Nikkei Asia – Dredging work appears set to start in the waters surrounding Cambodia’s Ream naval base, where a Chinese-led expansion has become a growing source of geopolitical tension.

China Maritime Studies Institute – PLA special operations forces (SOF) would likely play important supporting roles in an amphibious assault on Taiwan. Their capabilities and training are geared towards several missions undertaken during the preparatory and main assault phases of the landing, including infiltration via special mission craft and helicopter, reconnaissance and targeting, obstacle clearance, strikes and raids, and extraction missions. While PLA SOF have made progress in recent years, several longstanding challenges could affect their performance in an island landing: integrating advanced special mission equipment for complex and dangerous missions, coordinating their operations with non-SOF supporting and supported forces, and overcoming the Chinese military’s penchant for centralized command. Even if PLA SOF are only partially effective, however, their support to the main assault force could diminish Taiwan’s ability to defend itself from a large-scale invasion.

Naval News – The Type-055 Renhai Class is in many ways the Chinese Navy’s (PLAN) answer to the U.S. Navy’s AEGIS cruisers. Large and heavily armed, they play a leading role escorting China’s aircraft carriers. New intelligence suggests that another batch of these impressive warships is being built.

Naval News – 2021 has been a fruitful year for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN or Chinese Navy). At least eight Guided Missile Destroyers (DDG), two amphibious assault ships (LHD) and one nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) joined the PLAN fleet.

USNI News – The People’s Liberation Army Navy 39th Escort Task Force carried out a three-day-long escort mission of Chinese fishing vessels through the Gulf of Aden.

USNI News – The People’s Liberation Army Navy Liaoning carrier group returned to its homeport of Qingdao on Dec. 30 after a successful training deployment.

Naval News – Submarine sales are a powerful weapon in the game of international power and influence. China is increasingly combining it with the Belt and Road Initiative in ways which shape the geopolitical landscape. The latest surprise submarine supply illustrates this.

Naval News – With increasing tensions in the first island chain, China has recently begun transferring Type 056 corvettes from the People’s Liberation Army Navy to the Chinese Coast Guard.

Global Times – Since its start at the beginning of the year, the construction of a new shipyard for a key Chinese warship builder has been going smoothly, and dock basin construction kicked off on Wednesday.

Nikkei Asia – China is reportedly looking to build a military presence in Equatorial Guinea, which would be its second such facility in Africa and the first along the Atlantic Ocean. But China’s options are not limited to the small country, analysts say.

China Maritime Studies Institute – This report examines the potential roles and missions of the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) new rotary wing capabilities in a cross-strait invasion. Looking specifically at the helicopter units of the PLA Army (PLAA), it discusses two possible scenarios in which these forces could serve as the main thrust in a campaign to seize control of Taiwan. In the first scenario, the PLAA would use nearly all of its rotary wing inventory simultaneously to overwhelm Taiwan’s defenses and quickly convince the country’s political leadership to surrender. In a second “unconventional” scenario, the PLAA would risk the destruction of older helicopters in order to launch a sudden attack against the island, thereby achieving the element of surprise while saving its most capable platforms for lengthy follow-on operations to fully subdue the island. Based on analysis of the scale, complexity, and frequency of recent PLAA exercises, this report argues that China is at best a decade away from having the ability to seize Taiwan by either approach.

Global Times – China recently revealed an upgraded version of the J-15 ship-borne fighter jet that has just wrapped up test flights, with reports saying the new aircraft received enhancements in its missile pylons, the infrared search and track system, the radar and the wings.

USNI News – Illegal and unreported fishing “is happening on an industrial scale” around the globe and the culprit often is China’s subsidized fishing fleet, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said today.

Barents Observer – The design of the icebreaker is to be completed in 2025 and used for rescues alongside China’s “Polar Silk Road” trade route, as a part of the country’s grander Belt and Road Initiative.

1945 – James Holmes looks to Theodore Roosevelt for inspiration.

Naval News – China’s growing fleet of survey ships continue to cause friction in the Pacific region. One of the most modern and capable has been operating in the small country of Palau’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This emphasizes the strategic importance of the small island chains in the region.

news.com.au – China is feared to be hiding missiles in shipping containers as part of a Trojan Horse-style plan to launch an attack anywhere in world, experts warn.

The Hill – China is looking to create its first permanent military presence on the Atlantic Ocean, on the coast of the small African nation Equatorial Guinea.

USNI News – Two Chinese Coast Guard vessels launched water cannons onto two Filipino boats during a resupply mission, a move that prompted the Philippine government to file a diplomatic protest against China, Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin said on Thursday.

Naval News – Amidst the hype about hypersonics, behind the hysteria and sensational headlines, is a new type of weapon which could help reshape the naval arena. Anti-Ship Ballistic Missiles (ASBMs) pose an unpredictable threat to aircraft carriers and other high-value targets.

StrategyPage – A Chinese naval officer recently gave an interview in which he described how the navy was testing the effect of underwater explosives set off in ports. 

War Zone – China looks to have launched an odd mini-aircraft carrier of sorts that is intended to launch and recover small aerial drones earlier this year. A model of this catamaran vessel appeared at this year’s Zhuhai Airshow, where it was ostensibly described as a platform for mimicking enemy “electronic” systems during training exercises. This ship will be able to simulate hostile drone swarms, along with other kinds of threats, such as high-volume anti-ship missile strikes and distributed electronic warfare attacks. It also reflects the Chinese military’s interest in operational swarming capabilities, and especially in the maritime domain.

CSIS – Steady progress on the construction of China’s third aircraft carrier has continued throughout 2021, and the vessel—commonly known as the Type 003—may launch in the coming months. Commercial satellite imagery of Jiangnan Shipyard captured on October 23, 2021, reveals that the installation of the carrier’s main external components is nearing completion. Work on other military vessels at Jiangnan appears to have slowed as the shipyard works to fill commercial orders.

1945 – Richard Holmes comments on the Pentagon’s latest report on Chinese military power. 

USNI News – The Chinese military has built targets in the shape of an American aircraft carrier and other U.S. warships in the Taklamakan desert as part of a new target range complex.