Richard D. Fisher, Jr.

Richard D. Fisher, Jr. was a senior fellow with the Jamestown Foundation and was the managing editor of China Brief.

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    Articles by Richard D. Fisher, Jr.

    CHINA ACCELERATES NAVY BUILDING

    By Richard D. Fisher, Jr. A naval arms race is now underway across the Taiwan Strait that has wider implications for the United States and its Asian allies. While the

    TWO CHEERS FOR THE CFR’S PLA REPORT

    By Richard D. Fisher, Jr. A long awaited report assessing the real extent, plus the potential for danger to the United States from China's ongoing military modernization has been released

    GULF WAR II LESSONS FOR TAIWAN

    By Richard D. Fisher, Jr. On March 20, Taiwan's Ministry of Defense disclosed in a Legislative Yuan hearing that it had sent a "special military team" to the Middle East

    EVOLVING GROUND FORCE THREAT TO TAIWAN

    The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian has a number of sound strategic and political reasons for trying to shift its previous army-dominated defense priorities to

    TAIWAN CONSIDERS ACTIVE DEFENSE

    In an effort to counter the continued build-up of China's offensive missile and air power, Taiwan is again considering developing its own "active defense"--that is, the ability to attack select

    MILITARY SALES TO CHINA: GOING TO PIECES

    In the 1990s, China had no choice in its quest to modernize its military but to import entire weapons systems. And the imports have continued. But total reliance on imports

    NEW PENTAGON REPORT: A CHANGE IN U.S. ATTITUDE

    A new Department of Defense report, issued on July 12, on the growing power of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) signals a key shift in Washington's willingness to identify China

    TO TAKE TAIWAN, FIRST KILL A CARRIER

    China's communist leadership has long anticipated that to militarily subdue democratic Taiwan it will first need to win a battle against the United States. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is

    CHINA’S SPACE AGENDA

    By Richard D. Fisher, Jr. China's recent successful third uninhabited test of its Shenzhou manned space capsule serves to highlight the political, military and diplomatic agendas of its manned space

    CHINA’S CARRIER OF CHANCE

    By Richard D. Fisher, Jr. China's new ex-Soviet, ex-Ukrainian aircraft carrier is now in a Dalian navy shipyard. Could the partially completed Kuznetsov-class carrier Varyag become the first aircraft carrier

    CHINA BUYS NEW RUSSIAN DESTROYERS

    By Richard D. Fisher, Jr. China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) signed the new year in with a January 3 contract for two Russian Project 956EM Sovremenny class destroyers to

    CHINA IMPROVES ITS AIR FORCE

    By Richard D. Fisher, Jr. Newspaper reports from December 3 noted that in one of its few acts of intimidation before the December 1 Taiwan elections, the People's Liberation Army

    THE QDR AND CHINA

    By Richard D. Fisher, Jr. On September 30 the U.S. Department of Defense released its long-awaited Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), a document that been used by successive administrations to convey

    CHINA NOT YET AN ALLY

    By Richard D. Fisher, Jr. While the United States is correct to seek China's assistance in what will be a long war against terrorism, it should harbor no illusions that

    THE PLA’S HIGH-TECH FUTURE

    By Richard D. Fisher, Jr. It is increasingly evident that China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) is devoting considerable resources to the research and development of advanced high-technology weaponry. An apparent

    EUROPE’S TAIWAN SUBMARINE DILEMNA

    By Richard D. Fisher, Jr. President George W. Bush's decision to seek a European conventional submarine design to sell to Taiwan, and the brusque refusal of two European countries to