Archive | Blog Posts

13 October 2011

MIT Security Studies Program Launches Nuclear Security Fellows Program

With the generosity of the Stanton Foundation, the MIT Security Studies Program is starting a new Nuclear Security Fellows Program for junior faculty as well as pre-doctoral and post-doctoral scholars. Nuclear security is defined broadly to include nuclear terrorism, nuclear proliferation and nonproliferation, nuclear weapons, nuclear doctrine and force structure, and nuclear energy as it […]

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13 October 2011

Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program (CWP) Now Accepting Applications

Having served as a Fellow in the Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program (CWP, 中国国与世界研究项目) from 2010-11, I cannot endorse it more strongly. It offers entrée into just the community of specialists that I had always dreamed of joining when I decided to become a China scholar—serious but interesting intellectuals who contribute to the theoretical, […]

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02 October 2011

Translation of 10+ CMSI Publications into Japanese (日本語) by JANAFA (日米ネービー友好協会)

Meeting and Tour of Tokyo’s Sensō-ji Temple and Asakusa District with JANAFA (日米ネービー友好協会) Leadership
This January, I had the pleasure of meeting with leaders from the U.S.-Japan Navy Friendship Association (JANAFA). JANAFA plays an important role in supporting constructive relations between the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF, 海上自衛隊) and the U.S. Navy. This partnership, as part […]

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20 September 2011

National Bureau of Asian Research to Launch 2011 Energy Security Report “Asia’s Rising Energy and Resource Nationalism” in Washington, DC Thurs. 22 September

The National Bureau of Asian Research’s 2011 Energy Security Report, Asia’s Rising Energy and Resource Nationalism, surveys the dramatic developments taking place in Asian energy markets and their geopolitical implications. This National Bureau of Asian Research report includes an examination of the connection between energy insecurity and control of major sea lanes, the impact of Asia’s […]

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17 September 2011

PLA Daily Offers Latest Details on “Peace Ark” Hospital Ship’s 1st Medical Mission to Caribbean

Wang Zhenjiang and Dai Zongfeng; Cui Xinwen, editor; “‘Peace Ark’ Hospital Ship to Visit Latin America,” Liberation Army Daily, 16 September 2011.
The navy emblem is shining and the navy songs are loud and clear. All people of the “Peace Ark” hospital ship of the Navy of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) held an oath-taking […]

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16 September 2011

PLAN Hospital Ship “Peace Ark” (“和平方舟”号医院船) Embarks on 3-Month Navy Medical Service Mission in Caribbean

China’s first purpose-built hospital ship, the 10,000-ton Type 920 Daishandao (岱山岛号)-class Peace Ark (和平方舟/AHH 866), has left on a three-month voyage. It will call on ports in Cuba, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Costa Rica as part of “Harmonious Mission -2011” (和谐使命—2011). This is China’s first operational naval mission to the Caribbean, and an interesting new use of its increasing […]

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05 September 2011

Feng, Information Dissemination: “China/Russia Military Cooperation”

Feng, “China/Russia Military Cooperation,” Information Dissemination, 28 August 2011.
This is the part 3 in the series of reviewing the content of the recent book that I read. In the past, I have often been harsh toward the recent China/Russia military cooperation. I have frequently stated that the Russians have limited military technology that it can […]

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04 September 2011

Assessing China’s Response to U.S. Reconnaissance Flights

Kenneth Allen and Jana Allen, “Assessing China’s Response to U.S. Reconnaissance Flights,” Jamestown China Brief (2 September 2011).
On June 29, 2011, for the first time in a decade, a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force (PLAAF) J-11 crossed the center line of the Taiwan Strait in an attempted intercept of a U.S. Air Force (USAF) […]

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31 August 2011

The U.S. Must Continue to Use Space and Can “Win without Fighting” There—It’s Just Not a Panacea, a Sanctuary, or a Desirable Battlefield

The positions expressed here are the author’s personal views. They do not represent the U.S. Naval War College, Navy, Department of Defense, or Government, and do not necessarily reflect the policies or estimates of these or any other organizations.
Even as the United States and China are more economically interdependent and closely connected than ever before, […]

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30 August 2011

English-Language Version of 2011 ROC National Defense Report Confirms: “a small quantity of” DF-21D ASBMs “were produced and deployed in 2010, increasing the difficulty of military maneuvers in the region for the U.S. Army.”

National Defense Report Editing Committee, Ministry of National Defense, 2011 ROC National Defense Report (Taipei: Ministry of National Defense, August 2011).
(I) Strengthening Integrated Joint Operations Capabilities
p. 71
4. Second Artillery Strike Capabilities
Under the guidance to “balance nuclear and conventional,” the PLA has continued the development of independently targetable intercontinental range ballistic missiles, strengthened strategic nuclear intimidation, […]

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24 August 2011

Key Quotes from 2011 DoD Report on China’s Military

Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2011
p. 2
Ballistic and Cruise Missiles.
… By December 2010, the PLA had deployed between 1,000 and 1,200 short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) to units opposite Taiwan. To improve the lethality of this force, the PLA is introducing variants of missiles with improved ranges, accuracies, and payloads. …
p. […]

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24 August 2011

Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2011 Full Text Just Released

Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2011

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24 August 2011

Report on Military and Security Developments in China Released

Report on Military and Security Developments in China Released
Wed, 24 Aug 2011 09:17:00 -0500
________________________________
 No. 072-11          August 24, 2011               
Report on Military and Security Developments in China Released
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (East Asia) Michael Schiffer will hold a press briefing today on the 2011 DoD Report to Congress on the “Military and Security Developments […]

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09 August 2011

Official Confirmation from Xinhua: Ex-Varyag Will Sail Today

http://news.sina.com.cn/o/2011-08-10/064322965657.shtml
中国航母平台今日进行出海航行试验
http://www.sina.com.cn  2011年08月10日06:43  国际在线

  新华网快讯:我航母平台8月10日进行出海航行试验。

For an assessment of the larger implications of China’s deck aviation development, see Abraham M. Denmark, Andrew S. Erickson, and Gabriel Collins, “Should We Be Afraid of China’s New Aircraft Carrier? Not yet.,” Foreign Policy, 27 June 2011.
For operational aspects of China’s first carrier-capable aircraft, see Gabe Collins and Andrew Erickson, “Flying Shark” Gaining […]

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07 August 2011

Watching the Weather in Dalian: Awaiting the Right Conditions to Launch China’s First Aircraft Carrier

Typhoon Muifa (2011), while losing strength, is still generating significant wind gusts and waves. It’s now heading for the Yellow Sea—right where China’s first aircraft carrier, the ex-Varyag, is moored in Dalian.
The PLA Navy undoubtedly wants auspicious conditions, symbolic and substantive, for the launch and sea trials of its first aircraft carrier, and will await […]

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06 August 2011

Hong Kong Commercial Daily: China’s Aircraft Carrier ex-Varyag to Begin Two Week Sea Trials Today

木子, 敖雷 [Mu Tsu and Ao Lei],【本報獨家】萬事已備 中國航母今出海半月 [Our Exclusive: Everything Is Ready, China’s Aircraft Carrier Sets Off Today and Will Sail for Half a Month at Sea], 香港商報訊 [Hong Kong Commercial Daily], 6 August 2011, A16.
For an assessment of China’s deck aviation development and its implications, see Abraham M. Denmark, Andrew S. Erickson, and Gabriel […]

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21 July 2011

Taiwan 2011 National Defense Report: DF-21D ASBMs “have been produced and deployed in small numbers in 2010”

國防部「國防報告書」編纂委員會 [Ministry of Defense, “National Defense Report” Editorial Board], 中華民國壹百年國防報告書 [Republic of China Centennial 2011 National Defense Report] (Taipei: 國防部 [Ministry of Defense], 2011).
p. 60
ROUGH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:
1. Mainland Chinese Military Capability
4. Second Artillery Strike Capability
Under the guidance of [the] “both conventional and nuclear missions” [concept], [the Second Artillery] continues to develop MIRVed intercontinental ballistic missiles, […]

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12 July 2011

General Chen Bingde, PLA Chief of General Staff, Becomes First Chinese Official to Confirm Publicly that “2,700 km-Range” DF-21D Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM) is in Development; “Not Operational Yet” by PLA Definition

THIS POST HAS BEEN CORRECTED TO ELIMINATE LIKELY INACCURATE RANGE CLAIM BY CHINA DAILY; CLICK HERE FOR A COMPLETE UPDATE.
According to an article by China’s official Xinhua News Agency entitled “China’s DF-21D Missile is Still Undergoing Research” (陈炳德: 东风21D导弹还在研究中), on 11 July 2011 PLA Chief of General Staff General Chen Bingde became the first Chinese government […]

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12 July 2011

China’s Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM) Reaches Equivalent of “Initial Operational Capability” (IOC)—Where It’s Going and What it Means

First posted 30 December 2010; updated subsequently with latest analysis and sources.
For an explanation of Chinese ASBM development and its larger implications, see the China Maritime Studies Institute Lecture of Opportunity, “Chinese Sources Discuss the ASBM Threat to the U.S. Navy,” that I presented at the Naval War College on 21 March 2011.

For detailed analysis of Admiral […]

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