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"This book examines the origins of the U.S. Navy's 2007 Maritime Strategy, the formation of the U.S. government's "Pivot to Asia" strategy, and the most recent revisions to this strategy that focus more specifically on China. Besides examining the details of this strategy formulation, the book explores the internal and external repercussions on the U.S. Navy of the Pivot to Asia. It discusses the "Fat Leonard" scandal, which involved bribery and corruption in contracts for the maintenance of the U.S. fleets in the region, and considers the sharp decrease in training and readiness of the Pacific fleet to support the pivot, which in turn led to a serious maritime collision. It also assesses the impact of the pivot on other countries in the region, engaging in the debate as to whether the pivot was necessary in order to convince the countries of the region that the United States had not lost its staying power, or whether the pivot managed to make tensions in the Asia-Pacific worse even while allowing the strategic situation in the Middle East and Europe to worsen as a result of neglect"--

In 21 short case studies, this short book examines the distinctive coincidental history of America, Britain, and various Asian countries during the twentieth century. It covers a wide range of historical events, from American expansion into the Pacific to the creation of the Soviet gulags in Siberia to the end of the Vietnam War. Its main goal is to show how watershed historical events can often become layered or overlap each other, sometimes by intent but often merely by happenstance. As Ian Fleming once famously opined about actions in war: 'Once is happenstance. Twice is a coincidence. Three times is enemy action'.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Maps and Graph -- List of Acronyms -- Introduction: Evaluating China's Maritime Strategy in the South China Sea -- 1. The Early History of the South China Sea Disputes -- 2. China's Maritime Territorial Disputes with Vietnam -- 3. China's Spratly-KIG Maritime Dispute with the Philippines -- 4. China's Continental Shelf Dispute with Malaysia -- 5. China's Energy Resources Dispute with Brunei -- 6. China's Natuna Island Fishing Dispute with Indonesia -- 7. China's Sovereignty Disputes with Taiwan -- 8. The United States as the South China Sea Maritime Arbiter -- Conclusions: China's Contemporary and Future Maritime Strategy in the SCS -- Appendix A: Timeline -- SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS -- Document 1: Sino-French Tonkin Treaty, 26 June 1887 -- Document 2: Cairo Declaration, 1 December 1943 -- Document 3: Potsdam Proclamation, 26 July 1945 -- Document 4: Treaty of Peace with Japan, 8 September 1951 -- Document 5: Treaty of Peace between the Republic of China and Japan, 28 April 1952 -- Document 6: U.S.-ROC Mutual Defense Treaty, 2 December 1954 (ratified 1955) -- Document 7: Formosa Resolution, 1955 -- Document 8: Declaration on China's Territorial Sea, 4 September 1958 -- Document 9: Prime Minister Pham Van Dong's Letter, 14 September 1958 -- Document 10: Shanghai Communiqué, 28 February 1972 -- Document 11: Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the People's Republic of China and the United States of America, 16 December 1978 -- Document 12: Taiwan Relations Act, 10 April 1979 -- Document 13: Joint Communiqué on the Question of Arms Sales to Taiwan, 17 August 1982 -- Document 14: Law on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, 25 February 1992 -- Document 15: 1992 ASEAN Declaration on the South China Sea, 22 July 1992 -- Document 16: United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, PART V, Exclusive Economic Zone, in force since 14 November 1994 -- Document 17: A concurrent resolution expressing the sense of Congress regarding missile tests and military exercises by the People's Republic of China, 21 March 1996 -- Document 18: Law on the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Continental Shelf of the PRC, 26 June 1998 -- Document 19: 2002 Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, 4 November 2002 -- Document 20: Anti-Secession Law adopted by NPC, 14 March 2005 -- Document 21: Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, 29 June 2010 -- Document 22: In the Matter of the South China Sea Arbitration, 12 July 2016 -- Selected Bibliography -- Index

"This book provides a comprehensive history of the modern Chinese navy from 1840 to the present. Beginning with a survey of naval developments in earlier imperial times, the book goes on to show how China has since the mid-nineteenth century four times built or rebuilt its navy: after the Opium Wars, a navy which was sunk or captured by the Japanese in the war of 1894-5; during the 1920s and 1930s, a navy again sunk or lost to Japan, in the war of 1937-45; in the 1950s, a navy built with Soviet help, which stagnated following the Sino-Soviet split in the early 1960s; and fourthly the present navy which absorbed its predecessor, but with the most modern sections dating from the 1990s - a navy which continues to grow and prosper. The book also shows how the underlying strategic imperative for the Chinese navy has been the defence of China's coasts and major rivers; how naval mutiny was a key factor in the overthrow of the Qing and the Nationalist regimes; and how successive Chinese governments, aware of the potent threat of naval mutiny, have restricted the growth, independence, and capabilities of the navy. Overall, the book provides-at a time when many people in the West view China and its navy as a threat-a rich, detailed, and realistic assessment of the true nature of the Chinese navy and the contemporary factors that affect its development"--

Following the Nationalist defeat on the mainland in 1949, Chiang Kai-shek and his followers retreated to Taiwan, forming the Republic of China (ROC). To many it seemed almost certain that the People's Republic of China (PRC) would attack and take Taiwan, perhaps as early as summer 1950. Control over a number of offshore islands, especially Quemoy (Jinmen) and Matsu (Mazu) became a deciding factor in whether the PRC could invade Taiwan or, conversely, the ROC could invade the mainland. Twice in the 1950s tensions peaked, during the first (1954-55) and second (1958) Taiwan Strait crises. During both these events the U.S. government intervened diplomatically and militarily. This work provides a short, but highly relevant, history of the Taiwan Strait, and its significance today. This small body of water--often compared to the English Channel--separates the PRC and Taiwan and has been the location for periodic military tensions, some threatening to end in war. During the 1950s, the two outbreaks appeared like they might result in a global war. During the evacuation of the Dachen Islands, for example, the U.S.Navy sent seven aircraft carriers and was authorized to nuke three Chinese coastal cities if the PLA tried to interfere. In the modern era, the Taiwan Strait separates democratic Taiwan from the authoritarian PRC. This study will discuss the origins of these conflicts, the military aspects of the confrontations, and, in particular, the complicated and largely secret diplomatic negotiations--including two previously unknown Eisenhower-Chiang secret agreements--going on behind the scenes between the U.S. government and the nationalist government in Taiwan. This book ends with a short discussion of the ongoing Covid crisis, and how the PRC might take advantage of this crisis to extend its political and, eventually, military control over Taiwan

Historical piracy and its impact -- Early attempts to fight piracy -- Piracy during the Taiping Rebellion and the Arrow War -- State-sponsored piracy in the Taiwan Straits -- The pirating of Vietnamese boat people -- Confronting maritime crime in Australian waters -- Twenty-first century high seas piracy off of Somalia -- Maritime crime and piracy in Southeast Asia and the South China Sea -- Piracy and maritime terrorism -- Successes and failures of counter-piracy operations -- Conclusions: international piracy in the era of global maritime domain awareness

China's recent economic reforms have opened its economy to the world. This policy, however, is not new: in the late nineteenth century, the United States put forward the Open Door Policy as a counter to European exclusive 'spheres of influence' in China. This book, based on extensive original archival research, examines and re-evaluates China's Open Door Policy. It considers the policy from its inception in 1899 right through to the post-1978 reforms. It relates these changes to the various shifts in China's international relations, discusses how decades of foreign invasion, civil war and revo.

"This book considers the negotiation and conduct of civilian prisoner exchanges between the United States and Japan during the Second World War. Using recently released archival documents, this book examines the details of the diplomatic negotiations, the actual mechanics underlying the two successful exchanges, the reasons for the termination of the exchange program, and its final outcome."--Jacket