China explosion! (not really)

There’s been an avalanche of interesting things to read about China – what’s a “China hand” to do?

China’s National Defense in 2010, Information Office of the State Council, People’s Republic of China, March 2011

U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings Magazine – April 2011, Focus on China. A few of the main features are subscriber-only material, but there are also several articles that look very interesting available for free, such as:

• When Land Powers Look Seaward by Andrew Erickson, Lyle Goldstein, and Carnes Lord
• Mao’s ‘Active Defense’ Is Turning Offensive by James R. Holmes and Toshi Yoshihara
• Two Vectors, One Navy by Michael McDevitt and Frederic Vellucci
• China’s Naval Challenge by Milan Vego
• The Real Game-Changers of the Pacific Basin by Craig Hooper and Commander David M. Slayton, U.S. Navy

A Step Too Far: Why CPGS Is The Wrong Answer to China’s Anti-Access Challenge (PDF), East-West Center Asia-Pacific Bulletin No. 102, March 24, 2011, by Iskander Rehman

Rising Power… To Do What? Evaluating China’s Power in Southeast Asia (PDF), RSIS Working Paper No. 226, March 30, 2011, by Evelyn Goh

I hope that once I’ve had a chance to read through some of this I will have some comments to add. In the meantime, here’s what a few other learned observers have to say:

China Releases National Defense 2010 White Paper – Information Dissemination

Beijing Issues Latest Defense White Paper “China’s National Defense in 2010”: Full Text and Key Excerpts – Andrew Erickson

Tags: China, People's Republic of China, PLAN, Recommended reading, United States, United States Naval Institute