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Murky Waters: Navigating the Risks of China’s Dual-Use Shipyards

China’s booming dual-use shipyards are accelerating its rapid naval buildup. This Hidden Reach investigation demystifies China’s murky shipbuilding ecosystem and explores the role foreign firms play in supporting it.

Digital Report by Matthew P. Funaiole, Brian Hart, and Aidan Powers-Riggs — March 25, 2025

Crossroads of Commerce: How the Taiwan Strait Propels the Global Economy

This report provides an unprecedented look at the Taiwan Strait’s role in global trade, revealing that over one-fifth of all maritime commerce passes through this vital waterway. China possesses a range of non-kinetic options it may employ to coerce Taiwan, which could significantly disrupt this trade.
 

Digital Report by Matthew P. Funaiole, Brian Hart, David Peng, Bonny Lin, and Jasper Verschuur — October 10, 2024

How China Could Blockade Taiwan

China has options other than invasion to try to force Taiwan’s unification, one of which is a blockade. This report explores the potential motivations and strategic calculus for a blockade and maps out possible scenarios of how China could approach blockade operations.

Digital Report by Bonny Lin, Brian Hart, Matthew P. Funaiole, Truly Tinsley, and Samantha Lu — August 22, 2024

How China Could Quarantine Taiwan

As China ramps up pressure on Taiwan, one major step it could take is a law enforcement-led quarantine of the island. This report lays out China’s potential motivations for a quarantine and maps out two plausible scenarios of how it could conduct quarantine operations.

Digital Report by Bonny Lin, Brian Hart, Matthew P. Funaiole, Samantha Lu, and Truly Tinsley — June 4, 2024

Skirting the Shores: China’s New High-Tech Research Ship Probes the Waters around Taiwan

In late 2023, an advanced Chinese research vessel known as the Zhu Hai Yun circumnavigated Taiwan in a rare move that appears intended to challenge Taiwan and probe the environment around the island. This Hidden Reach Snapshot reveals the vessel’s ties to China’s military.

Digital Report by Matthew P. Funaiole, Aidan Powers-Riggs, and Brian Hart — February 26, 2024

Surveying the Seas: China’s Dual-Use Research Operations in the Indian Ocean

China is deploying dozens of civilian vessels to survey the world’s oceans. While these ships support scientific and commercial objectives, they can also help China’s navy understand the maritime environment as it ventures into less familiar waters like the Indian Ocean.

Digital Report by Matthew P. Funaiole, Brian Hart, and Aidan Powers-Riggs — January 10, 2024

Deep Blue Scars: Environmental Threats to the South China Sea

A hidden crisis is unfolding in the South China Sea. As claimants maneuver to strengthen their control over disputed waters, the marine environment has suffered untold damage from overfishing, dredging, and giant clam harvesting.

Digital Report by Monica Sato, Harrison Prétat, and Gregory B. Poling — December 18, 2023