Covers the period between November 20 - 26, 2023
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U.S. Government Updates
Light activity week due to holiday
China and US to hold summit on methane, non-CO2 greenhouse gases
The summit will be held at the upcoming 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop28) that will take place in Dubai from November 30 to December 2. A few weeks ago both sides released the Sunnylands Statement on Enhancing Cooperation to Address the Climate Crisis where they vowed to include methane in their respective 2035 emission-cutting plans, a first for China.1
Members of the House Select Committee on the CCP sends letter to Congressional leadership
Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and six other members composed a letter Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and six other members noting that deterring the threat of the CCP must go further than the Biden administration’s request and include more resources for Foreign Military Financing for Taiwan, funding for U.S. Indo Pacific Command, investments in critical munitions lines, and expanded use of Presidential Drawdown Authority for Taiwan.2
Department of Defense Updates
U.S. spy drones relocated to Okinawa despite local objection
The U.S. military in Japan relocated its MQ-9 reconnaissance drone operations unit to Okinawa despite local objection after its temporary deployment in the southwestern Kyushu region, according to the Japanese government, as part of moves to strengthen surveillance of Chinese activities in nearby waters.3
Navy launches its third annual initiative aimed at recruiting submarine base workforce
A Navy statement announced the need for 100,000 new skilled trade workers into the submarine base over the 10 next years. Shortages could impede the service’s Virginia and Columbia-class submarine programs, in addition to the new joint AUKUS security pact for building new submarines.4 Separately, the WSJ published an article this week on modern Chinese submarines presenting new challenges to the US.5
The US and the Philippines conduct joint air, sea patrols; US Marines advance EAB concepts in Philippines; USS Hopper conducts FONOP
The US-PH joint patrols took place in the northernmost Philippine province of Batanes from Nov 21st through the 23rd.6 The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. stated the patrols where shadowed by a Chinese vessel for an undisclosed amount of time.7
A Maritime Sensing Team with Marine Rotational-Force-Southeast Asia (MRF-SEA MST) completed a maritime domain awareness exercises at Lebanon Beach, PH. They established remote sensing sites to provide an awareness picture and tested novel equipment. One piece of deployed equipment was the SIMRAD radar that can detect ship movements that was accompanied by a small uav for visual data.8
Meanwhile the US naval destroyer USS Hopper conducted a freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) near the Paracel Islands.9 The Chinese PLA Southern Theater Command posted on Weibo that naval and air forces tracked and warned away the US destroyer that had "illegally entered territorial waters". 10
Newly Released Reports
The Chinese Communist Party’s Theory of Hybrid Warfare Institute for the Study of War
The United States and China—Designing a Shared Future RAND Corp