Archive | Blog Posts

28 September 2014

Hong Kong—Now What?

Thanks to Xiaoyu Pu for leading me to this prescient piece. 
David Schlesinger, Mei Fong, and Nicholas Bequelin, “Hong Kong—Now What?” A ChinaFile Conversation, 2 September 2014. 
David Schlesinger:
Hong Kong’s tragedy is that its political consciousness began to awaken precisely at the time when its leverage with China was at its lowest ebb. 
Where once China needed Hong […]

Continue Reading

28 September 2014

Does Global Times/环球时报 Provide Reliable Coverage of Hong Kong Protest Issues?

On 29 September, Global Times published an article (pasted partially below here, and in full still further below) citing subject matter expert(s) as stating that, should the Hong Kong Police prove unable to control the protests, there would be no legal obstacles to People’s Armed Police crossing the border from the Mainland to stabilize the situation. […]

Continue Reading

28 September 2014

Hong Kong’s Unprecedented Protests and Police Crackdown, Explained

Thanks to Xiaoyu Pu for directing me to these sources.
Max Fisher, “Hong Kong’s Unprecedented Protests and Police Crackdown, Explained,” Vox, 28 September 2014.
Protest marches and vigils are fairly common in Hong Kong, but what began on Friday and escalated dramatically on Sunday is unprecedented. Mass acts of civil disobedience were met by a shocking and swift […]

Continue Reading

22 September 2014

Admiral Harry B. Harris, Jr. to become Commander, U.S. Pacific Command

“Harris tapped to lead PACOM,” Navy Times, 22 September 2014.
Adm. Harry Harris is the president’s pick for the next head of U.S. Pacific Command, according to a Monday release from the Defense Department.
Harris, who commands the Pacific Fleet, has been nominated to relieve current PACOM boss Adm. Samuel Locklear as head of American forces from […]

Continue Reading

17 September 2014

Making History in Newport: Head of China’s Navy Admiral Wu Shengli Leads First-Ever Delegation to Naval War College’s International Seapower Symposium

Yao Jianning, ed., “Wu Shengli Flies to US for International Seapower Symposium,” Liberation Army Daily, 16 September 2014.
At the invitation of Jonathan Greenert, chief of the Naval Operations of the U.S., Wu Shengli, member of the China’s Central Military Commission (CMC) and commander of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), left Beijing on September […]

Continue Reading

11 September 2014

Summary Report from Latest Carlisle PLA Conference: The Chinese People’s Liberation Army in 2025

Excellent conference report from Lincoln Hines! It was an honor for me to serve as a discussant at the conference, and I can attest that he has summarized the key points well. For anyone who hasn’t yet had a chance to read them, I highly recommend the other conference reports and books in this series.
Mr. […]

Continue Reading

09 September 2014

Fascinating Photos & Videos of Chinese Island Building in South China Sea from BBC

Be sure to view all the accompanying photos and videos. This is precisely the sort of substantive first-hand reporting that makes following BBC productions so worthwhile!
Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, “China’s Island Factory,” BBC News, 9 September 2014.
New islands are being made in the disputed South China Sea by the might of the Chinese state. But a group […]

Continue Reading

01 September 2014

Harry Kazianis Reviews “Fire on the Water: China, America and the Future of the Pacific”

Harry Kazianis, “A Master Plan to Counter China’s Growing Military Might?”; Review of Robert Haddick, Fire on the Water: China, America and the Future of the Pacific (Naval Institute Press, 2014); War on the Rocks, 1 September 2014.
… There could be no better time than the present for a new book that not only explores issues surrounding China’s […]

Continue Reading

22 August 2014

Pentagon Says Chinese Air Force J-11B Fighter Jet Confronted American Navy Plane in Dangerously Close Proximity

Helene Cooper, “Pentagon Says Chinese Fighter Jet Confronted American Navy Plane,” New York Times, 22 August 2014.
WASHINGTON — A Chinese fighter jet flew within 30 feet of a Navy surveillance and reconnaissance plane this week in international airspace just off the Chinese coast, the Pentagon said Friday.
The encounter, known as an intercept, was “very, very […]

Continue Reading

18 August 2014

Can America “Just Say No” to China?

A trenchant, thought-provoking analysis by CNAS Research Associate and rising star in the China/Asia-Pacific studies field Amy Chang on contradictions in U.S. China policy and what to do about them. Whether you agree with Amy or not on the specifics, her argument is reflective of growing concerns in many U.S. and allied quarters…
Amy Chang, “Can America […]

Continue Reading

01 August 2014

PRC National Defense Ministry Spokesman Sr. Col. Geng Yansheng Offers China’s Most-Detailed Position to Date on Dongdiao-class Ship’s Intelligence Collection in U.S. EEZ during RIMPAC Exercise

Summary translation: China demands freedom from the United States to collect intelligence in U.S. Exclusive Economic Zones in the name of U.S. principles and domestic laws. China denies the United States reciprocal freedoms in the name of China’s own domestic laws.
Such lack of reciprocity flies in the face of international legal principles and support for an […]

Continue Reading

01 August 2014

A “New Situation”: China’s Evolving Assessment of its Security Environment

Excellent analysis by a serious observer of Chinese military, doctrinal, and policy developments. Here’s hoping that David Bradley continues to publish his sophisticated analysis for all to read!
Has Washington unwittingly contributed to Beijing’s assessment of a “new situation” in the regional security environment and beyond by: (1) devoting insufficient resources and attention to the Asia-Pacific, (2) not […]

Continue Reading

18 July 2014

China Sends Uninvited Spy Ship to RIMPAC

At the world’s foremost maritime cooperation wedding, a wedding crasher from China’s navy is enjoying an intelligence buffet…
Sam LaGrone, “China Sends Uninvited Spy Ship to RIMPAC,” USNI News, 18 July 2014.
China slipped an uninvited guest into the world’s largest naval exercise.
The U.S. invited four ships from China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) to the Rim […]

Continue Reading

16 July 2014

Outcomes of Strategic Track of 6th Round of U.S.-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue

U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue Outcomes of the Strategic Track
Media Note, Office of the Spokesperson, Washington, DC, July 14, 2014
At the Sixth Round of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) July 9-10, 2014, in Beijing, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, special representative of President Xi Jinping, and Secretary of State John Kerry, special representative of President Barack Obama, […]

Continue Reading

13 July 2014

Chinese Fleet Participating in RIMPAC Drill Leaves for Exercise Area

“Chinese Fleet Participating in RIMPAC Drill Leaves for Exercise Area,” Xinhua, 11 July 2014.
Photo taken on July 9, 2014 shows Chinese navy’s missile frigate Yueyang leaves Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, the United States. The Chinese fleet participating in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) multinational naval exercises left Pearl Harbor for the exercise area on […]

Continue Reading

13 July 2014

China Issues 2nd Foreign Aid White Paper

Philippa Brant, “China’s Foreign Aid White Paper: Quick Overview,” The Lowy Interpreter, 10 July 2014.
Today, the Chinese Government released its much-awaited second White Paper on Foreign Aid. It’s been in the pipeline for a while, as I’ve noted a number of times, and follows the first white paper published in April 2011. 
So what does it say?
First, it is an […]

Continue Reading

04 July 2014

Dr. Shi Yinhong: Territorial Dispute-Related “Tension Between China and the US and U.S. Allies Will Deteriorate Rather Than Improve”

It’s always important to understand the context of strong quotations like the ones below. Sometimes essential factors are not captured initially, and things become clearer with time. But John Garnaut is an highly-experienced, extremely-reputable journalist and Dr. Shi Yinhong (时殷弘)’s views always merit close consideration. While he no doubt had to use his academic title […]

Continue Reading

01 July 2014

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel Welcomes Japan’s New Collective Self-defense Policy

Hagel Welcomes Japan’s New Collective Self-defense Policy
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, July 1, 2014 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel today welcomed the Japanese government’s new policy regarding collective self-defense, saying it will enable the Japan Self-Defense Forces to engage in a wider range of operations and make the U.S.-Japan alliance even more effective.
In a reinterpretation […]

Continue Reading

01 July 2014

Japan’s Article 9 Challenge

Adam Liff, “Japan’s Article 9 Challenge,” The National Interest, 27 June 2014.
Throughout the postwar period, the Government of Japan’s (GOJ) definition and interpretation of collective self-defense and Article 9 of Japan’s constitution have played a crucial role in how its leaders develop and employ military power. This issue also has had significant implications for its […]

Continue Reading