- BBC – A Chinese-made fighter jet lands on Beijing’s first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, officials say, bolstering China’s military capacity in territorial disputes.

- Reuters – China appears to be within two years of deploying submarine-launched nuclear weapons, adding a new leg to its nuclear arsenal that should lead to arms-reduction talks, a draft report by a congressionally mandated U.S. commission says.

- The Diplomat – China is building a two-layered navy with a high-end Near Seas component and a limited, low-end capability beyond. It is not poised to speed across the Pacific to threaten America.

- BBC – China is conducting naval exercises in the East China Sea, state media report, amid heightened tensions with Japan over islands both claim.

- Wall Street Journal – Less than a month after China officially commissioned the Liaoning, its first aircraft carrier, photos appearing to show aircraft operating over the carrier have raised a host of questions, including how long it might take for China to make the carrier fully operational.

- The Diplomat – An excellent overview of the forms such a conflict could take. This is Part 5 of a 5 part series. Use the links at the top of the page to read all 5 parts.

- The Diplomat – China’s development and use of naval and non-naval, non-military sea power has become a cause for concern – one that could alter the regional balance.

- The Diplomat – It’s worth spending a bit of time to discuss how the PRC’s anti-access capabilities have come together. Much recent work has concerned the DF-21A “carrier killer” ballistic missile, but that capability represents only a small part of the system of anti-access systems that China operates.

- Foreign Policy – China’s about to find out how hard it is to run an aircraft carrier.

- BBC – China’s first aircraft carrier has entered into service, the Defence Ministry says.

- Reuters – The U.S. and Chinese navies have carried out drills to combat pirates off the Horn of Africa in a rare joint military exercise between the powerful nations.

- Air Force – Mistrust, international military buildups, and competing territorial claims bring plenty of tension to a vital waterway that China considers an internal sea.

- BBC – Two Chinese patrol ships have been sent to islands disputed with Japan, which has sealed a deal to purchase the territory, Chinese state media say.

- The Diplomat – China’s navy appears on the verge of creating a new class of warship. It could eventually alter the balance of naval power in the region.

- The Diplomat – China’s navy is not poised to speed across the Pacific to threaten America the way the Soviet Union once did, if not worse.

- Diplomat – As a regularly scheduled biennial exercise, RIMPAC happens regardless of the extant political situation in the Pacific. However, the absence of the People’s Liberation Army Navy – and the participation of Russia and India for the first time – combined with new tensions in the South China Sea, leaves the unavoidable impression [...]

- US Naval War College Review – In October 2006 General Charles Wald, Deputy Commander U.S. European Command, brought “Phase Zero” into the joint lexicon with the publication of an article, “The Phase Zero Campaign.” Over the last five years the concept of taking coordinated action in peacetime to affect the strategic environment has become [...]

- US Naval War College Review – Air and aerospace power has been fundamental for defending China’s “near seas”-encompassing the Bohai Gulf, the Yellow Sea, and the East and South China Seas—since the founding of the People’s Republic.

- US Naval Institute Proceedings – The buildup of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has caused quite a stir with the United States and its allies over the past few years. But China hardly has us over a barrel.

- Foreign Policy – Chinese officials were caught Friday with their pants down when the Defense Ministry was forced to admit in a brief statement that a naval frigate has run aground on the south eastern edge of the Spratly Islands– waters the Philippine government claims exclusive sovereignty over. Though Chinese officials described the vessels [...]