Last month, on the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Vietnam comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership (中越全面战略合作伙伴关系), Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping met with Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) Politburo Member and Head of the Central Committee Organization Commission Truong Thi Mai and... MORE

Introduction In early March, a flotilla of more than 40 suspected Chinese maritime militia vessels swarmed around Pag-asa (Thitu) Island, the Philippines’ largest outpost in the South China Sea (SCS) (The Philippine Star, March 5; The Maritime Executive, March 5; Radio Free Asia, March 5).... MORE

Editor’s Note: This is the second article in a two-part series on PLA military diplomacy. The first article focused on leader-level engagement. This piece examines specific areas of activity in the PLA’s military diplomacy. For part one, click here.  Despite some limitations, the People’s Liberation... MORE

Introduction As the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) Chinese Communist Party (CCP) approaches its 20th Party Congress, which begins on October 16, General Secretary Xi Jinping is set to continue his run as core leader (People’s Daily, August 31). Throughout his tenure, Xi, who is... MORE

China is sharply critical of the US-India-Japan-Australia quadrilateral security dialogue (the Quad), and the recently launched Australia-US-UK agreement (AUKUS), charging that these evolving security groupings are destabilizing Asia and the world.  Per Beijing, “closed and exclusive cliques” (搞封闭排他的小集团, gao fengbi paitai de xiao jituan) like... MORE

Introduction: China Renews Its Maritime Sovereignty Claims at the Expense of Vietnam The outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic that began in the Chinese city of Wuhan has not deterred the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from pursuing its long-term strategic vision of asserting its... MORE

Introduction: Challenges to Malaysia’s South China Sea Approach Malaysia has traditionally pursued what might be termed a “playing it safe” approach with respect to the South China Sea, where it pursues a combination of diplomatic, economic, legal, and security initiatives to secure its interests as... MORE

In the first week of September, a “United Front Organizations Special Symposium” (统一战线组织专题研讨会, Tongyi Zhanxian Zuzhi Zhuanti Yantaohui) was held in Beijing. Under the official slogan of “Forging Synergy and Promoting Consensus” (凝心聚力, 增进共识 / Ning Xin Juli, Zengjin Gongshi), this meeting brought together representatives... MORE

Introduction At the 2019 Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, People’s Republic of China (PRC) Defense Minister Wei Fenghe dismissed a question on whether the PRC is seeking a future military presence in Cambodia (VOA Cambodia, June 3). This question arose following an assessment by the U.S.... MORE