Miles Yu
Columns by Miles Yu
Inside China: U.S.-Taiwan weapons deal near
The United States is set to sell 30 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters to Taiwan this year, along with 60 Blackhawk helicopters next year and additional Patriot PAC-3 anti-missile systems in 2015, according to Sen. James M. Inhofe, who led a congressional delegation to Taiwan last week and met with key leaders including President Ma Ying-jeou and the speaker of the Legislative Assembly, Wang Jin-pyng. Published January 16, 2013
Inside China: China fortifies islands
The Chinese government has appropriated $1.6 billion to fortify islands in the South China Sea currently claimed by other nations, notably the Philippines. The fortification plan includes construction of airports, piers and other facilities that could have both civilian and military uses. Published January 9, 2013
Inside China: Drinking banned to ‘save’ military
One of the first orders issued by China's new supreme leader, Xi Jinping, was a ban on alcohol use in the People's Liberation Army. Published January 2, 2013
Inside China: PRC paper calls Philippines a ‘clown’
The People's Daily, the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, on Dec. 13 published an editorial that lambasted the Philippines with words that can be described as anything but diplomatic and cordial. Published December 19, 2012
Inside China: What’s in a fighter jet crash?
A Chinese-made J-7 fighter-interceptor jet crashed into a civilian residential area earlier this month, injuring four people on the ground. Published December 12, 2012
Inside China: Defense of Japan
The Senate last week unanimously passed an amendment to the 2013 Defense Authorization Bill that commits the United States to defend Japan should the Senkaku Islands come under attack by a third country -- a reference to China. Published December 5, 2012
Inside China: Five pilots in carrier ops
China's military has used two J-15 stealth fighter jets for its first publicized aircraft carrier landing-and-takeoff operation. Published November 28, 2012
Inside China: China to revamp pilot training
The Chinese People's Liberation Army air force is feeling the heat from higher command for failing to produce enough qualified pilots and for spending too much on pilot training. Published November 21, 2012
Inside China: Carrier set for drills
China's one and only aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, set sail again recently to test a routine but important maneuver: aircraft takeoff from its deck and a completely stopped landing back on deck. Published November 14, 2012
Inside China: J-31 stealth jet takes to the skies
The 10-minute maiden test flight of China's newest stealth fighter jet, the J-31, sparked intense debate among the world's weapons and intelligence communities. That's because little is known about the aircraft, which China boasts is the only other fifth-generation stealth light combat aircraft in the world after the U.S. Air Force F-35. Published November 7, 2012
Inside China: Major China military shift
As the world's most populous communist state anticipates a once-in-a-decade power transfer, a major leadership reshuffle in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) took place quietly last week. Published October 31, 2012
Inside China: Media hits visit to Japan
The official Chinese Communist Party newspaper Global Times and other state-controlled media outlets fired broadsides this week at Chinese tourists who traveled to Japan, ignoring the current national xenophobia calling for a boycott of all things Japanese. Published October 24, 2012
Inside China: Mr. ‘Don’t Speak’ speaks
China's freshly minted Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, whose name, Mo Yan, literally means "Don't Speak" in Chinese, in recent days spoke at ease on a wide range of issues, some of them highly sensitive — and thus controversial — in the current Chinese political environment. Published October 17, 2012
Inside China: Buying ASEAN hospitality
At the first Expanded ASEAN Maritime Forum held in Manila Oct. 3 to 4, China became the focus of all discussions for its aggressive and sweeping maritime disputes with four nations in the regional alliance -- Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Published October 10, 2012
Inside China: Bo Xilai verdict avoids the obvious
The credibility of China's official verdict on disgraced communist leader Bo Xilai is under serious challenge by China's many neo-Maoists. Published October 3, 2012
Inside China: Big stick for Japan, soft talk for Asean
Apparently, timing is everything. Just a few weeks ago, China was excoriating one or more members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on a daily basis for challenging Beijing's sweeping territorial claims in the South China Sea. Published September 26, 2012
Inside China: Generals urge get-tough policy on Japan
China's state media gave prominent space last week to the People's Liberation Army's most outspoken hawks, who urged Beijing to adopt a unanimous policy of getting tough with Japan. The 10 generals agreed that an immediate war with Japan might not be beneficial for China. But they argued that China should take all measures necessary, including military action, to gain administrative control of the Diaoyudao, known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan. Published September 19, 2012
Inside China: Where’s Xi?
Xi Jinping, who is expected to succeed Chinese leader Hu Jintao and take charge of the communist state for the next 10 years, went into hiding last week, instantly shifting China's rumor mills into high gear. Published September 12, 2012
Inside China: Indian Ocean fortress
In recent years, China has invested heavily in building up military facilities and naval ports in the small but strategically located Indian Ocean state of Sri Lanka. Published September 5, 2012
Inside China: Missile defense conspiracy?
Rear Adm. Yin Zhuo, a leading Chinese navy official, told his nation Aug. 24 that plans to boost U.S. missile defenses in Asia are a strategic conspiracy to trick other nations in the region into investing vast resources to develop nuclear and ballistic weapons. Published August 29, 2012
