The recent headlines have been dominated by the progressively deteriorating relationship between the United States and Pakistan. The killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on Pakistani territory in May by U.S. forces exacerbated the widening rift and further overshadowed the recent staging of a... MORE

The White Paper on China’s National Defense in 2010, released by the Chinese government, discussed the foundation for an integrated joint operations (IJO) capability as part of its long-term, three stage military modernization effort. The PLA is researching the theoretical basis of this new joint... MORE

On the surface, trends in recent months would suggest that the conservative and reformist wings of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are locked in a ferocious struggle over seminal issues such as political liberalization and the treatment of dissidents. On the one hand, public and... MORE

China's expanding maritime interests require a navy capable of executing a diverse range of missions at greater distances from Chinese territorial waters. While the PLA Navy (PLAN) has made significant progress in modernizing its forces in terms of developing new platforms and weapon systems, these... MORE

The maiden test flight in January 2011 of China's J-20 stealth fighter prototype is an important strategic milestone in several different respects, and is part of an ongoing effort by China to develop advanced military technology [1]. The J-20 is the first combat aircraft developed... MORE

Following the flare up of tensions over the territorial dispute in the South China Sea last year, there was a hope and expectation among security analysts that in 2011 the claimants would recalibrate their policies, adopt more flexible and conciliatory positions, and prioritize the search... MORE

China’s environmental problems are apparent to any visitor, and the statistics are striking: China is home to 20 of the world’s 30 most polluted cities, 90 percent of China’s rivers and lakes are polluted, and the Chinese government dealt with 580,000 environmental complaints in 2006... MORE

The just-published results of the People's Republic of China (PRC) 2010 Census have shown that just like any other country, the Middle Kingdom has to contend with the sobering limitations of demographics. Perhaps the only good news among the barrage of statistics is that at... MORE

Against the backdrop of an uptick in confrontations over the past two years that punctured China's "charm offensive" in Asia, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has apparently been tasked to undertake damage control. China's increased assertiveness in territorial disputes with its neighbors has lead to... MORE

China released its latest national defense White Paper on March 31. The document, entitled China’s National Defense in 2010, is the seventh that the Chinese government has released since 1998 when it began publishing the biannual defense White Papers [1]. Like all of China’s defense... MORE