Author: Liu Xiaobo

Captain Liu Xiaobo (Ret.) is an associate research fellow and director of the World Navy Research Center, National Institute for South China Sea Studies (NISCSS), in Haikou, China. His research focuses on national maritime security policy, sea power, and the Law of the Sea. Prior to joining the NISCSS, Capt. Liu served in the Chinese navy for 25 years, working as a navigation officer aboard the PLAN destroyer Harbin and later as a research associate in the Naval Research Institute.

Sino-U.S. Naval Warfare Capabilities amid Great Power Competition

By Liu Xiaobo | May 26, 2020 | Categories: AMTI Update

April 23 marked the 71st anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). As U.S.-China frictions continue and great power competition becomes the central focus of U.S. defense strategy, the question of just how far the PLAN has come in its development has become critical. Does the PLAN currently pose a threat […]

Great Power Competition and China-U.S. Military Relations

By Liu Xiaobo | March 18, 2020 | Categories: AMTI Update

While China and the United States’ significant nuclear forces makes it hard to imagine a future war between them, the possibility of localized military conflicts over the East China Sea, Taiwan, or the South China Sea cannot be ruled out. With the Trump administration’s release of the National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy, and Indo-Pacific […]

How China Can Resolve the FONOP Deadlock in the South China Sea

By Liu Xiaobo | March 1, 2019 | Categories: AMTI Update

Rather than centering on irreconcilable claims of ownership that run against China’s core interests of national unity, territorial integrity and development, the dispute over FONOPs is instead one of how the sea should be utilized, and how it should be governed.