Gerald C Brown
@geraldcbrown.bsky.social
China, PLA, Taiwan, defense, & nukes | Liberal natsec-type | Opinions mine
I know it sucks, but Dems have got to be prepared to inherit a munitions-and-readiness hole that is going to be expensive to fill, but which will need to be filled. Hardly the only such hole, but it will be a big one.
Secretary of Defense Rock@sodrock.bsky.social · 12h agoWho knew ridiculously long deployments and demanding op tempos run a ship and crew into the ground!
One thing you can see in the latest Stancil blowup is that a sizable share of this website thinks that good intentions are the only thing that matter in policymaking, and expressing skepticism that a policy will really work as intended is equivalent to stealing food from the poor.
Must be nice to just do advocacy and recommend things that sound good and make ya feel warm and fuzzy, instead of doing the math and hard policy analysis required to come up with solutions that actually achieve real impacts...
Loving that my timeline is currently a bunch of folks debating the specific vulnerabilities that future PLARF conventional ICBMs can target. Wars-a-changing folks
Sam (ABeardedPanda)@abeardedpanda.bsky.social · 2w agoI honestly want to live through this because it's going to be really funny to see the reactions of everyone when LA and SF *don't* get hit because they're strategically irrelevant
@howardgwang.bsky.social and Nathan are top-notch China and PLA specialists, using actually interesting, useful, and relevant sourcing instead of the same old 20-year outdated stuff. This is the kind of analysis on the PLA actually worth reading.
War on the Rocks@warontherocks.bsky.social · 2w agoWhat does a Chinese war plan for Taipei look like when the goal isn't taking the city, it's making the city agree to stop fighting? warontherocks.com/total-war-on...
Look now, it's none of my landlord's damn business how many books I have
Anyways, always read what the PLA tells itself. For the non-Chinalysts, this 纲要 text is one of the most authoritative within the Chinese system.
John F Sullivan@johnfsullivan.bsky.social · 2w ago“China and the West in terms of social system and ideology are irreconcilable (不可调和的) We will not change our banner or alter our course, and they will not change their tune or alter their course either ... If political security cannot be guaranteed, China will inevitably ...
Why on earth is everyone talking about the Falklands. Also read a history book before asserting nonsense (not Mike), for the love of god.
Mike Black@mikeblack114.bsky.social · 3w ago"is it legal to sink a combatant vessel of a nation you are unambiguously in a state of hostilities with?" the greatest thread in the history of forums etc etc
"Unrestricted Warfare...has become a touchstone for understanding the Chinese Communist Party’s strategic doctrine" There's very little that annoys me more than that sentence, and between that & Sun Tzu quotes, few better indicators that something is not worth reading m100group.com/2024/05/29/d...
Decoding Asymmetric Doctrine: Revisiting “Unrestricted Warfare,” The Golden Section, and China’s Quest for Victory: DeMarco Banter
Unrestricted Warfare, an arguably influential book by Chinese Air Force Colonels Qiao Liang and Wang Xiangsui published in 1999, has become a touchstone for understanding the Chinese Communist Part…
m100group.com
You know, there's something that feels uniquely ironic about watching a movie about Napoleon that was shot in English
I guess China launching an SLBM into the drink is as good of a time as any to re-up this Spoiler, we do actually have information on China's nuclear thinking, it's just in Chinese (shocking I know). Though honestly, there's quite a bit more interesting stuff than when I wrote this originally...
The National Bureau of Asian Research@nbr.org · 4w agoChapter by Gerald C. Brown @geraldcbrown.bsky.social examines the future trajectory of China’s nuclear force as it shifts to a “world-class” nuclear force, including drivers, political objectives, employment, and capability developments. nbr.org/publication/...
Chapter by Gerald C. Brown @geraldcbrown.bsky.social examines the future trajectory of China’s nuclear force as it shifts to a “world-class” nuclear force, including drivers, political objectives, employment, and capability developments. nbr.org/publication/...
Absolutely wild what can be done via Claude Fable in an hour over a glass of whiskey.
I am proud to share my latest peer-reviewed work with Nathan Kar Ming Chan and John Mok, "Desperate Acts of Democracy: Identity Threat, Autocratization and Voter Turnout in Hong Kong" out now at @chinaquarterly.bsky.social. This piece is very special to us, and likely our last survey study in HK🧵
It's weird to be doing this "AHHHHHH UKRAINE IS ON THE VERGE OF COLLAPSE AHHHH WE NEED TO FORCE THEM TO SURRENDER RIGHT NOW" thing when Ukraine has had the most successful year in this conflict since 2022. The front is completely static and Russia's military/economy are under increasing strain.
Joe Stieb@joestieb.bsky.social · last mo.Quincy’s social media ppl are a genuine embarrassment who are setting the cause of restraint back.
The real casualty of the PACOM renaming open.spotify.com/track/7HjR4I...
INDO(PAY)COM
AV Boyz · INDO(PAY)COM · Song · 2026
open.spotify.com
Ok, but does the nuclear test vehicle on the National Mall know where it is? newsreleases.sandia.gov/aires-tide-a...
Aires Tide, a new concept for fast-tracked flight tests, to debut on National Mall
This summer, Washington, DC, will get to see firsthand how advanced technologies are accelerating national security engineering. A new concept flight test vehicle called Aires Tide will be on display ...
newsreleases.sandia.gov
Man, 'Why are they even bombing us?' is just an incredibly revealing thing to say, the sort of thing most people only say in the presence of Isaac Chotiner. There's a quote for this one...
Anton Gerashchenko@antongerashchenko.bsky.social · 2mo ago"Why are they even bombing us? Where is the air defense?" The day of rhetorical questions for Moscow residents.
Every time I log on here, I see some nonsensical, hyper-revisionist, crap like this thread and the associated discussion, mixed with just enough cherry-picked points to make it seem smart vs the self-serving nonsense it is. What a website.
I already thought the university I paid excessive tuition to reaching out and asking me to donate more was extra, but the US hospital I received treatment at reaching out and asking for extra donations is... just absolutely ludicrous within our healthcare system. Shits broken.
"Code Pink is now effectively funded by the chinese communist party" is one of those things that sounds like a frothy right conspiracy talking point, except it's 110% true
post malone ergo propter malone@proptermalone.bsky.social · 2mo agowe gotta keep the DSA kids away from certain strains of "lefty" "news" sources. this is important, there are two primary visions of future leftism in America, one is hopeful and will help people and the other one is literally a paid op for a consortium of some of the worst people in the world
This is just hilarious, albeit ridiculous that this is what it's taking to build homes sometimes in areas that desperately need them.
Max Dubler 🏳️🌈@maxdubler.com · 2mo agoThe Squamish people of what is now Vancouver were illegally dispossessed of their land 100 years ago. They sued, got the land back, and used their sovereignty to ignore local zoning and build 6,000 new homes over the loud objections of nearby wealthy NIMBYs. Now other tribes are getting in the game.
Memorial day always has me thinking. I have many dead friends, casualties of war in one way or another. Many who've spent time in this space do. Those who really try to get things done, the folks who are working late nights and are dedicated to the cause, do so because we understand the consequences
Honestly just blows my mind how ridiculously tunnel visioned and oblivious to anything non-nuke--including things with immense impact to them--the US nuclear community is across large swathes of the community.
