Strategic Stability in Cyberspace
The unclassified version of the 2013 Annual Report to Congress on the Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China provides a glimpse of the military build-up and...
View ArticleNo Need for Washington to Panic in Confronting a More Powerful China
According to today’s conventional wisdom, the U.S. and China are converging, with Beijing set to surpass America as the globe’s most powerful nation. But America’s advantages remain overwhelming. The...
View ArticleUnderstanding China’s Military Transparency
When China published her defense white paper “the Diversified Employment of China’s Armed Forces” in April 2013, the western critics lauded the efforts but pointed out that China didn’t put much meat...
View ArticleChinese Defense Minister’s Visit Boosts Bilateral Military Ties
Most importantly, Chang’s visit sustained the upward momentum in the China-US defense relationship that has been evident since Xi Jinping visited the United States in February 2012, when he was...
View ArticlePLA’s Peace Mission
On June 10, 2013, the PLA Navy’s hospital ship Ark Peace embarked on a 118-day voyage to eight Asian countries. Wherever it anchored, it provided free health checkups and treatment to the local...
View ArticleCounter-piracy in the Gulf of Aden: Implications for PLA Navy
Counter-Piracy off the coast of Somalia is a story of success. Thanks to the concerted efforts of the international community, piracy is very much curbed at bay. According to the Contact Group on...
View ArticleAdvancing Civil-Military Partnership
The lunar new year of the horse shall witness many deep reforms, ushered in by the Third Plenum of the Eighteenth Party’s Congress, which convened last November. Along with its emphasis on the reform...
View ArticleThe Chinese Defense Budget and Beyond
If there is one thing that western journalists would never let go at China’s National People’s Congress, it must be China’s defense budget. This happened again at the 2nd Session of the 12th NPC, after...
View ArticleImpact of Chinese Military Development on Regional and Global Security
Chinese military modernization has made remarkable progress in the new century. The Chinese white papers on national defense published in the past years already have very detailed discussions about...
View ArticleA Militarily Strong China Conducive to World Peace
The Chinese military is growing stronger, as the latest Pentagon report duly notes — but only to safeguard peace and stability. Lamentably, the Pentagon fails to see the latter part. The report...
View ArticleHarmful Effects of US Defense Budget
Officials in the George W. Bush as well as Barack Obama administrations have argued that China's military budget is excessive for the country's legitimate defense needs. But US military spending is...
View ArticleResponses to Questions on China’s Defense Budget
China’s growing defense budget seems to be a perpetual topic for speculation, interpretation, and allegations. Based on analysis from Xiao Tiefeng, China’s defense budget is neither growing excessively...
View ArticleDon’t Believe Everything in the Pentagon Report on China’s Military
Revelations made in the US Defense Department’s latest report have ruffled feathers among China’s PLA. Zhao Weibin urges readers not to believe everything within it or risk damaging...
View ArticlePLA’s Cyberwar Capabilities Remain a Mystery
The USCC assessment on the weaknesses of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) offered little new analysis on PLA’s cyber-warfare capabilities. This is due to impossibility of finding a comprehensive...
View ArticleA Moment of Truth for the People’s Liberation Army
The last three decades have been relatively easy for China’s defense planners. But its economy is stagnating and its security environment is deteriorating. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA), China’s...
View ArticleChina in US Grand Strategy
The majority of discussions at the April 2012 U.S. Army War College’s 23rd annual Strategy Conference focused on the rise of China and the People’s Liberation Army. Despite U.S. concerns over a lack of...
View ArticleAnti-Ballistic Missile Program: Does No Good to World Peace and Security
Both in history and at present, missile defense issues have had a profound and far-reaching influence on relations among great powers, global strategic balance and stability, international peace and...
View ArticleThe GOP’s New Dangerous China Policy
With the US Party Conventions over, one Party’s platform in particular stood out as particularly detrimental to US-China relations. While it is now clear the hardliners within the Republican Party...
View ArticleUnipolar Trade In A Multipolar World: The Case for Huawei in America
As the House Intelligence Committee continues its investigation into China-based telecom companies over alleged security threats; Dr. Dan Steinbock examines the barriers companies like Huawei face when...
View ArticleThe Problem With the Pivot: Obama’s New Asia Policy Is Unnecessary and...
The Obama administration has responded to Chinese assertiveness by reinforcing U.S. military and diplomatic links to the Asia-Pacific, to much acclaim at home and in the region. But the “pivot” is...
View ArticleThe “Cyber Weapons Gap”: What do we really know about China’s cyber warfare...
Similar to the fictional “missile gap” during the Cold War, Franz Stefan-Gady argues that a the China-US relationship is in danger of falling into a fictional “cyber weapons gap.”
View ArticleWhat China’s Defense Budget Growth Means
China’s increased defense budget, Zhao Xiaozhuo writes that China’s national strategy will continue to be peaceful development and its defense policy is defensive in nature.
View ArticleUnveiling China’s Defense Budget
While China’s defense spending constantly comes under scrutiny, Kevin Baron analyzes the modernization of the People’s Liberation Army and breaks down where China’s military spending is going.
View ArticleChina Will Not Change Its Nuclear Policy
For nearly half a century, China’s No-First-Use pledge has served as the cornerstone of its nuclear policy, writes Major General Yao Yunzhu. It is better for China to uphold its NFU policy, rather than...
View ArticleIs China Changing Its Position on Nuclear Weapons?
Escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula have put a renewed focus on nuclear threats. After the release last week of a Chinese white paper on defense, James Acton draws our attention the omission of...
View ArticleChina’s Victim Complex
Why are Chinese leaders so paranoid about the United States? Ely Ratner attempts to answer this question and explains how the modernization of the People’s Liberation Army and changes to China’s...
View ArticleGuarantee for China’s Peaceful Development
China’s national defense white paper has caused a stir amongst China watchers. However, Chen Zhou explains that the white paper is not reason for concern, and instead provides a path for China’s...
View ArticleU.S.-China Military Exchange Can Help Moderate Rivalry
Despite tensions in the South China Sea, Chinese General Fan Changlong is in the United States, being hosted by the Pentagon. Mil-to-mil exchanges been taking place since the mid-1990’s, despite...
View ArticleSafeguarding China’s Overseas Interests Through Military Cooperation
It is no surprise that China’s recent military white paper emphasizes “enhancing joint operational capabilities”. The first step of cooperation could be in military operations other than war.
View ArticleWill China’s Victory Day Parade Threaten the World?
Indecisive western responses to China’s military parade invitation are based ultimately on their profound worries about the potential impacts that China’s development will exert on the political and...
View ArticleTroop Cut – a Concrete Step for Peace
President Xi Jinping announced China would cut the number of its troops by 300,000 while addressing the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of WWII on Sept. 3. The large troop cut in the People's...
View ArticleChina’s Military Parade: Get the Message Right
China is developing quickly both in terms of economy and military, and that is a natural process. Most major powers travelled the same way in the past, and a strong China helps preserve peace and...
View ArticleChina Joins African Peacekeeping
China surprised President Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on Sept. 28 by promising to create an 8,000 strong standby peacekeeping brigade for use on the African Continent, which should...
View ArticleChina and NATO Are Inching Towards Each Other
Given the importance of both China and NATO, it is inconceivable that China and NATO don’t interact. Counter-piracy in the Gulf of Aden shows how both sides can work together to provide common security...
View ArticleDefense Spending Reflects China’s Optimism about Regional Security
The budget shows that Beijing views the region with optimism, as defense expenditure is the best indicator of a country’s security assessment. China’s lower budget reflects her belief that in spite of...
View ArticleChina’s Defense Reforms not a Shift in National Security Strategy
China’s recent military reforms aim to make the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) a more efficient and effective combat force. They will probably succeed in making at least some progress in these areas....
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