Taiwanese Defense Minister Chen Chao-min is reportedly considering plans to cut the Republic of China (Taiwan) military force to about 200,000 to 250,000 in a six year time span, which will require reducing around 6,000 troops each consecutive year (NOWnews [Taiwan], July 1). The plan... MORE

Sun Tzu’s admonition “Know the enemy and know yourself” is a fundamental tenet of Chinese military strategy [1]. The books On Military Campaigns and The Science of Military Strategy include it as the first of 10 principles of war [2]. Moreover, Military Strategy reverses the... MORE

This week Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej was in China for a 4-day visit, his first since taking office in January. Samak, who is concurrently defense minister, met with Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie and the two sides agreed to strengthen bilateral military ties. Although... MORE

Following the crackdown on Tibetan protesters in March, President Hu Jintao issued a call for “greater security guarantees” against protesters and other disruptive forces in the run up to the August Olympic games. At the same time, the official news bulletin of the People’s Armed... MORE

Since 2004, Asian natural disasters have become an opportunity for regional militaries to deploy in a disaster relief role, demonstrating their value as more than a deterrent to war or transnational threats. By employing their instruments of hard power to deliver aid to the victims... MORE

Since March 10, unrest in the Tibet Autonomous Region—in spite of the Chinese government efforts at keeping it secret—punctured China’s Great Wall as news, pictures and videos flooded the internet, and each day there appears to be news about protests that emerge not only in... MORE

On April 21, commercial satellite images on DigitalGlobe confirmed reports that China is building a major underground nuclear submarine base near Sanya, the southernmost city of Hainan Island, which is located on China’s southeastern coast (DigitalGlobe). Digital images taken of the base in December 2007... MORE

A suicide bomb attempt on a plane from the restive western region of Xinjiang in China en route to the home of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing highlights a key security dilemma for Beijing: The Olympics have become a stage to showcase political grievances and... MORE

2007 registered another major step in China’s relentless pursuit of space prowess. On October 24, 2007 a Chinese Changzheng (Long March) 3A rocket was launched from the Xichang launch site in Sichuan Province, sending the country’s first moon exploring Chang’e-1 spacecraft into the lunar orbit.... MORE