China’s Third Aircraft Carrier Takes Shape: CSIS

China’s Third Aircraft Carrier Takes Shape: CSIS
China’s Third Aircraft Carrier Takes Shape: CSIS

China’s third aircraft carrier will be considerably larger than its predecessors, the Liaoning and Shandong, which each measure 304.5 meters in length. Earlier assessments of the Type 003 by CSIS estimated its waterline dimensions at roughly 300 meters in length and 40 meters in width.

How China’s Thinking About The Next War

How China’s Thinking About The Next War
How China’s Thinking About The Next War

The PLA Navy (PLAN) and PLA Air Force (PLAAF) are now the world’s largest, but China’s military modernization is not only focused on equipment. The PRC appears to be  developing new strategies and doctrines. The PLA began shifting in the 1990s from preparing to fight “local wars under modern, high-tech conditions” to “local wars under…

US Ships Aid Malaysia As China Tries ‘Bullying’ In South China Sea

US Ships Aid Malaysia As China Tries ‘Bullying’ In South China Sea
US Ships Aid Malaysia As China Tries ‘Bullying’ In South China Sea

A mix of US ships have probed waters illegally claimed by China in the South China Sea in recent weeks, as the PLA Navy continues to harass civilian ships of neighboring countries.

‘A Chinese Military That is Active Everywhere:’ DIA China Military Power Report

‘A Chinese Military That is Active Everywhere:’ DIA China Military Power Report
‘A Chinese Military That is Active Everywhere:’ DIA China Military Power Report

WASHINGTON: China is not ready to wage war far beyond the shores of Taiwan, but it is pressing hard to develop some advanced weapons and increasingly wants to project power beyond its shores with an increasingly capable military. Those are the fundamental conclusions of the Defense Intelligence Agency in a unique report with its roots…

Weighing How Much Intel US Gets: Hawaiian Lawmaker Calls To Bar China From RIMPAC

Weighing How Much Intel US Gets: Hawaiian Lawmaker Calls To Bar China From RIMPAC
Weighing How Much Intel US Gets: Hawaiian Lawmaker Calls To Bar China From RIMPAC

WASHINGTON: China, which continues to militarize the fake islands it’s creating in the South China Sea, may get uninvited to RIMPAC, the biggest naval exercise in the world. Rep. Mark Takai of Hawaii told Defense Secretary Ash Carter during yesterday’s House Armed Services Committee posture hearing that he will introduce language into the House version of…

Chinese Navy: ‘So Long As It Is Blue, There We Will Be On Guard’

Chinese Navy: ‘So Long As It Is Blue, There We Will Be On Guard’
Chinese Navy: ‘So Long As It Is Blue, There We Will Be On Guard’

https://youtu.be/1Z8_KRMdbbs WASHINGTON: In an intriguing and potentially significant declaration, the Chinese military declares: “Regardless of what corner of the earth, so long as it is blue there we will be on guard.” The declaration comes in an impressive recruiting video for the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). “It’s beautifully done; really tugs at the heartstrings,” says Dean Cheng,…

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US, Japan Korea Defy New China Air Defense Zone, Biden To Rebuke Beijing; PRC Move Drives Korea, Japan Together

US, Japan Korea Defy New China Air Defense Zone, Biden To Rebuke Beijing; PRC Move Drives Korea, Japan Together
US, Japan Korea Defy New China Air Defense Zone, Biden To Rebuke Beijing; PRC Move Drives Korea, Japan Together

UPDATED: US Flies B-52 Bombers Through Chinese Zone; Japanese & South Koreans Follow; VP Biden To Ask Beijing For “Clarity” On Their Intentions China escalated tensions with Japan literally sky-high last weekend. After years of shadowboxing at sea around the Senkaku Islands, China’s Ministry of Defense announced a new “Air Defense Identification Zone” with authority…

China To Japan: Boo, We Could Have Killed You; Radar Painting Escalates Dispute

WASHINGTON: “Pure intimidation” is how one of America’s most respected analysts of the Chinese military characterized the act of a Peoples Liberation Army Navy skipper who “painted” a Japanese naval ship with his fire control radar. The action raises the stakes in an already troubled dispute between the two Pacific powers as they maneuver for…

Chinese Cross Arctic For First Time

What growing naval power has just ventured across the Arctic for the first time? http://t.co/CyV8SJBH colinclarkaol

Defending the Littorals: A Key Challenge For U.S. Pacific Strategy

This is the second in a series of commentaries defense consultant and author Robbin Laird, a member of the Breaking Defense Board of Contributors, is penning about how the U.S. can and should shape its forces to perform the Asia strategy pivot. As a key part of that, he’ll be looking closely at what he…

Your Move, Beijing: Big Year Ahead for Chinese Navy

At a meeting in Beijing in December, Chinese president Hu Jintao had a powerful message for officials from the People’s Liberation Army Navy. “Prepare for war,” Hu said, using a Mandarin term — junshi douzheng — that means “conflict in general.” Amplified and misrepresented by the foreign media, Hu’s words echoed across Asia and the…

China Surprises World With Early Carrier Trials; ‘Significant’ Increase in Conflicts Predicted

The official Chinese news agency announced late yesterday that the country’s first aircraft carrier has begun initial sea trials, in a move that will send shockwaves throughout the Pacific. For more news and information on the swiftly-changing defense industry, please sign up for the Breaking Defense newsletter. You can also catch us on Twitter @BreakingDefense.…