Observing Some New PLAN Discussions

There are a few discussions regarding China we want to highlight. First, we won't be spending time listing all the reasons why this article is inaccurate. We thought we gave anonymous writing on naval issues a bad name, but feel better knowing Strategypage will always be around to make us look good. It is hard to take an article discussing the Type 039C seriously when the author does not appear to be aware it is in the water already.

For high quality reading on the PLAN we want to highlight a pair of articles we very much enjoyed in the latest edition of Joint Force Quarterly. Both are PDF.

China’s New Undersea Nuclear Deterrent: Strategy, Doctrine, and Capabilities By Toshi Yoshihara and James R. Holmes

Information Technology and China’s Naval Modernization By Andrew S. Erickson and Michael S. Chase

We think everything Andrew S. Erickson writes is fantastic, and this piece is no exception. We had just finished reading these two articles when we came across this interesting report. We should add a disclaimer here, the author of this article is Peter Navarro who has a book called The Coming China Wars. The book makes a case how China's emergence as an economic super power is creating all manner of conflicts with the rest of the world over jobs, oil, natural resources, etc.. The article observes...

In yet another skirmish over oil rights in the South China Sea, China has fired a stern warning shot across the bow of ExxonMobil Corporation. China is miffed that Exxon is seeking to enter into a deal with PetroVietnam to explore for oil in waters surrounding the disputed Spratly and Paracel island chains.

China has warned Exxon to pull out of the exploration deal, describing the project as a breach of Chinese sovereignty, according to the South China Morning Post at the weekend, citing unnamed sources close to the US company.

The article goes on to suggest that this event could be what triggers some revelations regarding the maritime strategy of China for the South China Sea. We aren't sure we see that level of action on China's part occuring because ExxonMobile works with PetroVietnam, but if it is true we think that would be a good thing. The lack of transparency of the Chinese military is not a trivial issue, and in our opinion is the single largest impediment to building a meaningful government level relationship between the US and China.

It is worth noting China will soon be drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, and there really isn't anything the US can do about it. These events are part of globalization.