Britain and the EU: At the Edge?

02/03/2013
2013-02-03 By Dr. Harald Malmgren We speculated months ago that the UK government would not be able to yield authority over the London financial market to the proposed new bank and financial market supervisory entity to be established in the ECB or in a Continental European city. The continuing search…

Commander’s Perspectives on the Pacific Challenges: Shaping an Effective 21st Century Force

02/01/2013
2013-02-01 by Robbin Laird At Second Line of Defense, we have conducted a number of interviews with Commander’s with special roles in the Pacific.  In this article, we want to bring together some of those insights into a more comprehensive look at the challenges as seen by the Commander’s who are…

China’s New Foreign-Policy Team

02/01/2013
2013-02-01 by Richard Weitz Although China’s foreign policy decision-making process remains highly centralized, over time the number of actors who influence these decisions has grown. The majority of China’s foreign policy decisions still lie in the hands of the CCP Politburo Standing Committee -- the most powerful decision-making body in…

Taiwan and Beijing: Part 2

01/30/2013
2013-01-30 By Richard Weitz In his inaugural address, Ma stated that there would be “no reunification, no independence, and no use of force.” During the campaign, Ma emphasized the need to revive the Taiwanese economy and advocated expanding social and economic ties with the Chinese mainland, including restoring direct communications, postal,…

The Challenge of Deterrence in the Second Nuclear Age: A Discussion with Paul Bracken

01/28/2013
2013-01-28 Recently, Second Line of Defense sat down with Professor Paul Bracken to discuss his new book entitled The Second Nuclear Age. https://sldinfo.com/paul-bracken-on-the-second-nuclear-age/ The book is an important statement of the challenge of deterrence in a proliferating nuclear world, one in which Americans see less value in nuclear weapons, but…

Taiwan and Beijing: Part I

01/27/2013
2013-01-27 by Richard Weitz The Taiwan situation will remain an insuperable obstacle to better Sino-American ties if the past is prologue. What are those conflicting objectives? Beijing insists on exercising control over Taiwan. The Taiwanese people insist on their right to exercise their political autonomy. And Washington insists on providing…

The National Computer Quality Supervising Center (NCTC): A Core Chinese Global Capability (Part 4)

01/19/2013
2013-01-19 by Dr. Xin Song, Leonard Zuga, and Professor Michael Pecht Specialized Test Services China Compulsory Product Certification All electrical equipment manufactured in China or imported to China must comply with the regulations for China Compulsory Product Certification, abbreviated as CCC or 3C, which were issued by AQSIQ in December 2001. The…