Is China's 'Guam Killer' Missile Too Hyped Up?
This week on the program, we're going to continue our exploration of the U.S.-China relationship, which we began last week with our investigation into the history of tensions between the U.S. and Chinese navies in and around the South China Sea.
This week we turn our attention to the future.Specifically the how the Chinese Communist Party views its future. Because the more we spoke with analysts and observers about the South China Sea, the more we heard we ought to look not only at that troubled body of water you can spot on a map — but also to the fundamental differences in how China's leadership views the world, how it views competition with the United States and its allies, and perhaps most importantly, how Chinese leaders view power, control and history.
By Rick Joe, The Diplomat: "Predictions for the Chinese Navy's (People's Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN) growth have often focused on the quantitative number of ships or submarines. Even recent commentary surrounding the PLAN describes it as the "world's largest navy" in terms of the number of ships fielded, rather than using more sensible metrics such as tonnage."
By Doug MacgregorPresident Trump is breaking with the past. He's arguing that Washington must cut its losses, withdraw its forces, climb out of the Middle Eastern and Afghan money pits, and acknowledge that Seoul (with U.S. backing) won the war on the Korean Peninsula. Washington hates him for doing these things, but most Americans and future generations of Americans will love him for it.
By Franz-Stefan Gady, The Diplomat: "How does China's People's Liberation Army think about military strategy? How and when has it made changes to its strategy through the past? To better understand these questions and more, The Diplomat's Ankit Panda spoke to M. Taylor Fravel, the Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Fravel is the author of a forthcoming book on Chinese military strategy."
(Al-Monitor) The Pentagon's decision to acquire Israel's US-funded Iron Dome system to defend American troops is raising questions from military experts about whether the missile defense batteries can handle emerging threats from Russia and China.
WASHINGTON: At least a dozen major Army weapons programs face big decisions in 2019. The service will launch a competition for new armored vehicles; award development contracts for scout aircraft and helicopter engines; conduct key tests of long-range missiles, anti-aircraft defenses, rifles, targeting goggles, and multiple battlefield networks; and field new electronics for command posts.
President Trump's New Year's tweet attacking Gen. Stanley McChrystal is just the most recent in a long string of attacks on top military leaders, causing the waters of civil-military relations to become increasingly polluted and poisonous.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Given the inherent professional tension between heads of state and their ministers of defense, most critically manifested in moments of grave national crisis, it might be preferable for the national leader to hold the defense portfolio as well.
(Task & Purpose) China's futuristic electromagnetic railgun may already be the most powerful cannon to ever roam the high seas — ahead of schedule.