05 June 2014

Authors Say U.S. Military Not Giving Enough Attention to China’s A2AD Capabilities

Otto Kreisher, “Authors Say U.S. Military Not Giving Enough Attention to China’s A2AD Capabilities,” Seapower, 5 June 2014.
China is making dramatic increases in the numbers and capabilities of its cruise missiles, both anti-ship and land attack, that can be launched from ships, land and aircraft, while the U.S. military has invested relatively little in either […]

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05 June 2014

Pentagon Releases “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2014”

Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2014, Annual Report to Congress (Arlington, VA: Office of the Secretary of Defense, 5 June 2014).
Highlights from text:
p. i
“The October 2013 MANEUVER-5 exercise in the Philippine Sea, which included participation from all three PLA navy fleets – the North Sea Fleet, the East Sea Fleet, […]

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02 June 2014

Report: Chinese Cruise Missiles Could Pose Biggest Threat to U.S. Carriers

Wendell Minnick, “Report: Chinese Cruise Missiles Could Pose Biggest Threat to U.S. Carriers,” Navy Times, 2 June 2014.
Saturation strikes from Chinese anti-ship cruise missiles could become the biggest threat to Navy carrier strike groups (CSG), according to a paper issued by the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs at the National Defense University.
The […]

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01 June 2014

PLA LtGen Wang Guanzhong’s Remarks—Scripted & “Unscripted”—at Shangri-La Dialogue

Lieutenant General Wang Guanzhong, Deputy Chief, General Staff Department, People’s Liberation Army, China
Shangri-La Dialogue 2014 Fourth Plenary Session: Major Power Perspectives on Peace and Security in the Asia-Pacific
 
Watch on mobile
 
Peace and Security in the Asia-Pacific?
PLA General Wang Guangzhong departed from his prepared address to attack the speeches made by Chuck Hagel and Shinzo Abe as ‘provocative […]

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31 May 2014

Shangri-La Dialogue 2014: Links, Full Text of Speeches, and Q&A

Click here to read current and previous Shangri-La Dialogue proceedings directly, complete with the latest updates!
Here is the overall IISS Asia Security Summit 2014 website.
Here are the speeches, organized by plenary section.
Additional links:
Shangri-La Dialogue 2014 
Speaker Agenda
Press Room
Dialogue App
More On The Dialogue
 
I tried to select key quotations from the text, but the amount of relevant […]

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30 May 2014

Rising Tide, Dispersing Waves: Opportunities and Challenges for Chinese Seapower Development

Andrew S. Erickson, “Rising Tide, Dispersing Waves: Opportunities and Challenges for Chinese Seapower Development,” Journal of Strategic Studies 37.3 (Summer 2014): 1-31.
Abstract: This article surveys China’s current naval forces and considers key dynamics and possible Chinese naval futures to 2020, the projected end of Beijing’s ‘strategic window of opportunity’, the idea that a peaceful external […]

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30 May 2014

On-Record Book Launch—“China’s Cruise Missile Ambitions”—Center for a New American Security (CNAS), Washington, DC, Thurs. 5 June 12:00-1:30

 
CNAS cordially invites you to participate in a public, on-the-record book launch discussion on: A Low-Visibility Force Multiplier: China’s Cruise Missile Ambitions
with:
Dr. Andrew S. Erickson
Associate Professor, Strategic Research Department, U.S. Naval War College
Prof. Dennis M. Gormley
Senior Lecturer, Graduate School of International and Public Affairs, University of Pittsburgh
Co-hosted by:
Dr. Phillip C. Saunders
Director, Center for Study of Chinese Military Affairs,
Institute […]

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29 May 2014

China Strongly Pushing Cruise Missile Capability

Bradley Perrett, “China Strongly Pushing Cruise Missile Capability,” Aerospace Daily & Defense Report, 22 May 2014, 4.
China probably has several thousand increasingly effective anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs), while its stock and quality of land-attack cruise missiles (LACMs) are also growing, according to the authors of a new study on the weapons programs.
If China can overcome […]

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29 May 2014

Contested Primacy in the Western Pacific: China’s Rise and the Future of U.S. Power Projection

Montgomery grasps the magnitude of China’s asymmetric military developments. He makes a compelling point, which unfortunately is still lost on too many observers:
“Neither side in the grand strategy debate views these developments as a major challenge to U.S. military primacy… because of their singular focus on global power projection rather than local power balances. Yet […]

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28 May 2014

The Hindu Surveys “The Fearful Asymmetries of Modi’s World”

Praveen Swami, “The Fearful Asymmetries of Modi’s World,” The Hindu, 29 May 2014.
Narendra Modi must plan for the looming battles of the future — not prepare to fight yesterday’s wars again. To do that, he will have to give India new tools of political, economic and military persuasion ….
Perhaps the biggest fact of the new […]

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27 May 2014

Tea Leaf Nation & Foreign Policy Examine China’s Military Enthusiast Websites

David Wertime, “Are China’s Online Military Fanboys Accidentally Aiding Foreign Spies? Chinese state media thinks so. Meet the country’s legions of ‘junmi,” Tea Leaf Nation, Foreign Policy, 27 May 2014.
… Major Chinese Internet portals such as Sina, Tencent, and Netease feature military channels, and there are dozens of independent online communities including Tiexue (literally, “iron and blood”), Supercamp, and Xilu. These sites, […]

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23 May 2014

IHS Jane’s Highlights CMSI “Chinese Mine Warfare” Study

“Chinese Sea Mines,” Underwater Weapons—Mines, Jane’s Underwater Warfare Systems, 19 May 2014.
China reportedly possesses between 50,000 and 100,000 mines, consisting of over 30 varieties of contact, magnetic, acoustic, water pressure, and multiple fuzed weapons. These are divided into mixed reaction sea mines, remote control sea mines, and rocket/rising and mobile mines. Detailed verifiable information on […]

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19 May 2014

Dr. Carl Rehberg, Headquarters, US Air Force, reviews “A Low-Visibility Force Multiplier: Assessing China’s Cruise Missile Ambitions” for Air Force Research Institute

Dr. Carl D. Rehberg, Headquarters, US Air Force/A8, review of  Dennis M. Gormley, Andrew S. Erickson, and Jingdong Yuan, A Low-Visibility Force Multiplier: Assessing China’s Cruise Missile Ambitions (Washington, D.C.: National Defense University Press, 2014); Air Force Research Institute, 15 May 2014.
A Low-Visibility Force Multiplier: Assessing China’s Cruise Missile Ambitions by Dennis M. Gormley, Andrew S. Erickson, and […]

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19 May 2014

Bases, Places and Boots on the Ground: A Review of “Rebalancing US Forces”

Julian Snelder, “Bases, Places and Boots on the Ground: A Review of ‘Rebalancing US Forces’,” The Lowy Interpreter, 14 May 2014.
The prologue of Rebalancing US Forces, a new book edited by US Naval War College professors Carnes Lord and Andrew Erickson, opens with Barack Obama’s speech in to the Australian parliament on 17 November 2011. That […]

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19 May 2014

U.S. Charges Five Chinese Military Hackers for Cyber Espionage against U.S. Corporations and a Labor Organization for Commercial Advantage

Attorney General Eric Holder has just announced U.S. Charges against five Chinese Military hackers for cyber espionage against U.S. corporations and a labor organization for commercial advantage.
To paraphrase Vice President Biden, this is a very big deal.
——————————————————————
Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 19, 2014
U.S. Charges Five Chinese Military Hackers for Cyber Espionage […]

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18 May 2014

America’s Military Bases in the Asia-Pacific: Strategic Asset or Vulnerability?

Robert Haddick, “America’s Military Bases in the Asia-Pacific: Strategic Asset or Vulnerability?” The National Interest, 18 May 2014; review of Carnes Lord and Andrew S. Erickson, eds., Rebalancing U.S. Forces: Basing and Forward Presence in the Asia-Pacific (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2014).
A new book hopes to shed some light on a critical topic.
With yet another territorial dispute […]

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16 May 2014

Vietnam’s Largest Newspaper Offers Details & Photos: “China Uses Vessels, Fighter Jet to Bully Vietnam in Oil Rig Tension”

Thanks to Scott Harold of RAND for calling this officially-connected Vietnamese news source to my attention. This does not look like a “harmonious oceans” or “peaceful development” approach to me. I would appreciate it if readers could offer further assessments and information, including corresponding Chinese photos and detailed explanations for the events in question.
“China Uses […]

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15 May 2014

FMPRC Spokesperson: the Paracel/Xisha and Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands claims issues “are so different that nothing can link these two together. That no dispute exists over the Xisha islands is a fact.”

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying’s Regular Press Conference on May 12, 2014, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China:
Q: “China says there is no dispute over the Xisha Islands, but criticizes Japan for saying there is no dispute over the Diaoyu Islands. Isn’t there a contradiction?”
FMPRC Spokesperson Hua: “These two claims are […]

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15 May 2014

Philippines Says Photos Show China Airstrip Work–Major Chinese Reclamation of Disputed Johnson South Reef Creates Not Just Facts on the Ground, But Facts of Ground

Behold the incredible expanding Johnson South Reef, aka Mabini Reef, aka Chigua Reef (赤瓜礁)… Major Chinese reclamation of this disputed feature is creating not just facts on the ground, but facts of ground. Literally. While telling rival claimants to pound sand, Beijing pours sand.
In addition to analysis of the specific significance of this Chinese pumping and dumping of sand […]

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