– Defense News – The extensive chains of Pacific islands ringing China have been described as a wall, a barrier to be breached by an attacker or strengthened by a defender. They are seen as springboards, potential bases for operations to attack or invade others in the region. In a territorial sense, they are benchmarks marking the extent of a country’s influence.

– National Interest – When Chinese officers go to bed at night, what do they fear most? Despite all the hard work, all the billions of dollars spent, no Chinese sailor wants to tangle with the U.S. Navy. As one retired Chinese senior defense official told me in late 2014: “The 3 A.M. crisis ‘call’ I feared the most is that we were at war with your navy.”

– National Interest – Much has been reported about the recent structural reforms undertaken by China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA)—the end goal being a leaner and meaner military force, capable of undertaking a broad spectrum of missions under modern, high-tech conditions. Part of this drive towards a “new-age” PLA has been efforts to modernize the PLA Marine Corps (PLAMC).

– USNI News – Chinese officials claim to be on “ high alert against Japan’s attempt to poke its nose in the issue of the South China Sea,” following an interview published Sunday in which Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called for the international community to “raise its voice” against Chinese encroachment.

– Foreign Policy – Our intrepid reporters tried to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in the East China Sea. They ended up igniting a war in Asia.

– Congressional Research Service – The latest version of this document, published in December 2015.

– Flash//Critic – Chinese maritime security forces disclosed last month that one of its missions is to provide protection for undersea communications cables.

– USNI News – China is in the midst of building its first domestic carrier, Ministry of National Defense officials confirmed last week.

– BBC – China is building a second aircraft carrier – but this time made entirely from domestic technology, its defence ministry has announced.

– AP – A Chinese naval hospital ship is making a first-ever call at a South American port in a sign of the Asian economic giant’s growing influence in the resource-rich region.

– Washington Free Beacon – A Chinese attack submarine conducted a simulated cruise missile attack on the aircraft carrier USS Reagan during a close encounter several weeks ago

– Asia Times – The People’s Liberation Army last month disclosed new details about its new intermediate-range anti-ship ballistic missile known as the DF-26. The missile can be armed with nuclear or conventional warheads and supplements the shorter range DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile that along with the DF-26 are elements of a military strategy of building arms designed to force the US military to operate further away from Chinese shores.

– BBC – Last year the BBC’s Rupert Wingfield-Hayes travelled across the South China Sea in a fishing boat and became the first journalist to observe close-up how China is constructing new islands on coral reefs. A few days ago he returned to the area in a small aircraft – provoking a furious and threatening response from the Chinese Navy.

– Reuters – When an international court ruled in late October that it had jurisdiction to hear a case filed by the Philippines against China over the disputed South China Sea, Beijing dismissed the decision, saying it would “lead to nothing”…Legal experts say Manila has a significant chance of success, citing the court’s detailed rejection of China’s arguments in the hearing on jurisdiction.

– US Naval War College Review – This paper examines first the drivers, the operational capabilities, and then the future trajectory of China’s carrier program. Last, we evaluate the implications of the carrier program for the balance of maritime power in the western Pacific and beyond.

– China Sign Post – China is now laying the diplomatic and legal foundations for a long-term naval presence in Djibouti, with a range of recent media reports alleging that Beijing is negotiating for naval access in the country. The facilities would likely be located at Obock, on Djibouti’s northern coast. While China will not formally call the facilities a “base” anytime soon, it will likely function in a manner that brings it awfully close to being one in all but name.

– National Interest – In a quiet but undoubtedly significant event, Admiral Wu Shengli (吴胜利), commander of the People’s Liberation Army Navy and a member of the PRC’s Central Military Commission recently visited Malaysia with an entourage of 10 senior officials. During his visit, Admiral Wu secured agreement from the Malaysian Navy for the ships of the PLA Navy to use the port of Kota Kinabalu in Malaysian Borneo as a “stopover location” to “strengthen defence ties between the two countries.”

– Bloomberg – The U.S. navy will participate in an exercise with a People’s Liberation Army vessel during its visit to China as increased tensions in the disputed South China Sea haven’t set back a “cordial” relationship.