– Defense Technology International – Beijing is revealing pictures of its indigenously built J-15 Flying Shark design that is intended to populate the decks of its first aircraft carrier.

– US Naval Institute Proceedings – Aside from a strong national defense, world peace is now part of China’s official military mission. Serving both, its fleet could eventually resemble the U.S. Navy.

– AsiaEye – From late 2009 to late 2010, as attention on East Asia was consumed by high tensions on the Korean Peninsula and at the edges of the East China Sea, China’s powerful military space establishment quietly deployed a record number of spy satellites into lower earth orbit.

– US Naval Institute Proceeding – The United States should closely watch China’s supposed peaceful rise, but especially its increasing aggression and capabilities in the western Pacific.

– The Diplomat – The PLA’s expeditionary capabilities will grow significantly in coming years. What are the greater implications?

– US Naval Institute Proceedings – Modern amphibious assault vessels grant China an opportunity to project multimission forces into the littoral and beyond, with real potential to destabilize the region.

– US Naval Institute Proceedings – While the powers in Beijing emerge from the “century of humiliation” and focus their gaze on the Indian Ocean, history could inform how China may be weighing its near-term strategic options in South Asia.

– BBC – The US navy says the Chinese navy has been less aggressive in contested waters in the Asia-Pacific region.

– New York Times – The Chinese state news agency has posted photographs of an aircraft carrier under reconstruction that appears to show the warship near completion. Captions with the photos said that the work would end soon and that the carrier was expected to sail later this year.

– Harvard Asia Quarterly – A historical look at Chinese naval aspirations.

– Aerospace America – China’s surging military space program is poised to challenge U.S. aircraft carrier operations in the Pacific, as Chinese military spacecraft already gather significant new radar, electrooptical
imaging, and signal intelligence data globally.

– Associated Press – When China launched threatening war games off Taiwan 15 years ago on the eve of an election on the self-governing island, the U.S. deployed two aircraft carriers, and China quickly backed down. Things don’t seem so one-sided any more.

– Canadian Press – China is taking the unprecedented step of dispatching a navy ship to protect its citizens being evacuated from conflict-ridden Libya — underscoring the navy’s growing capabilities and Beijing’s need to protect its citizens abroad.

– Economist – China’s ocean scientists will soon start exploring a controversial patch of sea.

– Washington Post – China has taken a major step toward commissioning its first aircraft carrier by largely completing the restoration of a derelict ship purchased from Ukraine.

– Defense Technology International – Nice article by Bill Sweetman on how the real purpose of the new Chinese J-20 stealth fighter may be to serve as an anti-access area-denial weapon against the US Navy.

– Associated Press – Liu Huaqing, the father of the modern Chinese navy, has died at age 95.

– Aviation Week and Space Technology – Australian analysts are starting to examine how combat between the U.S. and China over the Taiwan Strait might play out and what’s needed to produce a win for small, high-tech forces.

–Chinese Navy – Military strength is eluding China – A different view of the Chinese Navy’s strength…

– Asahi Shimbun – Robert Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, said he believes that China aspires to become a “global military (power)” by extending its influence beyond its regional waters.

– China Sign Post – As we enter the Year of the Hare, China has achieved a major military milestone far faster than many foreign observers thought possible. In a December 2010 interview with veteran national security journalist Yoichi Kato of the Asahi Shimbun, Admiral Robert F. Willard, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, offered significant new revelations.

– Reuters – China may be ready to launch its first aircraft carrier in 2011, Chinese military and political sources said on Thursday, a year ahead of U.S. military analysts’ expectations.

– Reuters – Here are some facts about China’s carrier ambitions.

– Foreign Affairs – A look at the looming U.S.-Chinese naval rivalry.

– Armed Forces Journal – 10 myths America holds about China.