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01 October 2012

National Bureau of Asian Research to Launch “Strategic Asia 2012-13: China’s Military Challenge” on Wednesday 3 October

Strategic Asia 2012-13: China’s Military Challenge – Book Launch Event
The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) will hold the launch of the twelfth volume in the Strategic Asia series this Wednesday, 3 October 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC.
Select contributors from Strategic Asia 2012-13: China’s […]

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25 September 2012

China’s Ministry of National Defense: 1st Aircraft Carrier “Liaoning” Handed Over to PLA Navy

Now it’s finally official!
China’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) has announced on its official website that on the morning of 25 September China’s first aircraft carrier, “Liaoning,” was handed over to the PLA Navy (PLAN).
According to MND, Liaoning will have important significance for raising the Chinese Navy’s level of integrated combat force modernization, strengthening defensive operational […]

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24 September 2012

Global Times: PLA National Defense University Professor States China’s 1st Aircraft Carrier Not Yet Delivered to Navy; Flag-Raising Ceremony Only a Rehearsal

China’s popular Global Times newspaper has just reported that despite obvious preparations underway for the past few days China’s first aircraft carrier has not yet been delivered officially to the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and hence still belongs to Dalian Naval Shipyard. It quotes two knowledgeable experts to this effect: Dr. Fang Bing, an […]

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23 September 2012

China’s Navy Receives 1st Aircraft Carrier

UPDATE: For the latest Chinese sources regarding the exact current status of China’s 1st Aircraft Carrier, see Andrew S. Erickson, “Global Times: PLA National Defense University Professor States China’s First Aircraft Carrier Not Yet Delivered to Navy; Flag-Raising Ceremony Only a Rehearsal,” China Analysis from Original Sources, 24 September 2012.
Today (23 September 2012) at 4 […]

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15 September 2012

Ashley Tellis: “Uphill Challenges: China’s Military Modernization and Asian Security”

Ashley J. Tellis, “Uphill Challenges: China’s Military Modernization and Asian Security,” in Ashley J. Tellis and Travis Tanner, eds., Strategic Asia 2012-13: China’s Military Challenge (Seattle, WA: National Bureau of Asian Research, 2012), 2-24.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This chapter provides an overview of the dramatic shifts in the Asian balance of power as a result of China’s military modernization over the […]

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15 September 2012

“Strategic Asia 2012-13: China’s Military Challenge” Available for Pre-Order: e-version out 25 Sept., paperback release 3 Oct.

Ashley J. Tellis and Travis Tanner, eds., Strategic Asia 2012-13: China’s Military Challenge (Seattle, WA: National Bureau of Asian Research, 2012).
Electronic version available on September 25, 2012
Paperback Release: October 3, 2012
Paperback edition now available for pre-order
ISBN: 978-0-9818904-3-2
Paperback: $34.95
Pre-Order Now
The Strategic Asia annual edited volume incorporates assessments of economic, political, and military trends and focuses on […]

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15 September 2012

Abraham Denmark Interviews Robert Kaplan on His New Book “The Revenge of Geography”

Abraham Denmark, “The Revenge of Geography and the Asia-Pacific: An Interview with Robert Kaplan,” Policy Q&A, National Bureau of Asian Research, 12 September 2012.
In his new book, The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate, Robert Kaplan (Stratfor Global Intelligence) contends that current global conflicts, including wars, political […]

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10 September 2012

China Will Name its First Aircraft Carrier ex-Varyag “Liaoning”: PRC State Media Portal

An official state media source reports that China will name its first aircraft “Liaoning” after the province that contains Dalian Naval Shipyard, where it has been refitted. An authorized government portal site, China Internet Information Center (China.org.cn) is published under the auspices of the State Council Information Office and the China International Publishing Group (CIPG) in Beijing.
Since ~2 […]

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31 August 2012

Strategic Asia 2012-13: China’s Military Challenge Book Launch Event

Ashley J. Tellis and Travis Tanner, eds., Strategic Asia 2012–13: China’s Military Modernization, Regional Stability, and U.S. Extended Deterrence (Seattle, WA: National Bureau for Asian Research, 2012).
On Wednesday, October 3, 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars for the National Bureau of Asian Research will launch of […]

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31 August 2012

Cultivating Tomorrow’s Asia Hands

This spot-on analysis by the influential Eric Sayers is a must-read for policy makers and aspiring Asia hands alike!
Eric Sayers, “Cultivating Tomorrow’s Asia Hands,” PacNet 54A, 30 August 2012.
Discussions about the US “rebalancing” to the Asia-Pacific region have focused on the rhetoric and resources surrounding the effort. But after more than a decade of America’s […]

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06 August 2012

External Intervention and the Politics of State Formation – China, Indonesia, and Thailand, 1893–1952

Ja Ian Chong, External Intervention and the Politics of State Formation – China, Indonesia, and Thailand, 1893–1952 (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2012).
From the Publisher: This book explores ways foreign intervention and external rivalries can affect the institutionalization of governance in weak states. When sufficiently competitive, foreign rivalries in a weak state can actually foster […]

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28 June 2012

Recommended Reading: A Plain Sailorman in China

Bruce Swanson with Vance Morrison, Don H. McDowell, and Nancy Tomasko, A Plain Sailorman in China: The Life of and Times of Cdr. I.V. Gillis, USN, 1875-1948 (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2012).
Publisher’s Description:
This biography recounts the extraordinary life of I. V. Gillis, both as an officer in the U.S. Navy from 1894 to 1919 […]

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27 June 2012

Kindle Editions of 4 CMSI Volumes Now Available; 5th to Follow

Andrew S. Erickson and Lyle J. Goldstein, eds., Chinese Aerospace Power: Evolving Maritime Roles (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2011).
Andrew S. Erickson, Lyle J. Goldstein, and Nan Li, eds., China, the United States, and 21st Century Sea Power: Defining a Maritime Security Partnership (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2010).
Andrew S. Erickson, Lyle J. Goldstein, and Carnes Lord, eds., China Goes to Sea: […]

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16 June 2012

Making History in the Heavens: Liu Yang Becomes 1st Female Chinese Astronaut in Orbit as 3-Person Shenzhou-9 Mission Heads for Docking with Tiangong-1 Space Laboratory Module

An inspiring achievement!
People’s Liberation Army (PLA) pilot Liu Yang, with colleagues Jing Haipeng and Liu Wang, was launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 10:37:24 UTC on 16 June 2012 by a Long March 2F “carrier rocket” on the Shenzhou 9 spacecraft, which will dock with China’s Tiangong-1 (天宫一号) space laboratory module. The module will […]

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14 June 2012

Are China’s Near Seas “Anti-Navy” Capabilities Aimed Directly at the United States?

Andrew S. Erickson, “Are China’s Near Seas ‘Anti-Navy’ Capabilities Aimed Directly at the United States?” Information Dissemination, 14 June 2012.
Yes, but it’s more complicated than that. In the military realm, Washington and Beijing face a situation that is complex both in concept and in policy implications. In contrast to its mostly-settled land borders, China’s island […]

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04 June 2012

How Will New Submarine Sensors and Payloads Influence Naval Warfare in the 21st Century?

Another great primer by Owen Coté on the latest trends in undersea warfare and the physics behind them.
Owen R. Cote Jr., MIT Security Studies Program, “How Will New Submarine Sensors and Payloads Influence Naval Warfare in the 21st Century?” Information Dissemination, 4 June 2012.
Since the beginning of the 20st century, a series of new submarine […]

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04 June 2012

Information Dissemination Marks 5th Anniversary with “Virtual Conference: Celebrating Seapower Online”

Information Dissemination Marks 5th Anniversary with “Virtual Conference: Celebrating Seapower Online”
…To celebrate five years of online discussion related to Maritime Strategy and Strategic Communications, for the month of June Information Dissemination will be hosting a Virtual Conference sponsored by the United States Naval Institute. Sixteen leading voices in the maritime discussion with careers in the […]

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25 May 2012

More Signs of an S-Curved Trajectory?

Keith Bradsher, “After Barreling Ahead in Recession, China Finally Slows,” New York Times, 24 May 2012.
XI’AN, China — A nationwide real estate downturn, stalling exports and declining consumer confidence have produced what a Chinese cabinet adviser, quoted on the official government Web site on Thursday, characterized as a “sharp slowdown in the economy.”
Though the Chinese […]

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18 May 2012

Press Briefing on 2012 DOD Report to Congress on “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China”

Download full text of report here: http://www.defense.gov/pubs/pdfs/2012_CMPR_Final.pdf
Presenter: Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (East Asia) David Helvey
May 18, 2012
Press Briefing on 2012 DOD Report to Congress on “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China”

            DIRECTOR OF PRESS OPERATIONS CAPT JANE CAMPBELL:  Good morning.  I want to welcome you […]

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