New! #CMSI Note 1: “#Admiral Hu to the Helm: #China’s New #Navy Commander Brings Operational Expertise”



Honored to inaugurate this @NavalWarCollege/@ChinaMaritime series with Director @ChrisHSharman!

Here’s what you need to know now about new #PRC #naval leader #HuZhongming (#胡中明)...bit.ly/HuZhongming


On 25 December 2023, Commander-in-Chief #Xi Jinping, in his capacity as Central #Military Commission Chairman, promoted Vice Admiral #HuZhongming (#胡中明) to Admiral & appointed him Commander of the People’s Liberation Army #Navy (PLAN) (#海军司令员).

bit.ly/HuZhongming

"To spend time in #China at the end of #Xi’s 1st decade is to witness a nation slipping from motion to stagnation &, for the 1st time in a generation, questioning whether a #Communist superpower can escape the contradictions that doomed the #SovietUnion."

newyorker.com/magazine/2023/… "The clips circulate abroad with the mocking caption 'West #NorthKorea,' but at home #censors vigilantly guard #Xi’s honor; a leak from a #Chinese social-media site last year revealed that it blocks no fewer than 564 nicknames for him, including Caesar, the Last Emperor, & 21 variations of Winnie-the-#Pooh."

Honored to be cited by @iandenisjohnson @NewYorker:
newyorker.com/news/persons-o…

"Andrew Erickson, a professor @NavalWarCollege & a visiting professor at @Harvard, said he’s seen no evidence that #China..."

For further background, see: sites.harvard.edu/coexistence/
thewirechina.com/2022/12/04/fix… ...wants to reciprocate, citing #China’s refusal to discuss meaningful arms control. “I don’t see a basis for deep coöperation” with #Xi’s China, Erickson said. “I’m sad to say that.”

newyorker.com/news/persons-o…

KEY: In what areas is the #PRC under Xi willing to accommodate the US?

Some context re. reported speed of #NorthKorean #missile:

All #ballistic #missiles are #hypersonic (faster than Mach 5) at some point in their flight. N.Germany’s V-2, deployed Sept. 1944, was hypersonic during its boost phase. Intercontinental ballistic missiles (#ICBMs)… 1/n

https://twitter.com/W7VOA/status/1577102844729053184

…, first deployed by the US in 1959, are high-hypersonic (Mach 25) throughout their entire flight. Subsequent decades have witnessed the emergence of “#hypersonic” #missile systems that can maneuver instead of following a fixed parabolic trajectory, including #ASBMs, #HGVs… 2/n

As #Kissinger shouted at 1969 football game, "On what theory?"
nytimes.com/1970/02/19/arc…

An alternative possibility—the "Ducks in a Row" approach:

Ambitious but failure averse, #Xi faces strong incentives to max forces before attempting one of (recent) history's greatest gambles.

https://twitter.com/BonnieGlaser/status/1553478583204474880

"Ducks in a Row" model ≠ theoretical speculation.

#Xi himself has charged #PLA w/ achieving 2027 "Centennial #Military Building Goal" (#建军一百年奋斗目标).

DoD: "this would provide Beijing w/ more credible military options in a #Taiwan contingency."

>>andrewerickson.com/2021/12/prc-pu…

Revealing spotlight on #China's emerging #PLA #Naval facility in #Ream, #Cambodia!

Glad to support @nakashimae & @catecadell's exposé @WashPost.

This will be hot topic at #SLD22 where I'm honored to be a delegate. Let's see what officials say! @IISS_org

washingtonpost.com/national-secur… Ships adding up—

"#China’s #navy is already the world’s largest by #s of vessels. The @USNavy has 297 battle-force ships..according to @CRS4Congress, while China has 355 & is projected to have 460 by 2030, according to last year’s @DeptofDefense report."

washingtonpost.com/national-secur…

As tonight’s unfolding #Ukraine tragedy underscores only too starkly—

—the @POTUS @JoeBiden Administration MUST PRESERVE (extended)#DETERRENCE 100% in the forthcoming #Nuclear Posture Review/#NPR.

Must avoid not only “#NoFirstUse/#NFU”—BUT ALSO “#SolePurpose”—road to perdition!

https://twitter.com/AndrewSErickson/status/1459198843904528391

Virtue signaling is no substitute for #deterrence signaling!

The #NPR must avoid not only widely-dismissed “#NoFirstUse” (#NFU) language, but also the dangerous concept of “#SolePurpose.”

Text/graphics from @DeptofDefense 2021 #China #Military Power Report show key reasons why.

New US #IndoPacific #Strategy!

Read full text here: whitehouse.gov/wp-content/upl…

"The #PRC..pursues a sphere of influence in the Indo-#Pacific & seeks to become the world’s most influential power. The PRC’s coercion & aggression spans the globe, but..is most acute in..Indo-Pacific." #INDOPACIFIC: The Region by the #s

♦ #POPULATION: Over half the world’s people, including 58% of youth

♦ #ECONOMY: 60% of global GDP

♦ #GROWTH: 2/3 of global economic growth

♦ #GEOGRAPHY: 65% of the world’s oceans &🌊 25% of its land

>#STRATEGY: whitehouse.gov/wp-content/upl…

Now Out in Paperback! “#China Goes to #Sea: #Maritime Transformation in Comparative Historical Perspective”

amazon.com/China-Goes-Sea…

@NavalWarCollege @ChinaMaritime is proud to publish this new version w/ @NavalInstitute @USNIBooks!

Come for the #maps, stay for the #history... Honored to have #JonathanSpence’s endorsement:

“The maritime #history of #China has long been a neglected field..China Goes to Sea bring[s] that knowledge-gap to an end..will be an indispensable companion to those readers seeking to understand where China’s navy may be heading.”

#Global #PartyPanopticon:

#PRC "gov't, which has built an extensive digital infrastructure & security apparatus to ctrl dissent on its own platforms, is going to even greater lengths to extend its internet dragnet to unmask & silence those who criticize"

nytimes.com/2021/12/31/bus… ...the #PRC "on @Twitter, @Facebook & other international #SocialMedia.

These new investigations, targeting sites blocked inside #China, are relying on sophisticated technological methods to expand the reach of #Chinese authorities & the list of targets"

nytimes.com/2021/12/31/bus…

#Read this new #Report while there’s still time to act!

bakerinstitute.org/research/us-ch…

“US-#China Competition Enters the Decade of Max Danger: #Policy Ideas to Avoid Losing the 2020s”

My latest with Gabe Collins @BakerInstitute!

@RiceUniversity
@RiceUNews
@CES_Baker_Inst
#Xi
#Taiwan As #PRC/#CCP power peaks over this decade, #Xi may seek #Taiwan as historic prize.

To protect their security & rules-based order, US/Allies must mobilize immediately to deter aggression.

The mission is vital, the stakes are high, & the clock is ticking.

bit.ly/PLA2027

Honored to be interviewed by @GrecianFormula on @DeptofDefense's 2021 #China #Military Power Report!

19fortyfive.com/2021/11/how-po…

Read my big picture takeaways & recommendations for @POTUS/@SecDef @19_forty_five!

Implications for #NationalSecurity Strategy, #Nuclear Posture Review. #Pentagon's #China #Military Power Report is a 173-page treasure trove!

After my all-nighter 6-page summary—bit.ly/DoD-CMPR—I'm still finding food for thought...

Here are some new reflections from my interview w/ @GrecianFormula @19_forty_five:

19fortyfive.com/2021/11/how-po…

There’s a gaping (loop)hole in #climate reporting, calculations & countermeasures—#BlueCarbon!

Must finally put #Seabed #CarbonSink on agenda for #COP26...

Here too #China leads world in #carbon damage—by far.

Time for accountability on #RoadToGlasgow!

foreignpolicy.com/2021/09/10/chi… #Ocean covers 71% of world’s surface..<10% mapped w/ modern sonar.

Salt marshes, mangroves, seagrass beds & ultra-deep abyssal #seabed absorb large quantities of #CO2 from atmosphere & balancing critical #climate systems.

Disrupting risks grave & potentially irreversible harms

New @ForeignPolicy article + slide deck:

7 #China #MaritimeMilitia ships ID'ed @ #WhitsunReef/ #UnionBanks in #SouthChinaSea!

Great to publish w/ @NavalWarCollege @ChinaMaritime colleague @rdmartinson88. And always a pleasure to work w/ @BeijingPalmer!

foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/29/chi… #BottomLine:

***At the very least, 7 People's #ArmedForces #MaritimeMilitia (#PAFMM) vessels have been operating at the #Spratly Islands’ #UnionBanks, including #WhitsunReef—both during the past month & multiple times over the past year.

foreignpolicy.com/2021/03/29/chi…

@ForeignPolicy

Ambassador Huang, allow me to recommend:

The #China #MaritimeMilitia #Bookshelf--

andrewerickson.com/2021/03/the-ch…

Includes multiple official items from your own government on your nation's #ThirdSeaForce.

China is often more transparent in #Chinese :)

Truth best limits "speculation"

https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines/status/1374572994589126659

And here's #China's own official state media documenting progress of its #MaritimeMilitia... in plain #English!

english.chinamil.com.cn/news-channels/…

News Channels/China Military News
Maritime militia increases drills, expands in scope
Source: China Daily Editor: Yao Jianing
2016-02-02 17:16

Revealing #testimony from @INDOPACOM Commander #Admiral Phil #Davidson @SASCDems/@SASCGOP @HASCDemocrats/@HASCRepublicans!

Ideally, read 41 pp. “US #IndoPacific Command Posture”:

armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/…

No time? See my excerpts: bit.ly/AdmiralDavidson

andrewerickson.com/2021/03/testim… "The greatest danger for the United States in this competition is the erosion of conventional deterrence..Absent a convincing deterrent, the [PRC] will be emboldened to take action to undermine the rules-based international order"

armed-services.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/…

bit.ly/AdmiralDavidson

New set of major @ModJapan_en/@ModJapan_jp reports brims with exquisitely detailed graphics!

Key images compiled here: bit.ly/J-MOD

#Security Environment Surrounding #Japan [わが国を取り巻く安全保障環境]

andrewerickson.com/2021/03/japan-…

Topics: #China, #NorthKorea & #Russia Report @ModJapan_en/@ModJapan_jp [1/3]:

#China’s Activities in #EastChinaSea, #Pacific Ocean & Sea of #Japan

[中国情勢（東シナ海・太平洋・日本海）]

mod.go.jp/e/d_act/sec_en…

mod.go.jp/j/approach/sur…

bit.ly/J-MOD

Check out the attached images... just a small sample!

Fmr Director for #Oceania & #IndoPacific #Security Alex Gray:

"As a senior allied government official once noted to me, a map of Imperial #Japan’s #Pacific islands bases in 1941 could almost perfectly overlay #Beijing’s areas of most intense economic & political activity today." "the 5 #Micronesian states have traditionally been the most skeptical of #Beijing & eager to work w/ #Washington & its partners.

...#Palau, Federated States of #Micronesia, & #MarshallIslands are bound to the US through #CompactsofFreeAssociation"

thehill.com/opinion/intern…

#COFA

Let Law & Justice prevail!

#Washington, DC Metropolitan #Police Dept. @DCPoliceDept

Seeks info on #PersonsOfInterest in Unrest-Related Offenses on 6 January 2021 @ US #Capitol Grounds

mpdc.dc.gov/page/may-2020-…

mpdc.dc.gov/sites/default/…

Call 202-727-9099 or TEXT TIP LINE @ 50411 #PHOTO: PERSONS OF INTEREST 1 of 26

#Washington, #DC Metro #Police Department seeks #info on #POI in Unrest-Related Offenses on 6 January 2021 @ US #Capitol Grounds

Let #Law & #Justice prevail!

If you have info to share, call @DCPoliceDept 202-727-9099 or TEXT TIP LINE @ 50411

"#FBI #Seeking #Information Related to #Violent #Activity at the U.S Capitol Building

tips.fbi.gov/digitalmedia/a…

The @FBI is seeking information that will assist in identifying individuals who are #actively #instigating #violence in Washington, DC."

1-800-CALL-FBI(1-800-225-5324) "The #FBI is accepting #tips & #digital #media depicting rioting & violence in the U.S. #Capitol Building & surrounding area in #Washington, DC, on January 6, 2021."

tips.fbi.gov/digitalmedia/a…

If file > limit, please call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) for additional instructions

Check out new report by @zacharyhaver:

“#Sansha City in #China’s #SouthChinaSea Strategy: Building a System of Administrative Control”

bit.ly/SanshaCITY

Great @ChinaMaritime Report #12 continues #CMSI tradition @NavalWarCollege!

andrewerickson.com/2021/01/cmsi-c…

With>20 exhibits Back in 2017, @ChinaMaritime Studies Institute Director @peter_dutton approved my proposal for a #China #Maritime #Report series & invited @KennedyMaritime & me to contribute the inaugural report.

11 editions later, this series is better than ever!

@zacharyhaver's work = proof.