Centre for New American Security – A new report, which examines what might happen were China to seize outlying Taiwanese islands, whose results are based upon a wargame.

Naval News – Facing aircraft carriers from the U.S. Navy, Royal Navy, Indian Navy and Japanese, China is looking for a counter. The Chinese Navy (PLAN) has developed a unique ‘Carrier Killer’ weapon for its H-6 strategic bomber.

Global Times – The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) recently held an integrated military-civilian cross-sea troop maneuvering exercise using a large civilian ferry with a displacement of 45,000 tons, much larger than similar vessels used in previous practices. The move aimed to enhance the troops’ transport efficiency in future battlefields.

International Business Times – In a bid to boost its maritime interest in the Indo-Pacific, China has been sending survey ships into the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of its neighbors.

CIMSEC – Understanding the direction towards which Chinese gray zone activities may evolve could give early warning about China’s likely next steps. Suitable responses could then be considered and implemented in a measured manner, without the time pressures induced by a sudden, unexpected crisis.

Reuters – What weeks of mass air force incursions into Taiwan’s air defence identification zone say about China’s airpower.

1945 – James Holmes writes that there is no cause for panic. Let’s think strategically, allocate resources, and reply to the China challenge.

USNI News – A combination of 10 Russian Navy and Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy ships sailed from the Sea of Japan to the Pacific Ocean through the Tsugaru Strait between Japanese home islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, Joint Staff of the Japan Self Defense Force said in a press statement.

Wavell Room – First considered by the US in the 1990s, China is reported to be evaluating potential arsenal ship concepts.

Global Times – With China’s advanced Type 055, a 10,000 ton-class large destroyer, for the first time joining an exercise with a foreign navy, China and Russia on Thursday kicked off a joint naval drill in the Sea of Japan, in a move that Chinese experts said not only displays the two sides’ high level of strategic mutual trust, but also will enhance their capability to jointly deal with maritime security threats and safeguard regional peace and stability, at a time when Western countries are building antagonistic regional security organizations like the Quad and AUKUS.

ChinaMilitary – China has preliminarily possessed the capability of full-time training of carrier-borne fighter pilots.

Chinese Maritime Studies Institute – Since 2017, the People’s Liberation Army Navy Marine Corps (PLANMC) has undergone significant expansion, growing from two brigades to eight. The major impetus behind these efforts is a desire to build the service arm into an expeditionary force capable of operating in most environments at short notice. However, PLANMC reform has also bolstered its ability to contribute to major campaigns along China’s periphery, including a Taiwan invasion scenario. This report examines the PLANMC’s role in a cross-strait amphibious campaign and analyzes how new additions to the force could be used against Taiwan.

USNI News – In front of scenic cliffs and an ornamental European-style windmill is a secret People’s Liberation Army Navy pier. Here, at a former tourist resort on China’s northern coast, is where the PLAN is developing some of its most secretive, and previously unreported, naval programs.

Clingendael Spectator – The odds of war between China and Taiwan seem to be growing by the day. In this first part of a trilogy on the China-Taiwan conflict, James Holmes (US Naval War College) examines the military options of both countries. Although “Beijing craves a short, sharp, decisive war should it decide to launch an assault”, Holmes argues that Taiwan can deny President Xi Jinping his short war, and manage to prosper amid turbulent times.

ChinaMil – In order to enhance the rescue capability on the battlefield, the Chinese naval hospital ship Peace Ark recently conducted a comprehensive maritime rescue exercise for seven consecutive days and nights in the East China Sea. 

China Daily – The 39th fleet of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy set out from the city of Qingdao, in East China’s Shandong Province, on Sunday to conduct an escort mission in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia.

USNI News – Warships designs are increasingly taking their radar signature into account. Sharp angles that deflect radar waves and coatings that absorb radar energy have been standard features of warship designs for most new warships over the last 20 years. An extreme example is the class of the Chinese Navy’s (PLAN) Type-022 missile boat. Its lines are angled and sloped to deflect incoming radar waves, like a stealth fighter. Everything is carefully angled and even the window frames have saw-tooth edges, according to published photos of the class…However, when viewed from space using a radar-equipped satellite, they show up very well. 

AP – The Associated Press with Spanish-language broadcaster Univision accompanied the Ocean Warrior this summer on an 18-day voyage to observe up close for the first time the Chinese distant water fishing fleet on the high seas off South America.

Global Times – A naval flotilla belonging to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) that crossed multiple strategic sea lanes near Japan and sailed near US waters since August has reportedly returned to the East China Sea recently, displaying the PLA Navy’s strong far sea capabilities that can break the so-called island chains that the US hoped to contain China

CIMSEC – The Chinese offshore mobile debarkation system, while not as striking as the Chinese Navy’s newest amphibious assault ships, may have greater implications for how the PLA projects power over-the-shore, especially in a cross-strait amphibious invasion of Taiwan. Any large-scale landing by PLA Navy amphibious assault ships will require significant maritime lift for second echelon forces and logistics. This modular pier system may allow China’s substantial fleet of large civilian RO-RO ships to offload combat troops and equipment directly onto Taiwan’s beaches. Proficiency with this system and other JLOTS capabilities will be a critical capability in a cross-strait invasion if the PLA is unable seize Taiwan’s port infrastructure intact.      

CIMSEC – The China Coast Guard (CCG) is growing in capability, capacity, and confidence. With an established presence throughout China’s “near seas” in East Asia and further abroad in the North Pacific on fishery patrols, the possibility of additional long-distance deployments by the CCG should be seen as a matter of when and not if. One such location is off the west coast of Latin America in the Eastern Pacific on counter-narcotic patrols due the increasing problem of illegal drugs from Latin America making their way across the Pacific to Chinese consumers.

1945 – This week over at the Global Times, Deng Xiaoci has the story of how China intends to regulate shipping in China’s “territorial waters” starting September 1.

Global Times – A Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) amphibious unit recently conducted a series of cross-sea landing drills, in which the troops for the first time used a 10,000 ton-class civilian ferry ship instead of previously used thousands ton-class civilian vessels, with analysts saying on Thursday it could provide a good addition to transporting troops on a large scale in amphibious landing missions.

CIMSEC – This article draws on a wide array of primary sources—including advertisements from defense companies, PLA writings and research papers, and information released by state-run research institutes—to illuminate China’s growing fleet of autonomous undersea vehicles. After profiling three major AUV research institutes, the article identifies potential applications of China’s growing fleet of AUVs and continued barriers to development.

War on the Rocks – Recent months have seen much discussion of the “Davidson Window” — the idea that China could take military action against Taiwan in the next six to 10 years. Assessments of China’s amphibious sealift capability have typically focused on its navy’s dedicated amphibious assault ships, and have largely discounted the ability of China’s civilian merchant shipping to contribute to an invasion — especially in its initial stages. This approach does not take sufficient account of the emerging and ongoing integration of substantial portions of China’s merchant marine into its cross-strait assault forces. When civilian shipping is included in an assessment of China’s cross-strait sealift capability, Davidson’s warning gains added credibility.