
~ 2000 ; 2001 ; 2002 ; 2003 ; 2004 ; 2005; 2006 ; 2007
Documents
White Paper: China’s
National Defense in 2008
(Information Office of the State Council of the
People’s Republic of China, Jan. 21, 2009) China is still confronted with
long-term, complicated, and diverse security threats and challenges. Issues
of existence security and development security, traditional security threats
and non-traditional security threats, and domestic security and international
security are interwoven and interactive.
[ News ] [ Papers ]

Chinese Naval Task Force to
Deploy to Gulf of Aden
(New York Times, Dec. 26, 2008) In China’s first modern
deployment of battle-ready warships beyond the Pacific, a naval task force
was set to leave Friday to begin escorts and patrols in the pirate-infested
Gulf of Aden, state media reported.
China Confirms Naval Role in
Gulf of Aden
(New York Times, Dec. 19, 2008) The
Chinese government confirmed that it would send naval ships to the Gulf of Aden to help in the fight against piracy there,
which would be the first modern deployment of Chinese warships outside the
Pacific.
China Set to Launch Naval
Mission in Gulf of Aden
(IHT, Dec. 17, 2008) In what would be the first
active deployment of its warships beyond the Pacific, China appears set to send naval vessels to
help in the fight against hijackers in the pirate-infested Gulf
of Aden.
China Has Aircraft Carrier Hopes
(BBC, Nov. 17, 2008) A senior Chinese defense
official has told a British newspaper that any great power would want an
aircraft carrier.
China, Following Astronauts’
Return, Plans Space Lab for 2011
(Bloomberg, Sep. 29, 2008) China plans to build a
“simple” space laboratory in 2011 and a manned station nine years later,
officials said yesterday as astronauts returned to Earth following the
nation's first spacewalk.
China Takes Its First Ever
Spacewalk
(AP, Sep. 28, 2008) China’s space program
celebrated its first-ever space walk Saturday, fueling ambitions to build a
space station and push further into areas of exploration previously dominated
by Russia and the United States.
China Begins Training First
Batch of Aircraft Carrier Fighter Pilots By Manu Pubby (Indian Express, Sep.
20, 2008) A small article in a recent issue of the People’s Liberation Army
Daily announced that the first batch of 50 pilots cadets have been inducted
at the Dalian Naval Academy to undergo training on
‘ship borne aircraft flight.’
China Space Mission Set for
Late September: Report
(AFP, Sep. 7, 2008) China's
third manned space flight, which will feature China's first attempted space
walk, will blast off in late September, state media reported.
China Defends Military
Buildup
(LA
Times, Jun. 1, 2008) A senior Chinese general insisted
Saturday that Beijing's military buildup was solely for self-defense, as he
sought to assure a gathering of Asian defense officials that China was not
seeking to dominate the region.
U.S. Military Cites Growing
China Space, Cyber Threat
(Reuters, May 20, 2008) China is
"aggressively" honing its ability to shoot down satellites along
with other space and counter-space capabilities, and such know-how has big
implications for Beijing's potential to curb access in the Taiwan Straits
"and well beyond," said Army Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Horne of the U.S.
Strategic Command.
China Says Military Budget
Up 17.6 percent in 2008
(AFP, Mar. 4, 2008) China announced its defense spending would rise 17.6
percent this year but insisted the increase was moderate, after the United
States expressed concerns about Beijing's
expanding military power.
Russia, China Challenge US
Space Arms
(Associated Press, Feb. 13, 2008) China
and Russia renewed their push for a global ban on
arms in space at a disarmament conference Tuesday with a proposal opposed by Washington on the grounds it is directed at U.S. military technology.
Singapore and China
Sign Defense Pact
(Straits Times, Jan. 8, 2008) Singapore
and China
signed their first defense agreement, deepening bilateral ties. These include
mutual visits, sending personnel to each other's courses and seminars, and
port calls.

China Targets Pirates in
Groundbreaking Mission By William Foreman
(AP, Dec. 26, 2008) Chinese warships headed toward
Somali waters Friday to combat piracy, the first time the communist country
has sent ships on a mission that could involve fighting so far beyond its
territorial waters.
Piracy Draws China Back to
the Ranks of Maritime Giants
(AFP, Dec. 24, 2008) "The Somali deployment
is ... a demonstration of China's
increasing blue-water capabilities, which in long-term, strategic terms will
be viewed with concern by potential rivals," Janes
Defense Review said.
China Sets Sail
(The Times, Dec. 23, 2008) The expedition to the
waters off Somalia is intended not only to protect Chinese vessels vulnerable
to attack by pirates, but also to project its growing military power overseas
in a way that does not antagonise its neighbours or cause concern in Washington.
China Anti-Piracy Mission
Marks Greater Engagement By Anita Chang (AP, Dec. 19, 2008) China's decision to send warships to battle
pirates off Somalia — taking on a job that involves cooperating with other
nations and possible combat — is a cautious step toward more engagement by
Beijing.
Chinese Land Attack Cruise
Missile Developments and Their Implications for the United States By
Michael S. Chase (China
Brief, Jamestown
Foundation, Dec. 19, 2008) Drawing on a variety of sources, this article
examines Chinese writings on the advantages and disadvantages of LACMs and evaluates China’s evolving LACM capabilities.
China’s Carrier Plans Worry
Region By Yu Tsung-chi
(Taipei Times, Nov. 28, 2008) To mollify its
neighbors’ worries, it would behoove China to explain the purposes and
intentions behind its carrier-building program.
PLA Mechanization and
Informationization Come of Age: Sharpening and Vanguard-2008 By
Martin Andrew (China Brief, Jamestown
Foundation, Nov. 24, 2008) The People’s Liberation
Army is consolidating the gains made by its modernization drive toward
mechanization and Informationization. Within the
next few years the PLA will have two mechanized and networked army corps able
to give Chinese Defense planners military options they did not previously
have.
China’s Close Call By
Richard D. Fisher Jr.
(Wall Street Journal Asia, Oct. 31, 2008) With
minimal publicity, Beijing's
space ship passed unusually close to the International Space Station soon
after the spacewalk. The event may offer a window into both China's space-based military
aspirations and its willingness to be a good orbital citizen.
China Gets a Jump on US in
Space By Peter J. Brown
(Asia Times,
Oct. 25, 2008) While Western space experts may be divided over the exact
purpose of the BX-1 mission, it is clear that China has every intention of
driving its dynamic "dual use" space agenda as far as it will go.
Advances in PLA Air Defense
Capabilities Challenge Strategic Balance in Asia By
Carlo Kopp (China
Brief, Jamestown
Foundation, Oct. 23, 2008) If a non-nuclear strategic capability advantage
continues to erode with improving PLA capabilities and declining United
States relative capabilities, a seismic shift may eventually occur in Asia as
the strategic balance in the West Pacific swings away from the United States
in favor of China.
China, an Engine of Growth,
Faces a Global Slump By Jim Yardley and Keith Bradsher (New York Times, Oct. 23, 2008) Faced with a
possible global recession and weakening demand for Chinese exports, the
question now is whether the ruling Communist Party can prevent the financial crisis from
derailing the country’s economic miracle.
An Elated China Launches
Rocket, Prepares for Nation’s 1st Spacewalk By Maureen Fan (Washington Post, Sep. 26, 2008) China
carried out a textbook-perfect launch Thursday night with the liftoff of
three astronauts into space for the country's third manned spaceflight and
first spacewalk.
Space Inspires Passion and
Practicality in China By Jill Drew
(Washington Post, Sep. 25, 2008) Like
many other aspects of China's
growing influence, China's
designs in space are seen as a threat by some U.S. experts, especially because
almost all its operations are cloaked in secrecy.
All Systems Go for China’s
First Space Walk By Robert J. Saiget
(AFP, Sep. 22, 2008) China's ambitious space programme is set to take a giant leap forward this week
when three astronauts blast off on a mission to undertake the country's first
space walk.
China’s Military Buildup
Must be Closely Watched
(Editorial, Yomiuri Shimbun,
Sep. 14, 2008) The 2008 defense white paper, released earlier this month,
expresses concern over the effects that China's military buildup will have on
the regional state of affairs and the security situation of Japan.
China’s Naval Ambitions
(Le Monde diplomatique,
September 2008) China
wants to prevent anything from stealing its second chance in history to
emerge as a global and sovereign maritime power.
China’s Search for Military
Power By M. Taylor Fravel
(The Washington
Quarterly, Summer, 2008) This article explores a method grounded in Chinese
texts on military doctrine to try to gauge how much military power China
seeks to acquire.
Inside the Ring – China
Targets Carriers By Bill Gertz
(Washington
Times, Jul. 10, 2008) China
is close to deploying a new conventionally armed strategic missile capable of
hitting U.S.
aircraft carriers and other warships at sea.
Quake Revealed Deficiencies
of China’s Military By Jake Hooker
(NYT, Jul. 2, 2008) The Sichuan quake offered analysts the best chance to assess the performance of the
People’s Liberation Army in a crisis since the nation’s rising economy
started pumping tens of billions of dollars into the military. It got good
marks for public relations domestically, but the effort left some veteran
P.L.A.-watchers underwhelmed.
China PLA Sent to Quake in
14 Minutes, Showing Change By Dune Lawrence (Bloomberg, May
19, 2008) The rapid response underscores the changing
nature of the world's largest standing army as it takes on a bigger role in
relief operations. Soldiers didn't reach some of the worst-hit towns and
villages for two days, highlighting the need for greater investment in
equipment and training.
Ma Win Won’t Affect PLA
Modernization: Experts
(Taipei Times, Apr. 9, 2008) US
Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Analysis Tom Fingar
said that the outcome of the presidential election in Taiwan may have lowered Beijing’s anxieties over the cross-strait
situation, but would not put an end to the modernization of its military.
Susan Shirk, former deputy assistant secretary of state during the Bill
Clinton administration, said China
could seek to shift the world’s attention away from Tibet by dealing with Taiwan.
China Beefing Up Military
Brains By Richard Halloran
(Taipei Times, Mar. 9, 2008) Tacked onto the end of the US Defense
Department's new report on Chinese military power is an appraisal of the
effort by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to transform itself "from a
force dependent on mass to a streamlined, information-based military with
highly qualified officers and soldiers."
China Plans Steep Increase
in Military Spending
(New York Times, Mar. 5, 2008) China
announced a further sharp increase in military spending on Tuesday, a day
after the United States
renewed its warning that a lack of openness surrounding the rapid buildup of China’s armed forces posed a threat to
stability in Asia.
China's Taiwan Buildup Continues
(Associated Press, Mar. 4, 2008) China
continues its huge military buildup opposite Taiwan,
further pushing the balance of power between the two rivals toward the
mainland's favor, the Defense Department says in its annual report on China's
military. "A potential military confrontation with Taiwan, and the prospect of U.S. military intervention, remain
the PLA's most immediate military concerns,"
the report said.
China's Computer Hacking
Worries Pentagon
(LA Times,
Mar. 4, 2008) China in the last year has developed ways to infiltrate and
manipulate computer networks around the world in what U.S. defense officials
conclude is a new and potentially dangerous military capability, according to
a Pentagon report.
PRC Still Expanding Sub
Fleet: Analysts
(Taipei Times, Feb. 26, 2008) Several recent events, from an eagle-eyed
spotting of an image on Google Earth to an overt military delivery from
Russia, suggest that China is continuing its rapid expansion of a submarine
fleet that would be particularly useful in a conflict with the US over
Taiwan, analysts and military officials said.
Defense Focus: China's
Weapons -- Part 3 By Martin Sieff
(United Press International, Feb. 8, 2008) The weapons that China wants from Russia
-- and that Moscow won't sell Beijing -- provide a remarkable insight into
the current transitional state of the Chinese arms industry.
Defense Focus: China's
Weapons -- Part 2
(United Press International, Feb. 7, 2008) China is certainly in no state yet
to produce its own long-range strategic bombers, air-refueling tankers or air
transport aircraft like the C-130 Hercules or the C-17 Globemaster
and must therefore continue to try and buy them off the shelf, if not from
the United States because of deteriorating relations, then from Russia.
Defense Focus: China's
Weapons -- Part 1
(United Press International, Feb. 6, 2008) The Chinese domestic arms industry
may one day be one of the biggest and most important in the world, but it is
very far from that yet. Western experts believe China will need major outside
suppliers for large amounts of equipment for years to come.
China's Weapons Exceed Self-Defense Needs: US Military
(Agence France Presse,
Jan. 29, 2008) The head of the US armed forces in the Asia-Pacific, Admiral Timothy Keating, said he was told by
Chinese leaders during a visit to Beijing that its so-called "area
denial weapons" were "to protect those things that are ours".
But he said, "we find it troubling that the capabilities of some of
these weapons systems would tend to exceed our own expectations for
protecting those things that are 'ours'".
China's Submarines Giving US the Jitters
(Straits Times, Jan. 19, 2008) The Chinese Navy is extending its reach across
the Asia-Pacific, a development that has prompted the United States to intensify calls
for more transparency in their military relations. In the past year, the
Chinese military has put on a show of strength amid a robust military
build-up.
|