David Chen
David D. Chen is an analyst at CENTRA Technology, Inc., a consulting firm. The views expressed here are his own. He also serves on the editorial board of the internationally peer-reviewed journal Space Policy and as a manuscript reviewer for China Security. Mr. Chen holds a Masters from the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at the University of California, San Diego, and a Bachelors from Pomona College. A fluent Mandarin speaker, he has studied at Nanjing University, China, and in Taipei, Taiwan.
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Articles by David Chen
“Joint Sword” Exercises Around Taiwan Suggest a Shift in PLA Operational Doctrine
Introduction Early assessments of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) April exercises in the waters and airspace around Taiwan have focused on the diplomatic and political ramifications of yet another...
Learning from the First Phase of the Fourth Taiwan Strait Crisis
In April, I asserted that the lessons learned from Russia’s war in Ukraine might influence China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to “accelerate the timetable for a smaller scale conflict” in...
China Brief Analyst David Chen Interviewed by AP Concerning Russia and Ukraine
On April 20, China Brief analyst David Chen was interviewed as part of an AP article exploring what lessons China might be drawing from Russia's failures in Ukraine.
Lessons of Ukraine Raise Doubts about PLA Modernization
Introduction In late 2021, ships from China’s North Sea Fleet conducted “Maritime Joint-2021” (海上联合-2021, Haishang lianhe-2021) with the Russian Pacific fleet, which was a joint naval exercise focused on securing...
Examining the New Aircraft Carrier through the PLA’s Revolution in “Organizational” Affairs
With the commissioning of the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) first aircraft carrier, more clarity has been provided in terms of the organizational setup of any future PLA Navy (PLAN) carrier...
The PLA’s Evolving Joint Task Force Structure: Implications for the Aircraft Carrier
At this juncture in the development of China’s aircraft carrier force, the operational employment and integration of an aircraft carrier in a naval or joint task force remains very much...
2011 PLA Military Training: Toward Greater Interoperability
The 2011 directive on military training was just released by the General Staff Department (GSD) of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on January 14. The new guidance represents a...