China’s PLA is about 20 years behind the US military, Defense minister general Liang Guanglie told the Shangri-la Dialogue last Monday, writes Wendell Minnick in Defense News. It was the first time ever a high-ranking delegation of the People’s Liberation Army joined the annual conference.Read More →

Image via Wikipedia China has conducted its first test flights with the Chengdu J-20 Black Eager stealth fighter; reports Wendell Minnick in Defense News. According to Chinese-language news reports, a twin-engine J-20 prototype flew for 18 minutes on Jan. 11 from the “Plant 132 aerodrome” in Chengdu in southwest China.Read More →

Taiwan via Wikipedia Director General Tsai De-sheng of the Taiwanese National Security Bureau said this week that the number of rockets  pointing at the island from China have risen to 1,400, but defense specialist Wendell Minnick is not convinced by the story, he tells Japanese media. Wendell Minnick, Asia bureau chiefRead More →

Image via Wikipedia China has become a new player in Africa and its defense industry is following that trend, notes Wendell Minnick in Defense News. China was competing with the once dominant Europeans at the September 2010 Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD 2010) tri-service exhibition near Cape Town, South Africa.Read More →