Archive | Reports—U.S. Government

18 December 2017

Updated CRS Report—“The North Korean Nuclear Challenge: Military Options and Issues for Congress”

I wish this top-caliber team all possible energy, as they will surely be asked to update this important report constantly in light of new developments!
Kathleen J. McInnis, Andrew Feickert, Mark E. Manyin, Steven A. Hildreth, Mary Beth D. Nikitin, and Emma Chanlett-Avery, The North Korean Nuclear Challenge: Military Options and Issues for Congress R44994 (Washington, […]

Continue Reading

16 November 2017

U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission releases 2017 Annual Report

2017 Report to Congress of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, One Hundred Fifteenth Congress, First Session, 15 November 2017.
Click here to read the full text.
Report PDFs: 
2017 Annual Report
2017 Executive Summary and Recommendations.pdf
Comprehensive List of the Commission’s Recommendations.pdf
 
Chapters: 
Chapter 1, Section 1 – Year in Review – Economics and Trade.pdf
Chapter 1, Section 2 – Chinese […]

Continue Reading

06 November 2017

Ronald O’Rourke’s Latest Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report: “China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress”

Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress, RL33153 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 1 November 2017).
If you have trouble accessing the website above, please download a cached copy here.
 
Summary
China since the early to mid-1990s has been steadily building a modern and powerful navy. China’s navy in recent years has emerged as […]

Continue Reading

31 October 2017

New CRS Report—“The North Korean Nuclear Challenge: Military Options and Issues for Congress”

Kathleen J. McInnis, Andrew Feickert, Mark E. Manyin, Steven A. Hildreth, Mary Beth D. Nikitin, and Emma Chanlett-Avery, The North Korean Nuclear Challenge: Military Options and Issues for Congress R44994 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 27 October 2017).
If you can’t access the link, click here to download a copy.
Summary
North Korea’s apparently successful July 2017 […]

Continue Reading

23 October 2017

O’Rourke’s Latest CRS Report—“China’s Maritime Territorial & Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes”—Compiles Reporting on Maritime Militia

Ronald O’Rourke, Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes Involving China: Issues for Congress, R42784 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 16 October 2017).
 
KEY EXCERPTS:
1972 CONVENTION ON PREVENTING COLLISIONS AT SEA (COLREGs)………………………………… 14
p. 14
1972 Convention on Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs)
China and the United States, as well as more than 150 other countries (including all those bordering on […]

Continue Reading

26 September 2017

Here’s Ronald O’Rourke’s Latest Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report: “China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress”

Happy to see my colleagues Peter Dutton and Ryan Martinson quoted in this recently-published report!
Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress, RL33153 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 18 September 2017).
Summary
China since the early to mid-1990s has been steadily building a modern and powerful navy. China’s navy in recent years has emerged […]

Continue Reading

26 September 2017

Read Ronald O’Rourke’s Updated Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report—“China’s Maritime Territorial & Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes”

Ronald O’Rourke, Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes Involving China: Issues for Congress, R42784 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 15 September 2017).
 
KEY EXCERPTS:
p. 14
1972 Convention on Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs)
China and the United States, as well as more than 150 other countries (including all those bordering on the South East and South China Seas other […]

Continue Reading

29 August 2017

Latest Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report by Ronald O’Rourke: “China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress”

Happy to see my colleagues Peter Dutton and Ryan Martinson quoted in this recently-published report!
Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress, RL33153 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 18 August 2017).
Summary
China is building a modern and regionally powerful navy with a limited but growing capability for conducting operations beyond China’s near-seas region. […]

Continue Reading

29 August 2017

Updated Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report—“China’s Maritime Territorial & Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes”—by Ronald O’Rourke

Ronald O’Rourke, Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes Involving China: Issues for Congress, R42784 (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 17 August 2017).
 
Key Excerpts:
p. 14
1972 Convention on Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs)
China and the United States, as well as more than 150 other countries (including all those bordering on the South East and South China Seas other […]

Continue Reading

03 July 2017

Full Text of National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) 2017 “Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat” Report

National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Ballistic and Cruise Missile Threat (Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH, 2017).
Click here to read the full text of the report. 
Issued four years after the previous iteration, this detailed report is to be welcomed. Perhaps due to the vagaries of bureaucratic processes, it may not mesh perfectly with other official statements, but […]

Continue Reading

07 June 2017

New Pentagon China Report Highlights the Rise of Beijing’s Maritime Militia

Andrew S. Erickson, “New Pentagon China Report Highlights the Rise of Beijing’s Maritime Militia,” The National Interest, 7 June 2017.
Pentagon experts have finally keyed in on one of the most important aspects of China’s strategy to dominate the waterways of the Asia-Pacific.
Issued yesterday, the Pentagon’s annual report to Congress on China’s military and security developments contains a […]

Continue Reading

06 June 2017

Pentagon Releases 2017 China Military Report—First Official U.S. Government Public Assessment to Cover China’s Maritime Militia

In a long-overdue and welcome breakthrough, the Pentagon’s latest report on China’s Military and Security Developments contains substantial content on China’s Maritime Militia.
Previously, China’s Maritime Militia was mentioned by Ronald O’Rourke in his Congressional Research Service report and by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, which recommended that the Department of Defense address this […]

Continue Reading

06 June 2017

U.S. Department of Defense Annual Reports to Congress on China’s Military Power—2002-17—Download Complete Set Here

Since I couldn’t find a single-source location on the Internet, I decided to make my own. Now you can download PDFs of the Department of Defense’s China reports directly by year:
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
 
Additionally, here are some highlights from, and analysis of, several of the most recent reports:
2016
Andrew S. Erickson, “How Good Are They? The Latest Insights Into […]

Continue Reading

06 June 2017

U.S. Department of Defense Annual Report to Congress—“Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2017”—Click here to read the full text report

Click here to read the full text of the 2017 report.
Office of the Secretary of Defense, Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2017 (Arlington, VA: Department of Defense, 6 June 2017).

Continue Reading

03 June 2017

Senate Statement by Daniel Coats, Director of National Intelligence: “Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community”

Daniel R. Coats, Director of National Intelligence, Statement for the Record, “Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community,” Senate Armed Services Committee, 23 May 2017.
 (Information available as of April 24, 2017 was used in the preparation of this assessment.)
Please scroll down for an outline of the contents, as well as key excerpts that I […]

Continue Reading

30 May 2017

“China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress”—Newest Edition of Ronald O’Rourke’s Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report

Happy to see my colleagues Peter Dutton, Ryan Martinson, and Conor Kennedy cited so extensively in this report!
Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 12 May 2017), RL33153.
Summary
China is building a modern and regionally powerful navy with a limited but growing capability for conducting operations beyond […]

Continue Reading

30 May 2017

China’s Maritime Territorial & Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes—Latest Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report by Ronald O’Rourke

Ronald O’Rourke, Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes Involving China: Issues for Congress (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 19 May 2017), R42784.
 
Key Excerpts:
USE OF CHINA COAST GUARD SHIPS, FISHING BOATS/MARITIME MILITIA, AND OIL EXPLORATION PLATFORMS ………………………………………………………………………………………. 25
p. 14
1972 Convention on Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs)
China and the United States, as well as more than 150 other […]

Continue Reading

24 April 2017

Ronald O’Rourke’s Latest Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report—on China’s Maritime Territorial and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes—documents China Maritime Militia Activity

The latest edition of the following report addresses China Maritime Militia (CMM) activity specifically, offering more coverage than the previous edition of 8 June 2016. It’s long overdue for reports from the Department of Defense, Defense Intelligence Agency, Office of Naval Intelligence, and other organizations charged with issuing specific public estimates added their own authoritative statements […]

Continue Reading

24 April 2017

Newest Edition of Ron O’Rourke’s Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report: “China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress”

Happy to see my colleagues Peter Dutton, Ryan Martinson, and Conor Kennedy cited so extensively in this report!
Ronald O’Rourke, China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress (Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 29 March 2017), RL33153.
Summary
China is building a modern and regionally powerful navy with a limited but growing capability for conducting operations beyond […]

Continue Reading