James Hackett, Senior Fellow for Defence and Military Analysis, and Tom Waldwyn, Research Associate for Defence and Military Analysis, join Meia and Antonio for this episode to discuss the key trends in defence procurement and capabilities identified in the latest edition of The Military Balance, the Institute’s annual assessment of global military capabilities and defence economics. In recent years, China’s military shipbuilding output has consistently dwarfed that of other countries. Tom and James explain why China requires such an extensive military modernisation programme and identify the practical limitations these new Chinese capabilities may face.James also discusses the re-emergence of peer-to-peer and near-peer competition among the advanced militaries of the US, China and Russia, and what this means for modern international relations.Tom and James also explore the processes and challenges of open-source investigations, how they became interested in military analysis and their reading recommendations for other aspiring military and defence analysts.Reading Recommendations:Michael Howard, The First World War, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002)Bruce Pascoe, Dark Emu: Black Seeds: Agriculture or Accident?, (Victoria: Magabala, 2014)Orr Kelly, King of the Killing Zone: The Story of the M-1, America’s Super Tank, (New Tork: W.W. Norton, 1989)We hope you enjoy the episode and don’t forget to follow, rate and subscribe to Sounds Strategic on wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.

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