Asia Pacific

Strategic Minerals: Is China's Consumption a Threat to United States Security? Mr Brent C Bankus, Dr Kent H Butts, LT Adam Norris Issue Paper by the US Army War College, Center for Strategic Leadership "The vitality of a powerful nation depends upon its ability to secure access to the strategic resources necessary to sustain its economy and produce effective weapons for defense. This is especially true for the world’s two largest economies, those of the United States and China, which are similarly import dependent for around half of their petroleum imports and large quantities of their strategic minerals. Because China’s economy and resource import dependence continue to grow at a high rate it has adopted a geopolitical strategy to secure strategic resources. China’s resulting role in the mineral trade has increased Western security community concern over strategic minerals to its highest point since the end of the Cold War. "

Peace & Stability Journal, Volume 1, Issue 4 Mister Robert C Browne Peace and Stability Journal by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute "Since the end of the Cold War, individual states and the international community have been challenged by an increasing instability resulting from numerous causes: natural disasters, internal conflicts, transnational terrorism and crime, and chronic and seemingly overwhelming societal problems. While not new in human history, the globalized environment of the 21st century make these issues more complex and interrelated. Broad access to information and global mobility informs populations of issues, internationalizes relative social progress, and empowers non-state actors. Informed populations demand more of their governments at home and abroad. Members of the greater international community respond to the plight of troubled states and their populations in various ways."

Understanding the North Korea Problem: Why It Has Become the "Land of Lousy Options" COL William A Boik Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "This monograph is intended to draw attention to the challenges faced by the United States in developing a coordinated strategy for dealing with North Korea. Despite the many decades of direct U.S. involvement on the Korean Peninsula, we continue to have little understanding of the North Korean culture or of events inside North Korea. We also do not have a long-term coordinated strategy for North Korea. Over the past decade, the United States has focused much of its attention on the Middle East and the War on Terror, and seems to only focus on North Korea in response to crises when they arise on the peninsula. "

Other People's Wars: PLA Lessons from Foreign Conflicts Mr Daniel Alderman, Mr Joe Narus, The National Bureau of Asian Research Colloquium Brief by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute, The National Bureau of Asian Research "The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has not fought in a major war since 1979, but has studied the lessons of modern foreign conflicts from throughout the world. In some cases, those lessons have resulted in observable changes to the PLA’s strategic, tactical, or operational posture."

India in Africa: Implications of an Emerging Power for AFRICOM and U.S. Strategy Dr J Peter Pham Monograph by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM)—whose mission, “in concert with other U.S. government agencies and international partners,” is to conduct “sustained security engagement through military-to-military programs, military-sponsored activities, and other military operations as directed to promote a stable and secure African environment”—is not alone in recognizing the strategic importance of Africa. This continent, in fact, has increasingly attracted significant attention from the major powers. While the extensive network of economic, political, and military ties that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has constructed across Africa in recent years, is relatively well known, India’s own rapidly expanding network of connections to the continent have gone largely unexamined."

A Continuation of Politics by Other Means: The "Politics" of a Peacekeeping Mission in Cambodia (1992-93) Boraden Nhem PKSOI Paper by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute, Strategic Studies Insitute "Since the establishment of the United Nations (UN) in 1945, 63 peacekeeping missions have been authorized by UN mandate. Some fell directly under the UN, and others were conducted under UN authorization by lead nations. The mandates have been justified under UN Charter VI, “Pacific Settlement of Disputes,” and Chapter VII, “Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression.”1 Regardless of intent, the UN record in peacekeeping is one of mixed success."

Transitions: Issues, Challenges and Solutions in International Assistance Doctor Harry R Yarger Reports and Misc. Publications by the US Army War College, Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute "In this text, papers prepared for the Transitions: Issues, Challenges and Solutions Conference,” conducted at Carlisle Barracks in November 2010, examine transitions from theoretical and practical perspectives. In sharing their research and experience, the authors collectively cultivate in the reader a necessary strategic perspective; one that is holistic and systemic in outlook. However, each essay focuses on some specific aspect of transitions and develops it in some detail. Readers will find each essay and its argument stands on its own merit, offering an independent assessment and making a valuable and enduring contribution to the body of knowledge on transitions and state-building."

The Coming of Chinese Hawks Dr David Lai Op-ed by the US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "A new feature in U.S.-China relations is taking shape these days—it is the Chinese hawkish take on controversial issues between the two nations. The most recent Chinese objections stem from U.S. joint military exercises with South Korea and Vietnam in the East and South China Seas. The joint U.S.-South Korea military exercise was unmistakably intended to put North Korea on notice for its putative sinking of a South Korean warship in March 2010; the U.S.-Vietnam joint naval exercise was to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the normalization of relationships between the two countries. However, the Chinese interpreted both military exercises as a U.S. show of force directed toward China."

Chinese Energy Security: The Myth of the PLAN's Frontline Status Dr Ryan Clarke Letort Paper by US Army War College, Strategic Studies Institute "The continued impressive growth and development of China, while always of critical strategic importance, has surged in recent years to the forefront of the consciousness of American policymakers, scholars, and the news media, as well as the general public. This trend has been accelerated by the staying power that China demonstrated following its relatively graceful weathering of the global financial crisis, in the process defying a wide range of doomsday prophecies of massive organized riots by newly unemployed rural factory workers and various other classes of people angry with Beijing over economic slowdown or stagnation. "