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3 weeks ago | 
cnas.org | Ed McGrady |Samuel Bendett |Tom Shugart |Josh Wallin
In the 1990s, following the Soviet Union’s collapse, few in Washington were thinking about China as a potential future threat. During this “unipolar moment,” the conventional wisdom held that China would become a responsible stakeholder of the global community once it had become a fully integrated member. Inside the Pentagon, however, a group of analysts charged with assessing the strategic environment saw things differently.
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Nov 6, 2024 | 
cnas.org | Tom Shugart |Ryan Chan
Satellite imagery appears to have captured the activation of a possible damage control system at an underground submarine base for Chinese nuclear-powered submarines operating from the contested South China Sea. A photograph supplied to Newsweek by Virgnia-based BlackSky, a real-time, space-based intelligence company, showed the unusual activity occurring at Longpo Naval Base on the afternoon of September 2, at a tunnel entrance on the island of Hainan, China's southernmost province.
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Oct 31, 2024 | 
cnas.org | Tom Shugart |Ellen Nakashima |Laris Karklis
Hainan, a palm-fringed island known as China’s Hawaii, sits in the warm tropical waters of the South China Sea east of Vietnam. It’s a popular tourist destination with soft-sand beaches, quaint mountain villages and fancy seaside resorts. ... In the past decade, this island roughly the size of Taiwan has become home to China’s most concentrated buildup of modern military power and the launching point for its aggressive forays into the contested waters of the South China Sea. Welcome to Hainan. ...
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Oct 25, 2024 | 
cnas.org | Tom Shugart
The latest satellite imagery has revealed a new airstrip taking shape on Barque Canada reef, an artificial island developed by Vietnam in the disputed Spratly archipelago in the South China Sea. Images provided by Earth imaging company Planet Labs and analyzed by Radio Free Asia show a partial runway of about 1,050 meters (3,445 feet) in length in the middle of the reef.
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Oct 23, 2024 | 
cnas.org | Tom Shugart |Ryan Chan
The USS Washington, a conventionally armed 7,900-ton Virginia-class fast-attack submarine, was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for "outstanding performance in action while conducting operations within U.S. Sixth Fleet" during its recent six-month deployment.
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Oct 3, 2024 | 
cnas.org | Tom Shugart |Chris Panella
The differences between Iran's attack and a potential Chinese missile strike are probably best understood in terms of scale, sophistication, and intent. A Chinese missile strike "could be a much larger scale with much more sophisticated sequencing and capabilities across a much larger area and potentially with far less warning," said Thomas Shugart, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security think tank who's also a former US naval officer. ... And then there's targeting.
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Sep 27, 2024 | 
cnas.org | Tom Shugart |Franz-Stefan Gady |Franz-stefan Gady |Stacie L. Pettyjohn
GWEO could become a missed opportunity for Australia and the United States to deepen their partnership and deter aggression. Both countries need to rapidly acquire more maritime strike and air defence missiles to strengthen deterrence in the Indo-Pacific. Partnering on GWEO will serve this objective, improve interoperability and create opportunities for deeper logistics and sustainment cooperation.
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Aug 6, 2024 | 
cnas.org | Franz-Stefan Gady |Franz-stefan Gady |Becca Wasser |Tom Shugart
This article was originally published in War on the Rocks. Since 1979, it has been the policy of the United States, as codified in the Taiwan Relations Act, to maintain the capacity to resist the use of force or other forms of coercion by China against Taiwan. Until recently it could be taken for granted that the United States was able to directly thwart a Chinese attack on Taiwan.
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Jul 26, 2024 | 
cnas.org | Tom Shugart
A new dry dock that could be used to service Chinese submarines has been added to Ream naval base in southern Cambodia, a U.S. military analyst said. The construction of a new dry dock and a wharf at the south of the base appeared to be almost completed, Thomas Shugart, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security think tank, told Radio Free Asia.
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May 21, 2024 | 
cnas.org | Tom Shugart
Cambodia’s defense ministry has praised joint activities with China for enhancing its military’s capabilities as well as its combat skills. The Golden Dragon 2024 exercise is taking place in Kampong Chhnang and Sihanoukville provinces. The large number of Chinese vessels this time was not “a game changer but a sign of ever-closer China-Cambodia cooperation given China’s new base there,” said Tom Shugart, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security in Washington.
