http://www.project2049.net For the latest news, publications and events from the only Washington-based think tank that focuses exclusively on future-oriented studies of the Asia Pacific. Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:37:00 EDT en-us http://blog.project2049.net/2010/07/asias-turbulent-waters-blue-water.html http://blog.project2049.net/2010/07/asias-turbulent-waters-blue-water.html Thursday, 29 July 2010 10:30:00 EST Naval tensions mounting over recent months in Asia have unfolded in a blue water drama featuring almost every seafaring nation in the region. After North Korea allegedly sunk a South Korean ship, China and North Korea vehemently protested a set of joint naval exercises scheduled by the United States and South Korea while Washington and Beijing traded barbs on the best means for claimants to settle territorial disputes in the South China Sea. These simmering tensions will test how territorial disputes, relationships between great and rising powers, key alliances, and freedom of navigation will be managed over the next few decades. http://project2049.net/publications.html#Futuregrams http://project2049.net/publications.html#Futuregrams Tuesday, 20 July 2010 10:30:00 EST The Mekong River faces challenges from hydropower, demographic and development pressures to climate change that threaten to alter the river. These trends have the potential to trigger a serious crisis characterized by water shortages, forced migration, food insecurity, and prolonged floods and droughts. Concerted efforts will be necessary to avert serious crisis along the Mekong. http://twitter.com/Project2049 http://twitter.com/Project2049 Tuesday, 29 June 2010 10:30:00 EST We are now on Twitter! Be the first to follow us at http://twitter.com/Project2049 for the latest Asia-Pacific news and Project 2049 Institute publications. http://blog.project2049.net/ http://blog.project2049.net/ Thursday, 22 June 2010 10:30:00 EST Frequent analysis and news compilation of under-noticed strategic trends across the Asia-Pacific. Recent posts include Russia-Asia Arctic energy shipping, China - Pakistan nuclear cooperation, and electric cars and future resource diplomacy in Asia. http://project2049.net/events.html http://project2049.net/events.html Thursday, 22 June 2010 10:30:00 EST Videos and transcripts from the event "Emerging Aerospace Trends in the Asia-Pacific" on May 25th are now available online. http://project2049.net/publications.html#other http://project2049.net/publications.html#other Thursday, 10 June 2010 10:30:00 EST The lessons the Burmese junta seem to be studying most closely these days are those being taught by North Korea. While opportunities to undermine North Korea's regime have narrowed as its nuclear program has advanced, in Burma there are still viable options beyond the nuclear non-proliferation policy silo. Most importantly, U.S. policymakers should not focus on the nuclear issue at the expense of addressing the underlying political situation in Burma. http://project2049.net/publications.html#paper http://project2049.net/publications.html#paper Thursday, 27 May 2010 23:30:00 EST Aerospace power is unquestionably defining the future strategic environment in a region whose vast distances place a premium on speed and agility that defy the laws of gravity. This monograph addresses trends in China's force modernization, strategy, and doctrine; development of conventional air force, air and missile defense, and long range precision strike modernization in Taiwan, Japan, India, and the United States; and options for countering the coercive utility of evolving PRC aerospace power, including cooperative threat reduction initiatives. http://project2049.net/publications.html#paper http://project2049.net/publications.html#paper Thursday, 27 May 2010 23:00:00 EST One of the most overlooked yet promising relationships in Asia is that between Southeast Asia and India. The Asia-Pacific region as a whole would benefit from a closer partnership between ASEAN and India, particularly in the areas of counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics, climate change, and natural disaster relief. While the impetus for mutual cooperation is strong, forging a strong partnership in the 21st century will require ASEAN and India to overcome several formidable challenges and seize key opportunities with courage, vision and deftness. http://blog.project2049.net/2010/05/not-so-strategic-dialogue.html http://blog.project2049.net/2010/05/not-so-strategic-dialogue.html Thursday, 27 May 2010 22:00:00 EST Senior Fellow Kelley Currie evaluates the latest round of the U.S. - China Strategic and Economic Dialogue on AsiaEye, the official blog of the Project 2049 Institute. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/25/taiwan-issue-spurs-china-build-up-missile-forces/ http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/may/25/taiwan-issue-spurs-china-build-up-missile-forces/ Monday, 24 May 2010 22:00:00 EST Mark Stokes and Ian Easton's forthcoming study on "Evolving Aerospace Trends in the Asia-Pacific Region" featured in Washington Times. http://project2049.net/publications.html#other http://project2049.net/publications.html#other Monday, 24 May 2010 10:30:00 EST The U.S. should use the Strategic and Economic Dialogue as an opportunity to have a less comfortable, but ultimately more honest, dialogue with Beijing about the differences in political cultures and systems that will necessarily impact this important and complex relationship. http://project2049.net/publications.html#other http://project2049.net/publications.html#other Thursday, 13 May 2010 20:00:00 EST The latest session of the U.S.-China bilateral human rights dialogue is taking place in Washington this week, the first such meeting since May 2008. These sporadic, formulaic meetings long ceased to be useful in addressing China’s most serious human rights offenses. http://project2049.net/events.html http://project2049.net/events.html Tuesday, 11 May 2010 20:00:00 EST You are cordially invited to the presentation of a new report from the Project 2049 Institute, and a keynote speech by the Deputy Defense Minister of Taiwan on Tuesday, May 25th at the Ritz-Carlton in Pentagon City. http://project2049.net/publications.html#other http://project2049.net/publications.html#other Monday, 3 May 2010 20:00:00 EST The Obama administration’s well-intentioned efforts at engagement have largely played into the junta’s hands. In order to change this dynamic, the administration should refocus on moving engagement from the generals’ playing field onto areas of relative U.S. strength: legitimacy, international influence, interconnectedness, institutional strength, and diplomatic heft. http://project2049.net/events.html http://project2049.net/events.html Thursday, 18 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST President Randall Schriver and Executive Director Mark Stokes testify before the U.S. - China Economic and Security Review Commission on political and military developments across the Taiwan Strait. http://project2049.net/publications.html#other http://project2049.net/publications.html#other Tuesday, 16 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST The growing trade in conventional weapons—including reports of Burmese purchases of North Korean-made short-range ballistic missiles—and increasing evidence of nuclear cooperation is deeply troubling. These are clear violations of United Nations sanctions on North Korea, and the U.S. should be clear about the costs of continuing this cooperation with Pyongyang. http://project2049.net/publications.html#paper http://project2049.net/publications.html#paper Friday, 12 Mar 2010 09:00:00 EST China maintains its operational nuclear warhead stockpile through a centralized storage and handling system managed by the People’s Liberation Army’s Second Artillery. A preliminary examination indicates that Beijing adopts a responsible and serious attitude with regards to nuclear security and safety. Yet, an expanding ballistic missile infrastructure in the absence of significant growth in their nuclear warhead stockpile could indicate an extension of Second Artillery’s conventional strike mission. http://project2049.net/publications.html#paper http://project2049.net/publications.html#paper Friday, 19 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST As a global leader in technology, Taiwan is yet to leverage the information revolution for its C4ISR needs. Faced with an array of security challenges, from China's conventional and electronic attack to the risk of natural disasters, Taiwan's defense and disaster management capabilities can be fortified with advanced sensor, communications and satellite technology. In doing so, the Project 2049 Institute Executive Director Mark Stokes argue that Taiwan can significantly improve its security outlook. http://www.youtube.com/Project2049Institute http://www.youtube.com/Project2049Institute Thursday, 18 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST Randall Schriver, President and CEO of the Project 2049 Institute discussing the security impact of the rise of China on PBS' Great Decisions in Foreign Policy. http://project2049.net/who_we_are_currie.html http://project2049.net/who_we_are_currie.html Wednesday, 17 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST Senior Fellow Kelley Currie on the Fred Thompson show discussing the latest developments in U.S. - Tibet policy. http://project2049.net/publications.html#other http://project2049.net/publications.html#other Wednesday, 17 Feb 2010 19:00:00 EST Given the circumstances surrounding the upcoming meeting with the U.S. President and the urgency of the overall situation, the Dalai Lama is well positioned to push President Obama to do more than his predecessors. http://project2049.net/publications.html#other http://project2049.net/publications.html#other Tuesday, 16 Feb 2010 19:00:00 EST This week's meeting between President Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama is generating an unusually vocal uproar from Beijing. That uproar, for those who listen carefully, is a sign that Mr. Obama's policies on Tibet and China are not working. The question is whether Mr. Obama will realize in time to fix it. http://project2049.net/publications.html#other http://project2049.net/publications.html#other Thursday, 4 Feb 2010 19:00:00 EST Recent events, such as the Chinese government’s extreme reaction to the Obama administration’s recent announcement of a modest arms deal for Taiwan, as well as Beijing’s hyperventilating response to a range of other recent U.S. “provocations,” have sparked a new set of questions over how the U.S. should respond. http://project2049.net/publications.html#other http://project2049.net/publications.html#other Monday, 18 Jan 2010 19:00:00 EST India faces an increasingly untenable balancing act in maintaining its current accommodation of the junta, and will be under growing pressure this year to move toward a policy that better aligns its values and interests. Such a shift would be a boon to those supporting democratic reforms in Burma, as well as to India's own interests and its regional leadership aspirations. http://project2049.net/publications.html#Futuregrams http://project2049.net/publications.html#Futuregrams Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:00:00 EST Southeast Asian nations are embarking on a pursuit for nuclear energy. While this promises to help satisfy the region’s growing energy thirst in a more cost-efficient and climate-friendly way, nuclear power also has its perils. The specter of proliferation looms large and the potential for nuclear accidents remains high in a region prone to natural disasters and averse to strong institutional safeguards and export controls. http://project2049.net/publications.html#other http://project2049.net/publications.html#other Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:53:00 EST The new Japanese government has wasted no time in "rebalancing" the country's foreign-policy stance toward China. But Japan's growing friendship with the authoritarian regime in Beijing has inherent limits that the new government is starting to push up against. http://project2049.net/publications.html#other http://project2049.net/publications.html#other Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:53:00 EST While the U.S.-China tiff at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen was grabbing headlines last week, the conference hosts quietly issued a diplomatic note stating that Denmark "attaches great importance to the view of the Chinese government" on Tibet-related issues and"takes seriously the Chinese opposition" to government meetings with the Dalai Lama. http://project2049.net/events.html http://project2049.net/events.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:53:00 EST Event videos and full transcripts from the China 2025 conference on October 19th are now available on the "Events" page of our website. http://www.project2049.net/publications.html#other http://www.project2049.net/publications.html#other Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:31:00 EDT When President Barack Obama lands in China next month, he'll come carrying a new catchphrase for the U.S.-China relationship: "strategic reassurance." The phrase is presumably meant to indicate a new approach but what does the Obama formula for U.S.-China relations really mean? http://project2049.net/events.html http://project2049.net/events.html Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:30:00 EDT China 2025 will address the core questions of China’s domestic and foreign policy priorities and their likely implications for the rest of the world. This event is cosponsored with the Council on Foreign Relations. Event agenda and RSVP information available on our website http://project2049.net/publications.html#Futuregrams http://project2049.net/publications.html#Futuregrams Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:10:00 EDT Of all the asymmetric weapons or “assassin maces” China has been developing and deploying across the Taiwan Strait, perhaps none has been as poorly understood and as chronically underreported as China’s rapidly emerging DH-10 (DongHai-10), “East Sea-10”, cruise missile program. http://project2049.net/publications.html#other http://project2049.net/publications.html#other Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:45:00 EDT The Obama administration recently clarified its intentions to expand direct contact with the Burmese junta, starting with a meeting with junta officials in New York this week. Offering to talk to the junta can work, but only under certain conditions. http://project2049.net/documents/chinese_anti_ship_ballistic_missile_asbm.pdf http://project2049.net/documents/chinese_anti_ship_ballistic_missile_asbm.pdf Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:07:00 EDT Executive Director Mark Stokes releases a new study on China's anti-ship ballistic missile challenge that could alter the strategic landscape in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. Authoritative Chinese writings indicate research into and development of increasingly accurate and longer range conventional strategic strike systems that could be launched from Chinese territory against land- and sea-based targets throughout the Asia-Pacific region in a crisis situation. http://project2049.net/documents/testimony_randall_schriver_strategic_and_economic_dialogue.pdf http://project2049.net/documents/testimony_randall_schriver_strategic_and_economic_dialogue.pdf Tue, 15 Sep 2009 17:05:00 EDT President and CEO Randall Schriver testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Asia on the difficulties of striking the right tone in US - China relations. He warns that the sprawling agenda of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue may unintentionally grant the Chinese government a symbolic victory and hamper more substantive agreements. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/03/inside-the-ring-23008574/?page=3 http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/sep/03/inside-the-ring-23008574/?page=3 Wed, 03 Sep 2009 10:17:00 EDT See the Washington Times coverage of our upcoming report on China's anti-ship ballistic missile capability by Executive Director Mark Stokes. The report will be released on our website next week. http://www.washtimes.com/news/2009/aug/12/peoples-army-not-standing-still/ http://www.washtimes.com/news/2009/aug/12/peoples-army-not-standing-still/ Wed, 12 Aug 2009 11:00:00 EDT China has already reached a position of influence in our world that demands a more sophisticated understanding of both the challenges and opportunities being presented by an evolving defense institution. Unfortunately, current discussions of China's military development often miss the mark. The PLA today is not "10 feet tall," but nor is it the gang that can't shoot straight. It is a military with niche areas of excellence (e.g., ballistic and cruise missiles), as well as glaring Achilles heels (continuing difficulties with modern command, control and communications). http://www.aei.org/video/101133 http://www.aei.org/video/101133 Mon, 4 Aug 2009 17:10:00 EDT Watch Project 2049 Institute President Randy Schriver and Executive Director Mark Stokes discuss the new Taiwan Policy Working Group report "Deter, Defend, Repel, and Partner: A Defense Strategy for Taiwan". http://project2049.net/documents/deter_defend_repel_partner_taiwan_defense_working_group.pdf http://project2049.net/documents/deter_defend_repel_partner_taiwan_defense_working_group.pdf Mon, 3 Aug 2009 16:33:00 EDT The Taiwan Policy Working Group, under the leadership of AEI's Dan Blumenthal and the Project 2049 Institute's Randall Schriver and Mark Stokes, issues a new report to augment existing reviews, examine alternative competitive defense and security strategies, and offer possible ways to broaden and deepen unofficial U.S.-ROC defense and security relations. http://project2049.net/documents/vietnams_port_potential_shipping.pdf http://project2049.net/documents/vietnams_port_potential_shipping.pdf Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:38:00 EDT Vietnam has an infrastructure problem in almost all sectors. It has an airport problem. It has a road problem. And Vietnam has a port problem. The real potential for Vietnam to benefit from China's massive economy - or to benefit from any regional economic activity - lies on the water, and in the ports, which are currently too small and too shallow to effectively realize their economic potential. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124708020063113301.html#articleTabs=article http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124708020063113301.html#articleTabs=article Thu, 9 Jul 2009 12:37:00 EDT The recent protests in China's Xinjiang region may provoke a sense of déjà vu after last year's protests in Tibet. There are superficial similarities: Both involved conflict between a repressed ethnic minority and Han Chinese, violent clashes with Chinese security forces, and a government clampdown on information. But a closer look shows that the Chinese government is learning from past crises and incorporating these lessons into an increasingly sophisticated, multifaceted public relations strategy. http://www.project2049.net/documents/the_great_game_in_space.pdf http://www.project2049.net/documents/the_great_game_in_space.pdf Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:09:00 EDT If there is a great power war in this century, it will not begin with the sound of explosions on the ground and in the sky, but rather with the bursting of kinetic energy and the flashing of laser light in the silence of outer space. China is engaged in an anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons drive that has profound implications for future U.S. military strategy in the Pacific. http://project2049.net/documents/the_taiwan_quadrennial_defense_review_implications_for_US_taiwan_relations.pdf http://project2049.net/documents/the_taiwan_quadrennial_defense_review_implications_for_US_taiwan_relations.pdf Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:09:00 EDT Taiwan must currently contend with many pressing security and military challenges. Although the recent cross-Strait political climate has improved, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has steadfastly refused to renounce the use of force against Taiwan while shifting the cross-Strait military balance in its favor. Faced with such challenges, the Taiwan Quadrennial Defense Review is meant to increase military transparency while convincing Taiwanese legislators, the Chinese PLA, and U.S. policy makers and analysts alike that the Ministry of National Defense is firmly dedicated to creating new strategies and engaging in reforms that will prepare the military for future challenges. http://project2049.net/documents/china_and_congos_coltan_connection.pdf http://project2049.net/documents/china_and_congos_coltan_connection.pdf Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:09:00 EDT For almost 10 years, conflict minerals have sustained a devastating war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that has led to over 5.4 million deaths. During these years, the world, particularly China, has continued to consume strategic minerals such as coltan which are used to produce cell phones and computers. http://project2049.net/documents/uigher_testimony_of_randall_schriver.pdf http://project2049.net/documents/uigher_testimony_of_randall_schriver.pdf Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:11:00 EDT President and CEO Randall Schriver testifies before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight on the situation of Uighur detainees from Guantanamo Bay. http://project2049.net/documents/chinas_commercial_aviation_sector_looks_to_the_future.pdf http://project2049.net/documents/chinas_commercial_aviation_sector_looks_to_the_future.pdf Fri, 8 May 2009 17:02:00 EDT Gleaming with confidence in the wake of its success in space, China is emerging as a global commercial aviation player. Its ambitions in commercial aviation are one facet of a broader vision to develop a modern, world-class, and integrated national air and surface transportation system. http://project2049.net/documents/TaiwanSolar_PhotovoltaicCellFuture.pdf http://project2049.net/documents/TaiwanSolar_PhotovoltaicCellFuture.pdf Wed, 8 Apr 2009 10:15:00 EDT Taiwan’s photovoltaic (solar) industry is rapidly establishing itself as a major international player. Currently ranked fifth in global production, it has tremendous long-term growth prospects. The domestic legislature has proposed spending NT $30 billion (US $8.8 billion) over five years to support renewable energy research and development projects, especially the photovoltaic and LED industries. http://www.youtube.com/user/Project2049Institute http://www.youtube.com/user/Project2049Institute Thu, 2 Apr 2009 14:00:00 EDT The Project 2049 Institute presents an event commemorating the 30-year anniversary of the signing of the Taiwan Relations Act with a presentation on Capitol Hill involving two panels of experts who discuss the history and future prospects for this landmark legislation.