This past week, Beijing announced that it had successfully launched and landed a J-15 fighter aircraft from its new aircraft carrier, the Liaoning. The announcement, accompanied by videos, makes clear that China has put substantial resources—both financial and human—toward its goal of operating aircraft carriers. There were several notable aspects …
This morning’s news reports indicate that a large portion of the Central Military Commission (CMC), the entity that actually manages and oversees China’s multimillion-man military, is now in place. When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) 18th Party Congress convenes two days after the U.S. election, the top Chinese leadership will …
As the People’s Republic of China (PRC) convenes its National People’s Congress, much attention has been focused on the announcement that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has returned to the long-term trend of double-digit increases in its budget. Where China officially spent 533.5 billion renminbi ($81.2 billion) in 2010, it …
As the People’s Republic of China (PRC) prepares for the opening of the National People’s Congress and the unveiling of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan, the budget for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was announced. Military spending in 2011 would increase from 532.1 billion renminbi ($81 billion) in 2010 to 601.1 …
This week, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who is also vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), which oversees the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), met with General Khalid Wynne, Chairman of Pakistan’s Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. The meetings, and associated announcements, underscore the close security relationship between …
AFP reported late last week that Sprint Nextel will not consider bids from two Chinese companies for large telecom contracts due to national security concerns expressed to Sprint Nextel by the American government. This is probably the right outcome, but it is the wrong way to achieve that outcome. One …
The Obama administration has decided to terminate the suspensions of issuance of temporary munitions export licenses for exports regarding C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft that will be used in oil spill response operations at sea that might involve the People’s Republic of China (PRC). That’s bureaucratese for lifting restrictions on the …
With their meeting in Hanoi, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie are expected to revive military-to-military relations between the two major powers, on hold since the sale of U.S. arms to Taiwan at the beginning of this year. Yet, recent reports indicate that there …
After a very protracted gestation and calls from Congress for its release, DOD today finally unveiled the latest report on China’s military capabilities, as called for under the FY 2000 National Defense Authorization Act. What is surprising in this report of some 83 pages is how little of its content …
