Archive | Diplomat

07 May 2013 ~ 0 Comments

Pentagon Report Reveals Chinese Military Developments

Andrew S. Erickson, “Pentagon Report Reveals Chinese Military Developments,” The Diplomat, 8 May 2013.
After a year-long hiatus, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)’s annual report on Chinese military developments is back and better than ever. Its 43-page 2012 predecessor was widely criticized for arriving far later than Congress requested and containing little substance or new data. But [...]

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11 March 2013 ~ 0 Comments

China’s Military Development, Beyond the Numbers

Andrew S. Erickson and Adam P. Liff, “China’s Military Development, Beyond the Numbers,” The Diplomat, 12 March 2013.
While reports warn of China’s rising military budget and lack of transparency, numbers and hyped headlines often cloud the bigger picture.
Given China’s rapid rise in all aspects of national power, as well as its reluctance to release specific [...]

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07 January 2013 ~ 0 Comments

Limited Liftoff Looming: Y-20 Transport Prepares for 1st Test Flight

Andrew Erickson and Gabe Collins, “Limited Liftoff Looming: Y-20 Transport Prepares for 1st Test Flight,” The Diplomat, 8 January 2013.
In 2011 and 2012, China flight-tested stealth fighter prototypes developed by Chengdu Aircraft Corporation (J-20) and Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (J-31). In 2013, Xi’an Aircraft Corporation (XAC) will look to get into the new aircraft game by flight-testing a [...]

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06 December 2012 ~ 0 Comments

“The Long Pole in the Tent”: China’s Military Jet Engines

Andrew Erickson and Gabe Collins, “The ‘Long Pole in the Tent’: China’s Military Jet Engines,” The Diplomat, 7 December 2012.
Much has been made of Beijing’s growing military might. Developing and producing high-performance jet engines could be the toughest — but most rewarding — advance.
The PLA Navy surprised many foreign observers yet again when an indigenously-produced [...]

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21 November 2012 ~ 0 Comments

“Death by Blue Water Navy” Distracts from China’s Real Military Focus

Gabe Collins and Andrew Erickson, “‘Death by Blue Water Navy’ Distracts from China’s Real Military Focus,” The Diplomat, 21 November 2012.
(Editor’s Note: Please see “China’s Real Blue Water Navy” and Greg Autry’s response.)
Greg Autry’s passionate response to our recent piece on “China’s Real Blue Water Navy” is somewhat ironic, as he has missed our point. [...]

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31 October 2012 ~ 0 Comments

U.S. Navy Take Notice: China is Becoming a World-Class Military Shipbuilder

Gabe Collins and Andrew Erickson, “U.S. Navy Take Notice: China is Becoming a World-Class Military Shipbuilder,” The Diplomat, 1 November 2012.
The engine of China’s naval rise has flown under the radar – until now.
China’s military shipyards now are surpassing Western European, Japanese, and Korean military shipbuilders in terms of both the types and numbers of [...]

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29 August 2012 ~ 1 Comment

China’s Real Blue Water Navy

Andrew Erickson and Gabe Collins, “China’s Real Blue Water Navy,” The Diplomat, 30 August 2012.
China’s navy is not poised to speed across the Pacific to threaten America the way the Soviet Union once did, if not worse. This despite Peter Navarro and Greg Autry’s over-the-top polemic, Death by China: Confronting the Dragon—A Global Call to [...]

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24 April 2012 ~ 0 Comments

The Future is Now

Andrew S. Erickson, “The Future is Now,” The Diplomat, 24 April 2012.
The U.S. military has lots of options to stop the PLA from paralyzing its forces. But business as usual won’t do.
The U.S. isn’t “returning” to the Asia-Pacific, it never left in the first place. Here, in the world’s most strategically and economically dynamic region, [...]

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21 February 2012 ~ 0 Comments

Enter China’s Security Firms

Andrew Erickson and Gabe Collins, “Enter China’s Security Firms,” The Diplomat, 21 February 2012.
Chinese private security companies are seeing an opportunity as the U.S. withdraws troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. But plenty of complications await them.
A security vacuum is developing around Chinese workers overseas. The recent kidnapping of 29 Chinese workers in Sudan (where another [...]

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09 January 2012 ~ 1 Comment

China’s 2012 Challenges

Andrew S. Erickson and Gabe Collins, “China’s 2012 Challenges,” The Diplomat, 8 January 2012.
China enters the New Year confronting challenges and opportunities that will be shaped in turn by how its government and populace respond to them. Here outlined are twelve key items and issues that will help define 2012 for China, both at home [...]

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