By 2030, South China Sea will be ‘virtually a Chinese lake,’ study warns

China will have so many aircraft carriers by 2030 that the South China Sea will be “virtually a Chinese lake,” a new U.S. study warns, arguing that the balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region was shifting away from the United States.

20/01/2016

Military power in Asia 'shifting against' the US, major report warns

The study, which calls for America to flex its military muscle in the region, will likely be seized on by Republicans who accuse Obama of weak leadership

20/01/2016

Countries Should Play By Same Rules In South China Sea: Barack Obama

In a clear signal to China, US President Barack Obama today said all countries should play by the same rules in international law including freedom of navigation in the South China Sea while India can be an anchor of stability in the Asia Pacific and Indian Ocean region.

24/01/2016

Beijing’s Next Gambit, the East China Sea

China has a habit of directing international attention to one area while pulling maneuvers elsewhere. This year began with Beijing landing aircraft on its artificial islands in the South China Sea and moving an oil rig into waters off Vietnam.

25/01/2016

US think tank outlines master plan for war with China

A new Center for International and Strategic Studies (CSIS) report released last week is a chilling warning of the accelerating preparations of the United States for war with China—a conflict that would likely plunge the world into a nuclear catastrophe.

26/01/2016

Weekly news 25/01 - 31/01

-(Navytimes 30/01) U.S. warship sails near disputed island in South China Sea; (SMH 30/12) Australia knew of US patrol of South China Sea; (AFR 30/01) Australia backs US in latest South China Sea stoush; (Vietnamplus 31/01) Vietnam voices respect for aviation and navigation freedom in East Sea; (VOAnews 31/01) Beijing Protests US Sail-By in South China Sea

26/01/2016

Weekly Bulletin 18/01 - 24/01

China conducts live-fire exercise in South China Sea; Vietnam requests China to pull drilling rig out of undelineated area; Naval base on Palawan’s Oyster Bay being developed; Countries Should Play By Same Rules In South China Sea; Japanese Prime Minister lambasted China’s provocative actions in the South China Sea; The US, Australia call for peaceful resolution for the dispute in the South China Sea.

27/01/2016

Does China Think America Is in Decline?

It has been fashionable in national security circles over the last several years for U.S. experts on Asia-Pacific security to claim that Chinese strategists perceive the U.S. to be in decline.

28/01/2016

Asia Pivot: Does the US Need to ‘Rebalance Harder’?

Four years after the rebalance was announced, however, a Congressionally mandated report found that there remains “consistent confusion about the rebalance strategy and concern about its implementation.”

29/01/2016

Can China Copy the U.S. Marine Corps?

Much has been reported about the recent structural reforms undertaken by China’s PLA, the end goal being a leaner and meaner military force, capable of undertaking a broad spectrum of missions under modern, high-tech conditions. Part of this drive towards a “new-age” PLA has been efforts to modernize the PLAMC) which notably carried out its latest winter training in the Gobi Desert, in Xinjiang.

29/01/2016