Archive | Blog Posts

20 June 2014

China Must See Past Its Own Hype of An America in Decline

In this difficult time for Sino-American relations, in which statements often contain far more heat than light, Prof. Zha offers a constructive, balanced perspective–typical of his commitment to seeking truth from facts as a scholar, rather than engaging in the sort of one-sided sloganeering that has become all too prevalent. Thanks to Prof. Avery Goldstein for […]

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15 June 2014

Worth Revisiting on Eve of RIMPAC 2014: General Karl Eikenberry on “The Possibilities and Limits of Sino-American Military Relations”

With China joining the world’s largest international maritime exercise for the first time ever later this month in RIMPAC 2014, it’s time to revisit General Karl Eikenberry’s seasoned take on opportunities and challenges in U.S.-China military-military relations. 
Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry, USA (ret.), “The Possibilities and Limits of Sino-American Military Relations,” Charles Neuhauser Memorial Lecture, John […]

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15 June 2014

Latest Congressional Research Service Report on “U.S.-China Military Contacts: Issues for Congress”

Shirley Kan, Ronald O’Rourke, Susan Lawrence and other Congressional Research Service specialists continually provide some of the best return on U.S. taxpayer dollars with their tireless compilation and updating of sophisticated, timely, and relevant reports. They are invariably informative, balanced, and well worth reading! Members of Congress, please take note: preserving this invaluable policy-informing resource […]

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14 June 2014

Chinese Fleet Joins Others for RIMPAC Exercise

“Chinese Fleet Joins Others for RIMPAC Exercise,” China Radio International, 14 June 2014.

The missile destroyer Haikou (R), missile frigate Yueyang and supply ship Qiandaohu (C) are seen during the supply at sea in Pacific Ocean, during the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) multinational naval exercises on June 13, 2014. After 6 days’ sail, the Chinese […]

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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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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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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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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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06 May 2014

China’s Maritime Disputes in the East and South China Seas

Peter A. Dutton, “China’s Maritime Disputes in the East and South China Seas,” Testimony before a Hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, 14 January 2014; published in Naval War College Review 67.3 (Summer 2014): 7-18.
Text differs in minor ways from that published online by the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Other interesting articles from the Summer […]

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25 April 2014

Statement of Admiral Samuel J. Locklear, U.S. Navy Commander, U.S. Pacific Command before the Senate Committee on Armed Services on U.S. Pacific Command Posture

Solid-though-predictable content overall, but a few of the most interesting nuggets excerpted below. Great use of the term “Indo-Asia-Pacific”! This goes well with Admiral Locklear’s description of PACOM’s Area of Responsibility as ranging “from Hollywood to Bollywood.” It’s not as if we need too many more acronyms in the government-security studies lexicon, but I think […]

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22 April 2014

Watching China’s Carrier Dream Materialize–Via Music Video!

Great music video compilation and commentary on China’s emerging deck aviation efforts from my Global Junior Scholars’ Forum on Chinese International Relations (GCIR) colleague Haotian Qi.
***Warning: watching these clips may get some unforgettable images and songs stuck in your head.***
Posted with full credit and permission:

April 23rd is the 65th anniversary of the PLA Navy. AVIC (Aviation […]

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20 April 2014

Far Eastern Promises: Why Washington Should Focus on Asia

This cogent article by two experienced experts is a must read! It should help inform U.S. Asia-Pacific policy moving forward, and could help inspire the formal Asia-Pacific Strategy that Washington so badly needs. For key policy recommendations, consider especially the following paragraph:
“In Asia, economics and security are inextricably linked, and the United States will not […]

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17 April 2014

Mearsheimer’s Big Question: Can China Rise Peacefully?

Brilliant piece here by Julian Snelder. Here’s hoping that he’s able to publish more in the future!
Julian Snelder, “Mearsheimer’s Big Question: Can China Rise Peacefully?” The Lowy Interpreter, 15 April 2014.
The University of Chicago’s famed international relations theorist John Mearsheimer has generously updated, and posted free of charge, the epilogue to his legendary realist book The Tragedy […]

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14 March 2014

China Insights from DIA Director LtGen Flynn’s SASC Testimony

Michael T. Flynn, Lieutenant General, U.S. Army, Director, Defense Intelligence Agency, “Annual Threat Assessment,” Statement Before the Senate Armed Services Committee, United States Senate, Washington, DC, 11 February 2014.
Here are the China-relevant excerpts from Lt. Gen. Flynn’s recent testimony. I’ve bolded and underlined the ones I believe to be most interesting and important. These include:

details on China’s growing foreign military sales
confirmation that negotiations remain ongoing for Su-35 sale (I think China is especially interested in the Saturn 117S/AL-41F1A […]

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04 March 2014

It’s Official: China’s Official Defense Budget to Increase 12.2% in 2014 to ~$132 Billion (808.2 Billion Yuan)

“China Defense Budget to Increase 12.2% in 2014,” Xinhua, 5 March 2014.
Updated: 2014-03-05 09:18
BEIJING – China plans to raise its defense budget by 12.2 percent to 808.2 billion yuan (about $132 billion) in 2014, according to a budget report to be reviewed by the national legislature on Wednesday.
In 2013, the country spent 720.197 billion yuan on […]

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10 February 2014

It Changed My (Professional) Life: The National Committee on U.S.-China Relations’ Public Intellectuals Program

Andrew S. Erickson, “It Changed My (Professional) Life: The National Committee on U.S.-China Relations’ Public Intellectuals Program,” China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国, 10 February 2014.
The views expressed here are solely those of the author, and do not represent the policies of any organization with which he is affiliated.
As someone well-placed to observe firsthand the tremendous […]

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