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As China escalates its assertive tactics in the South China Sea, the United States must take bolder action to support its regional allies and partners, starting with the Philippines. This article argues that the United States should begin directly escorting Philippine vessels within their exclusive economic zone, employing nonlethal measures like water cannons to counter Chinese harassment. This measured but resolute stance would send a clear deterrent signal to Beijing, build confidence with Manila and other Asian allies, and emulate the gray-zone tactics China itself uses. Additionally, the United States should encourage the Philippines' "assertive transparency" strategy to rally broader international condemnation of China's expansionist claims. While stopping short of overt military conflict, this multifaceted approach would demonstrate the United States' reliability as a regional security partner and put pressure on China to adhere to international norms. Concrete action to defend the Philippines' sovereignty is a critical first step in countering China's ambitions across the Indo-Pacific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mist cannon trucks have been widely applied in megacities in China to reduce the road dust, since they are considered to be more water saving and efficient than the traditional sprinkling trucks. However, their effect on the formation of water-soluble organic compounds and the pollution control of fine particles (PM 2.5) remains unknown. We characterized the variations of chemical compositions in PM 2.5 collected on the road sides during the simulated operations of mist cannon truck and traditional sprinkling truck via Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry and ion chromatography. The mass concentrations of water-soluble organic carbon in PM 2.5 showed a significant increase (62 %–70 %) after air spraying. Furthermore, we found that water-soluble organic compounds, particularly organic nitrates, increased significantly via the interactions of reactive gas-phase organics, atmospheric oxidants and aerosol liquid water after air spraying, although the air spraying had a better effect on suppressing road dust than the ground aspersion. Moreover, the formation of PM 2.5 on the road segment where the mist cannon truck passed by was promoted, with an increase of up to 13 % in mass concentration after 25–35 min, on average. Thus, the application of mist cannon trucks potentially worsens the road atmospheric environment through the increase in PM 2.5 levels and the production of a large number of water-soluble organic compounds in PM 2.5. The overall results provide not only valuable insights to the formation processes of water-soluble organic compounds associated with aerosol liquid water in the road environment but also management strategies to regulate the operation of mist cannon trucks in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the career trajectory of Ding Gongchen (1800–1875), a Muslim maritime merchant and amateur military technologist from Fujian, to shed light on the changing social landscape of military technological learning in China from the first decades of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the Self-Strengthening Movement in the 1860s. The gradual loosening of state control on military knowledge in the early nineteenth century facilitated the rise of a transprovincial literati network centered on cannon technology during the Opium War (1839–42). An active member of this network, Ding Gongchen participated in local militia training, engaged in textual research and hands-on experimentation with cannons, and established connections with Manchu and Han officials and nonofficeholding literati and gentry. Tracing the production and circulation of Ding's cannon manuals shows how Ding leveraged his maritime experiential knowledge and native-place ties to establish his authority as a cannon expert, which led to his remarkable rise in midcentury officialdom and statecraft circles. However, Ding's involvement in the Self-Strengthening military industrialization of the 1860s was limited and short-lived. The latter stages of Ding's career illustrate how the Opium-War network of cannon technology, which drew on an earlier tradition of military statecraft traceable to the Ming, became rapidly marginalized by an industrializing scheme that privileged the direct importation of foreign machines and expertise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the importance of European-style artillery, also called "red-barbarian cannon" by the people of the time, to the Ming-Qing transition (1618-1683) is generally recognized, much less is known about the actual performance of the weapon on the battlefield. Such a dearth of knowledge hinders historians from evaluating the extent of its impact on the Manchu conquest of China. Hoping to fill this gap, this article examines the actual performance of red-barbarian cannon through reconstructing the siege of Jiangyin (1645). Close examination of this episode reveals that, although the Qing army possessed abundant European-style artillery, the absence of appropriate and effective artillery siege tactics greatly constrained the effectiveness of these weapons in siege warfare. Hence, the importance of artillery in the early stage of the Ming-Qing transition (1618-1645) is likely to have been minimal. However, the siege of Jiangyin witnessed a reform of siege tactics in the Qing artillery corps. These newly devised siege tactics enabled the Qing army to capture the city with efficiency by fully utilizing the red-barbarian cannon. The reform greatly enhanced the siege ability of the Qing forces and paved the way for the Qing conquest of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the end of the Cold War, China is believed to have doubled the size of its nuclear arsenal, while the other nuclear powers under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) have cut their forces in half. Many analysts explain China's buildup as a direct response to US missile defense. This article takes a broader view, looking at the threat China perceives from the United States as well as from other nuclear players under the penumbra of US hegemony. A state-by-state analysis provides a multidimensional look at China's nuclear security environment, allowing deeper insight into the motivations behind China's modernization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the idea of weather modification in China. With the Beijing Olympic Games in August 2008, Chinese meteorologists will use weather-modification technologies to try to stop from spoiling the event. China spends between 400 million yuan and 700 million yuan each year on weather modification. It employs 32,000 people to operate 35 specially equipped planes, 7,000 anti-aircraft cannons and 5,000 rocket launchers. Data from the China Meteorological Administration show that the country created 250 billion tones of rain between 1999 and 2006.