Latest Articles about China and the Asia-Pacific
An Assessment of Taiwan’s Quadrennial Defense Review
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) of Taiwan released its maiden “Quadrennial Defense Review" (QDR) on March 16. The report was warranted under provision Article 31 in Taiwan's National Defense Act—which was passed in 2008—and conducted by the Integrated Assessment Office of the MND. The... MORE
Military Parades Demonstrate Chinese Concept of Deterrence
On April 23rd the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy will conduct a “naval parade” in the waters off of Qingdao. This naval review will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the PLA Navy and honor in advance the 60th anniversary of the founding... MORE
Turkey Trot: Military Cooperation between Beijing and Ankara
In the last week of March 2009, Ankara and Beijing may have taken another step toward upgrading their military cooperation. This has become evident during a visit from General Hasan Aksay, commander of the Turkish military academies, who spent three days in China, starting March... MORE
Beijing’s Calculated Response to NK Missile Launch
China’s soft and quiescent reaction to Pyongyang’s rocket gamesmanship seems to contradict the image of global statesmanship that President Hu Jintao projected at the G20 summit in London earlier this month. And Beijing’s last-minute agreement to a UN Security Council chastisement of the Kim Jong-Il... MORE
Taiwan’s Submarine Program: Pipe-Dream or Next Big Thing?
Several reports appeared in recent weeks in the Taiwanese media about the possibility that President Ma Ying-jeou’s administration has restarted a program to build indigenously designed diesel submarines. According to various reports citing sources close to Taiwan’s National Security Council (NSC), the “Project Diving Dragon,”... MORE
Journal of the Turkistan Islamic Party Urges Jihad in China
The latest issue of a journal entitled Turkistan al-Muslimah (Muslim Turkistan) was recently published by a jihadi web forum (muslm.net, March 26). The journal is identified as the work of al-Hizb al-Islami al-Turkistani (Turkistan Islamic Party - TIP). The first issue of the journal was... MORE
Russia Resumes Electricity Exports to China
Russia's electricity suppliers have moved to resume exports from the country's Far East to China amid declining domestic demand. Russia's energy executives have announced that the region's major electricity exporter, the Bureiskaya hydropower plant, will reach its maximum designed capacity later than expected. On March... MORE
BRIEFS
GOVERNMENT FORCES CLASH WITH ROGUE ISLAMIST COMMANDER IN MINDANAO Filipino government forces engaged in a major battle last week with rebel forces under the command of a renegade commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The clashes, described as the fiercest this year, occurred... MORE
Is a “Win-Win” Relationship in the Cards for China and Mexico?
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) says it places high priority on making Mexico an important link in its widely publicized “win-win” expansion into Latin America. This was evident during Vice President Xi Jinping’s February stop-over in Mexico City. In reality, however, after 37 years... MORE
Chinese Involvement in African Conflict Zones
As China expands its engagement throughout Africa, it increasingly finds itself involved in African conflict zones either by design or accident. This involvement takes essentially three forms: Chinese participation in UN peacekeeping operations, Chinese weapons, especially small arms, which make their way into conflict zones,... MORE