While laws should provide clarity and transparency, China’s recent orders regarding maritime jurisdiction appear to be deliberately based on ambiguity and uncertainty. This has become very evident in the past day after the latest clash with the Philippines in the South China Sea. In seeking to...
People’s Liberation Army
Report to Congress on South China Sea Disputes
The following is the Aug. 21, 2023, Congressional Research Service report, China Primer: South China Sea Disputes.
From the report
Multiple Asian governments assert sovereignty over rocks, reefs, and other geographic features in the heavily trafficked South China Sea (SCS), with the People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) arguably making the most assertive claims. The United States makes no territorial claim in the SCS and takes no position on sovereignty over any of the geographic features in...
https://news.usni.org/2023/08/22/report-to-congress-on-south-china-sea-disputes
Matching China’s Military Expansion Might Not Work as a Regional Deterrent, Panel Says
Amphibious infantry fighting vehicle, soldiers assigned to an army brigade under PLA Eastern Theatre Command stay on alert and prepare for landing during a ferrying and assault wave formation training exercise on May 7, 2022. PLA Photo
Matching Beijing’s military might does not appear to work as a deterrent, some experts said this week, as China’s military expansion continues to increase regional tensions.
The United States needs to work to shape Chinese President Xi Jinping’s thinking that...
China Protests U.S. South China Sea Freedom of Navigation Operation
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) conducts a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea, March 24. Milius is forward-deployed to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. US Navy Photo
A U.S. warship conducted a freedom of navigation operation in the South China Sea, near the Parcel Islands, the day after China claimed it chased away the ship from its territorial waters, U.S. 7th Fleet announced Friday.
USS Milius (...
https://news.usni.org/2023/03/24/china-protests-u-s-south-china-sea-freedom-of-navigation-operation
2nd Chinese Rocket Suffers ‘Uncontrolled’ Break Up Over Nepal Days After Texas Incident
The July 29, 2022 launch of three spy satellites on aboard a Long March 2 rocket. The second stage of this launch broke up over Nepal on Saturday.
Remains of a Chinese rocket that delivered spy satellites burned up over the skies of Nepal on Saturday, just days after a similar incident occurred over Texas last week, USNI News has learned.
The second stage of the Chang Zheng 2D ‘Long March’ rocket reentered the atmosphere on Saturday after more than 200 days in space and burned up over the skies...
China Undergoing ‘Build-Up in Every Warfare Area,’ Says ONI Commander
Chinese amphibious landing craft on Nov. 25, 2022. PLA Navy Photo
The danger to Taiwan from China is “something we need to take very seriously” as the island is taking steps to mobilize its entire society to deter a mainland takeover, the commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence said last week.
The Taiwanese are asking themselves “what can we do to make China think twice” before it would attempt a cross-straits invasion, Rear Adm. Michael Studeman said last week. He said Beijing has...
https://news.usni.org/2023/01/16/china-undergoing-build-up-in-every-warfare-area-says-oni-commander
USS Chancellorsville Performs South China Sea FONOP, Draws Chinese Protests
Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG-62) conducts routine underway operations in the South China Sea, Nov. 29, 2022. US Navy Photo
The Tuesday passage of a U.S. guided missile cruiser past a disputed island chain in the South China Sea has drawn protests from Beijing and claims that the People’s Liberation Army expelled the ship from Chinese territorial waters.
According to U.S. 7th Fleet, USS Chancellorsville (CG-62) sailed past the Spratly Island chain on Tuesday as...
SECDEF Austin, Chinese Defense Minister Meet, Agree to Keep Lines of Communication Open
Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III meets with General Wei Fenghe, Minister of National Defense of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), on the margins of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus in Siem Reap, Cambodia, Nov. 22, 2022. DoD Photo
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin emphasized the need to keep open lines of communication and responsibly manage competition in his meeting this week with China’s Minister of National Defense Gen. Wei Fenghe.
Austin met...
Navy Tests Reloading Missiles on Destroyer in San Diego Bay, Open Ocean Tests Tougher Task
Sailors aboard Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG-111) guide training ordnance into the ship’s forward vertical launch system (VLS) cells during a proof-of-concept test in San Diego, Oct. 4, 2022. US Navy Photo
A pairing of a guided-missile destroyer and a supply ship in San Diego Bay last week was the Navy’s latest test to learn how to resupply its warships with missiles during a high-end conflict.
The Military Sealift Command-sponsored reloading test matched USS Sprua...