In order to begin to understand the motivations and decisions of China's leadership, and in order to behave in a manner such that we can influence them, we must try to understand the world as China does. This research is an attempt to do so by examining the writings and opinions of China's scholars, journalists, and leaders-its influential elite. It will show that China has a comprehensive concept of national security that includes not only defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity, but continuing its economic and social development and maintaining its international stature. There are two main types of threats to China's national security: traditional and nontraditional. Traditional threats can be characterized loosely as threats to a nation emanating from other nations and involving a military component. While the most talkedabout threat to China's territory is a declaration of independence by Taiwan, the influential elite actually find this possibility unlikely. The focus is therefore on the few countries considered both capable of and willing to endanger all three of China's components of national security: sovereignty, economic development, and international stature. The United States, Japan, and India have significant ideological, historical, or territorial disagreements with China and possess the military, economic, and/or international diplomatic means to go to battle over such differences. While China's influential elite are concerned about a direct military confrontation with the United States, Japan, and India, they are far more concerned about the possibility of containment efforts by any-or all-of these countries. The threat of containment, however, is less of a military threat and more of a diplomatic, political, and economic one. The influential elite also express concern over the fluctuating, unpredictable, and seemingly unstable nature of the democratic process in all of these countries. Even more troublesome to China's security environment are nontraditional threats. While military deterrence and diplomatic skill have managed traditional threats successfully to date, they are insufficient for overcoming nontraditional threats. Such threats, while never precisely defined by the influential elite, are considered to transcend national boundaries, go beyond the military sphere, are unpredictable and/ or unexpected, have both internal and external elements and ramifications, and are frequently interwoven with traditional security threats. There is an array of nontraditional threats facing China: bird flu, terrorism, proliferation, drug trafficking, AIDS, and piracy, to name a few. The focus of this monograph is on three nontraditional threats: economic and social disparities within China, environmental degradation, and energy insecurity.

While "knowing your enemy" has long been a Chinese stratagem, cultural intelligence only recently has gained precedence in American military strategy. Our efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the war on terror remind us of how differently much of the rest of the world thinks and perceives. This monograph is an effort to better understand Chinese thinking. Ms. Susan Craig's research into Chinese threat perceptions is important for several reasons. Above all, it provides valuable insight into the comprehensiveness of the Chinese concept of national security and how China perceives itself, the world, and China's place within it. Further, the author's deliberate effort to maintain a Chinese perspective by relying solely on Chinese sources-namely, scholarly journals, the news media, official policy pronouncements, and personal interviews-demonstrates that Chinese intentions and motivations are not a secret.

With the end of the Cold War, threats to national security have become increasingly non-military in nature. Issues such as climate change, resource scarcity, infectious diseases, natural disasters, irregular migration, drug trafficking, information security and transnational crime have come to the forefront. This book provides a comprehensive introduction to Non-Traditional Security concepts. It does so by: Covering contemporary security issues in depth Bringing together chapters written by experts in each area Guiding you towards additional material for your essays and exams through further reading lists Giving detailed explanations of key concepts Testing your understanding through end-of-chapter questions Edited by a leading figure in the field, this is an authoritative guide to the key concepts that you′ll encounter throughout your non-traditional, and environmental, security studies courses.

While there is abundant literature discussing non-traditional security issues, there is little mention of such issues existing in the South China Sea. This area is vulnerable to natural hazards and marine environmental degradation. The marine ecosystem is threatened by various adverse sources including land-based pollution, busy shipping lanes, and over-exploitation activities which threaten the security of the surrounding population. This area is also threatened by piracy and maritime crimes but law enforcement becomes difficult due to unclear maritime boundaries. This volume is designed to explore the security cooperation and regional approaches to these non-traditional security issues in the hope to build a peaceful environment and maintain international and regional security and order in the South China Sea region.

Asia is challenged by a number of non-traditional security issues including the foodenergywater nexus, climate change, transnational crime, terrorism, disaster relief and economic performance. This volume categorizes and clarifies some key emerging issues in the area and looks at their interconnectedness and implications.The essays explore how non-traditional issues can manifest as security challenges, and the role of the state and military in dealing with these. Issue-based and area-specific, they rely on facts and interpretation of data, avoiding alarmist predictions. A nuanced and analytical approach into an uncharted area, this book will be essential for policymakers, researchers and students of security and strategic studies, foreign policy, sociology and political economy, as well as the general readers.

One of Chinese president Xi Jinping's signature foreign policy programs is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a web of infrastructure development plans designed to increase Eurasian economic integration. Chinese official rhetoric on the BRI focuses on its economic promise and progress, often in altruistic terms: all countries have been invited to board this "express train" to wealth and prosperity. Missing from the rhetoric is much discussion of the initiative's security dimensions and implications. Chinese officials avoid describing the strategic benefits they think the BRI could produce, while also gliding over major security risks and concerns. Yet at the unofficial level, China's security community has paid close attention to these issues, probing in great depth the gains Beijing can expect, the challenges it will face, and the new demands it will have to satisfy. Understanding those Chinese assessments is helpful as the United States considers how, when, and in what capacity to engage the BRI.

To explore what extended competition between the United States and China might entail out to 2050, the authors of this report identified and characterized China’s grand strategy, analyzed its component national strategies (diplomacy, economics, science and technology, and military affairs), and assessed how successful China might be at implementing these over the next three decades.