- (Huffington Post 16/8) Aircraft Carrier? What Aircraft Carrier? Oh, That Aircraft Carrier! 

- (Zanesville Times Recorder 17/8) Asia watches warily as China launches its first aircraft carrier: Amid regional tensions, China's first aircraft carrier embarked on its inaugural sea trial Aug. 10. According to the Chinese media, the 67,500-ton ex-Soviet aircraft carrier, Varyag, will be named Shi Lang after the commander-in-chief of the Qing Dynasty fleets who had extensive experience in South China Sea and conquered Taiwan in 1681.

- (L&T 17/8) China’s Growing Power Creating Tension: Less than a week after China launched its first aircraft carrier, the U.S. showed off its own supercarrier to former enemy, Vietnam — one of several smaller Asian nations with jittery nerves amid Beijing's burgeoning maritime ambitions.

- (Asia Times Online 18/8) China’s shift in posture as the West wanes: China is flabbergasted by the inability of the United States and Europe to take tough political decisions over their economies, especially since the current malaise has a huge bearing on its own regional strategic decisions. 

- (INN 18/8) S. Korea developing anti-ship missiles: report: The South Korean military is developing anti-ship cruise missiles, a news report said Wednesday, after sea trials of China’s first aircraft carrier sparked regional security concerns.Development of the supersonic missiles is expected to be complete in three or four years, Seoul’s Chosun Ilbo daily said.

- (Bloomberg 17/8) Aquino Plays Down Spratlys Tension as China Trade Mission Nears: Philippine President Benigno Aquino said China has too much at stake to let territorial disputes between the two countries boil over into conflict, as he prepares to lead a 200-strong trade mission to Beijing.

- (Sydney Morning Herald 17/8) US finds unwilling partner in China to avert potential crisis in region: “‘We have tried to make clear to China how important it is to put in place the institutions and policies to manage any incidents,’ said Kurt Campbell, the US State Department’s senior official responsible for policy in Asia.”

- (Voice of America 16/8) Economy, Taiwan on Agenda as Biden Heads to China: U.S. Vice President Joe Biden leaves Washington Tuesday for China, where he is expected to offer assurances about the U.S. economy and try to build a relationship with the next generation of Chinese leaders.

- (Asia Times 17/8) Oil-deals backdrop to Aquino-Hu summit: Oil exploration and future production contracts in the west Philippine sea, the maritime area Manila claims in the contested South China Sea, will be a hot issue when President Benigno Aquino makes his first official visit to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing this month; China losing Asian popularity contest: “Though China purses a ‘good neighbor policy’ in Asia, it faces increasing criticism from regional officials, media and populations. It seems the time is ripe for Beijing to review and improve its Asia strategy.” 

- (Minda News 16/8) Philippines, China upgrade bilateral trading agreement: Government economic managers of the Philippines and China held a top-level meeting recently to further spur bilateral trade between the two nations.

- (Manila Standard Today 17/8) Aquino sets China visit: “You don’t go to China to ask them to define what the Philippine rights are as the West Philippine Sea is concerned. You have to go to a body where everybody is practically a signatory to, and that is the UN, in particular the UN International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea,” the President said.”

- (MSN News 16/8) China to deploy first aircraft carrier in South China Sea: “The vessel will operate under direct command of the country”s Central Military Commission, headed by President Hu Jintao”.

- (Asia Times 17/8) Big boat, little punch in South China Sea:

- (MENAFN 14/8) Manila, Beijing to expand bilateral ties

- (Asia Times Online 16/8) When Hu’s carrier met Ma’s missile . “Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou’s apparent naval strategy – that swarms of small, stealthy, missile-armed craft could give a PLA Navy coming across the Taiwan Strait a major headache – has earned some praise from renowned international strategists.”

- (Korea Times 15/8) China’s smart diplomacy: China’s new and first aircraft carrier isn’t fully operational yet. But whatever its ultimate naval potency, we know that it does at least float! It’s currently in a mainland dock for further dressing up and hosting of crew training before setting sail. 

- (Foreign Policy 15/8) The South China Sea Is the Future of Conflict: “World War II was a moral struggle against fascism, the ideology responsible for the murder of tens of millions of noncombatants. The Cold War was a moral struggle against communism, an equally oppressive ideology by which the vast territories captured by the Red Army were ruled.”

- (WSJ 15/8) A Cold War Missile Treaty That’s Doing Us Harm: The U.S.-Soviet INF pact doesn't address the Iranian threat.

- (AEI 15/8) Build, Hold, and Clear: An American Strategy for Asia: “By promoting a more prosperous and more stable Indo-Pacific region, not just we, but our allies and partners, will benefit, and China, too, eventually may decide to play a more constructive role in upholding a system from which it has benefited as much as any other nation.”

- (Huffington Post 15/8) The Mao Doctrine: “The famous policy articulated by Monroe in 1823 declared that any effort to subjugate any republic in the Western Hemisphere by any outsiders would be interpreted as a hostile act toward the U.S., and responded to in kind. The Monroe Doctrine sought to keep foreign powers out of the waters surrounding America; the “Mao Doctrine” seems designed to deny U.S. naval access to Asian waters. The danger, of course, is that if Chinese aggression sparks any conflict with U.S. allies, the U.S. will be forced to respond.”

- (VOA English 15/8) Diplomat Sees US Focus Shifting from Mideast to Asia-Pacific: A leading U.S. diplomat says America must refocus from vexing near-term challenges in the Middle East to longer-term concerns in the Asia-Pacific region.

- (The Australian 15/8) US keeps an eagle eye on Asia: WASHINGTON'S foreign policy needs to pivot away from the Middle East and towards the Asia-Pacific, says US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell.

- (Washington Post 14/8) US shows off supercarrier to former foe Vietnam after China’s aircraft carrier takes test run: Less than a week after China launched its first aircraft carrier, the U.S. showed off its own big-boy supercarrier to former enemy Vietnam — one of several smaller Asian nations with jittery nerves amid Beijing’s burgeoning maritime ambitions.

- (Inquirer 14/8) Vietnamese officials visit US aircraft carrier: A delegation of Vietnamese military and government officials was treated to a tour aboard the sprawling USS George Washington nuclear carrier this weekend off the country’s southern coast.

- (Sunday Times 14/8) China launches second aircraft carrier after a £9.6m refit… as a luxury hotel.