China's 3.8 lakh.
04:19Also, the difference in capabilities.
04:20China may have larger number of naval assets, about 800 vessels versus 465 for the United States of America.
04:28But it's the higher naval power where the United States has a clear technological and operational advantage.
04:36The United States operates 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carrier strike groups compared to 3 that China has.
04:44But only 2 are operational and only 1 seen as fully operational.
04:51And of course, they're conventional aircraft carriers.
04:54Each U.S. carrier strike group is backed by its Ali-Burg-class missile cruisers or destroyers, nuclear submarines, carrier
05:04-based air wing, giving it a global strike capability.
05:07The destroyers, the U.S. fields are over.
05:09They have 80 advanced guided missile destroyers, many equipped with the latest combat system, the Tomahawk cruise missiles.
05:17China has about 50 destroyers, though the newer ones, the Type 55 or the Type 52D, are increasingly modern and
05:26better armed.
05:27The submarine strength, again, a very key factor in combat and especially in international waters.
05:32The United States operates around 70 submarines, nuclear power, including ballistic missile submarines, the SSBNs and the attack submarines or
05:41the SSNs.
05:41China has a larger fleet, perhaps numerically 70 submarines, but a significant portion are diesel-electric, smaller number, advanced nuclear
05:51submarines.
05:52AIPAP, again, the United States continues to hold a decisive edge, both in scale and in technology.
05:58The U.S. Air Force, apart from 7 lakh personnel, compared to 4 lakh in Chinese Air Force, the PLA
06:04Air Force, the U.S. also leads in total number of aircraft, 13,000, nearly 4,000 numbers compared to,
06:13four times the number, China has 3,500 plus.
06:18Plus, the strategic bombers that America has, the B-52 bombers, the B-1B, the stealth bombers, B-2 bombers,
06:26giving the U.S. long-range strike capability across continents, a segment where China has much smaller and lesser-proven
06:34fleet.
06:34The fighter jet gap is narrower, but favors Washington effectively, 1,790 for the U.S. versus 1,400-odd
06:43for China.
06:44But there is a qualitative difference and that is significant.
06:48The U.S. operates modern fifth-generation stealth fighter jets, whether it's the F-22 Raptor or the F-35
06:55Lightning II in substantial numbers.
06:58You've seen them in operations in several countries, including Iran recently.
07:03Unfortunately, the Chinese fifth-generation aircraft are really not battle-tested as effectively.
07:09The U.S. has a larger fleet of AVAX, the Airborne Early Warning Command and Control System, mid-air refueling
07:16tankers, electronic warfare aircraft, enabling long-duration, sustained global operations.
07:22China, of course, is expanding in these areas, but trails in global reach, most important, in combat experience and integrated
07:31air operations.
07:32The situation, as of now, does indicate the U.S. has an advantage.
07:39But China, using its satellites, has been able to guide Iran effectively to checkmate the U.S. of America.
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