Archive | Blog Posts

08 February 2017

China Open Source Example: Proposal to Hainan Government Reveals Maritime Militia Activities

Andrew S. Erickson, “China Open Source Example: Proposal to Hainan Government Reveals Maritime Militia Activities,” China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国, 7 February 2017.
SUMMARY OF THE PROPOSAL DOCUMENT:
“关于建设南海渔业后勤补给基地, 发展南海渔业生产的建议” [Proposal on Establishing Fisheries Logistics Supply Bases and Developing Fisheries Production in the South China Sea], submitted to the Hainan Provincial Government, 2 February 2015.
In February 2015, […]

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01 February 2017

Latest China Civil Maritime Insights & More–From The Updated Ryan Martinson Bookshelf

For analysis of Chinese maritime policy and China Coast Guard development, it simply doesn’t get any better than this. Enjoy this one-stop library of my colleague Ryan Martinson’s work, and please congratulate him on his recent promotion to Assistant Professor at the Naval War College!
James E. Fanell and Ryan D. Martinson, “Countering Chinese Expansion through […]

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06 January 2017

Chinese Naval Shipbuilding Ships Immediately When Ordered Directly from Naval Institute Press

Click here to order Chinese Naval Shipbuilding directly from Naval Institute Press.
It will ship immediately from Illinois.
(The 30 copies I ordered were delivered quickly!)

 
COMPLETE INFORMATION ON VOLUME:
Andrew S. Erickson, ed., Chinese Naval Shipbuilding: An Ambitious and Uncertain Course (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2016).
Eventually, as with the previous five volumes in our “Studies in Chinese Maritime […]

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22 November 2016

U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Scott Swift on China’s Maritime Militia: “Let’s acknowledge that it’s there. Let’s acknowledge how it’s being command-and-controlled.”

Christopher P. Cavas, “China’s Maritime Militia a Growing Concern,” Defense News, 21 November 2016.
WASHINGTON Near the top of US Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Scott Swift’s concerns is China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and close behind is the country’s burgeoning Coast Guard. But a third government-controlled seagoing force, the little-known and somewhat mysterious maritime militia, […]

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08 November 2016

Ellis Joffe Prize for PLA Studies: Accepting Nominations

Dear Colleague,
The National Bureau of Asian Research is accepting nominations for the Ellis Joffe Prize for PLA Studies, an award established to honor the late Ellis Joffe, a renowned China scholar, friend, and mentor to generations of PLA watchers.
Nominations should be received by January 1, 2017.
For more information about the Joffe Prize, please contact JoffePrize@nbr.org.
 
ABOUT […]

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21 October 2016

Alliance Damage Control Under Duterte Starts with Understanding the Philippine Component of “Ambivalent Alignment”: The Complex Politics of American Security Ties in Post-Authoritarian East Asia

In the Philippines, America’s colonial legacy casts a long shadow. The military-basing agreement between the United States and the Philippines following its independence, due to expire in 1991, drew increasing Filipino elite opposition in the 1980s. In June 1991, Mt. Pinatubo’s eruption destroyed Clark Air Base. U.S. and Filipino negotiators could not agree on a […]

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30 August 2016

China Open Source Example: Big Plans for Maritime Militia Base Buildup, as Seen from a Government Proposal Document

“关于在文昌木兰头规划建设三沙战略腹地和民兵渔船停泊港的建议” [Proposal for the Planning and Construction of Wenchang Mulantou Rear Area for Sansha and Harbor for Mooring Maritime Militia Fishing Vessels], submitted to the Hainan Provincial Government, 12 February 2015.
This proposal, as a result of a special assessment made by the Development Research Center of the State Council and submitted to the Hainan Provincial […]

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11 August 2016

A Guide to Catching Up on China’s Politics and Military

Peter Mattis, “A Guide to Catching Up on China’s Politics and Military,” War on the Rocks, 3 August 2016.
Coinciding with National Security Advisor Susan Rice’s recent trip to China, the White House released a statement from Rice on the U.S.-China relationship in which she opined, “There is no more consequential bilateral relationship than the U.S.-China […]

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04 August 2016

The China Anti-Piracy Bookshelf

Now that Amazon has just released the Kindle version of my book with Austin Strange on China’s ongoing anti-piracy efforts, achievements, and lessons learned in the Gulf of Aden, I wanted to compile our diverse publications and presentations to date on the subject in one convenient location accessible to all. I’m also including an article […]

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12 July 2016

UNCLOS Arbitral Tribunal Press Release & Complete Set of Full Text PDF Documents—PCA Case No. 2013-19 – The South China Sea Arbitration (The Republic of the Philippines v. The People’s Republic of China)

Here are the key documents:
Award     (This is the complete 501-page ruling.)
Press Release No. 11 — English     (This and the other two linguistic variants offer a pithy summary of the detailed ruling.)
Press Release No. 11 — French
Press Release No. 11 — Unofficial Chinese Translation
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Gaelle Chevalier <gchevalier@pca-cpa.org>
Date: Tue, Jul 12, 2016 […]

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16 June 2016

Reported Chinese Efforts to Conceal Maritime Militia Reach Intelligence-Insulting Level

Chinese officials are insulting foreign intelligence, likely in all senses of the word.
Xi Jinping’s visit in 2013 to Tanmen Township, and the designation of its Maritime Militia as a national model, has made this the leading unit for other seaports to emulate. Yet earlier this month, as the Al Jazeera article below documents, a local […]

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02 June 2016

Team Tsai Ing-wen: a Who’s Who of the New Cabinet

A handy guide with useful analysis on a vital and timely subject!
Lauren Dickey, “Team Tsai Ing-wen: a Who’s Who of the New Cabinet,” Jamestown Foundation China Brief 16.9, 1 June 2016.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen took office on May 20 with no shortage of challenges ahead. Her inaugural speech focused on five specific areas: transforming economic […]

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02 June 2016

The Courage to Fight and Win: The PLA Cultivates Xuexing for the Wars of the Future

Ryan D. Martinson, “The Courage to Fight and Win: The PLA Cultivates Xuexing for the Wars of the Future,” Jamestown Foundation China Brief 16.9, 1 June 2016.
With all its new weapons systems and platforms, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has become a powerful military by any standard that can be quantified. But how will PLA […]

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14 May 2016

Obama Pentagon’s Last China Report: Covers Most Bases Commendably, But Misses Maritime Militia

Andrew S. Erickson, “Obama Pentagon’s Last China Report: Covers Most Bases Commendably, But Misses Maritime Militia,” China Analysis from Original Sources 以第一手资料研究中国, 14 May 2016.
The end of an era… Friday’s Department of Defense (DoD) report to Congress on Chinese military and security developments is the last issued under the Obama Administration. Amid geopolitical uncertainty, it was a respectable […]

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13 May 2016

Key Quotes, Data & Themes from 2016 U.S. Department of Defense Report on China’s Military & Security Developments

A hefty report at 145 pages! Highly informative, well worth a read. It documents a rapidly developing Chinese military and paramilitary, inspired by a far-reaching “China Dream,” in the throes of ambitious reforms.
Major missed opportunity: no mention of Maritime Militia whatsoever. On that vital topic, you’re still stuck with this next-best analysis.
Key Quotations from text […]

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13 May 2016

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia Briefs the Media—Watch Abraham Denmark unveil 2016 DoD China report:

Click here to watch the live webcast.

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11 May 2016

PLA Recruiting Ad: The Rap Video—Annotated Translations by Dr. Kevin Jensen & Prof. Mark Metcalf

PLA Recruiting Ad: The Rap Video
中国军网发布2016征兵宣传片:战斗宣言
Click here to watch on YouTube
酷炫的征兵宣传片一部满足不了你?我们给你一打!征兵宣传片混剪,最精彩的画面、最具血性的镜头都在这里,看完它,你就是下一位军营男神!
Background and summary from South China Morning Post:
‘Just waiting for the order to kill, kill, kill’: China’s military tries to woo young recruits with slick video featuring rock and rap soundtrack

Excerpts from video translated by Kevin A. Jensen, Ph.D., former Assistant Professor of Chinese, United […]

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09 May 2016

Managing the U.S.-Philippine Alliance under President-elect Rodrigo Duterte Will Require Understanding “Ambivalent Alignment”: The Complex Politics of American Security Ties in Post-Authoritarian East Asia

In the Philippines, America’s colonial legacy casts a long shadow. The military-basing agreement between the United States and the Philippines following its independence, due to expire in 1991, drew increasing Filipino elite opposition in the 1980s. In June 1991, Mt. Pinatubo’s eruption destroyed Clark Air Base. U.S. and Filipino negotiators could not agree on a […]

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06 May 2016

Water Resource Competition in the Brahmaputra River Basin: China, India, and Bangladesh

Nilanthi Samaranayake, Satu Limaye, and Joel Wuthnow, Water Resource Competition in the Brahmaputra River Basin: China, India, and Bangladesh (Arlington, VA: CNA, May 2016).
This project, sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation, provides greater understanding of the equities and drivers fueling water insecurity in the Brahmaputra River basin. After conducting research in the three countries, CNA offers […]

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