Pirchner and Smith Brief Marine Corps at Pentagon

On September 9, AFPC President Herman Pirchner, Jr. and Kraemer Strategy Fellow Jeff M. Smith gave a briefing at the Pentagon to the Marine Corps’ Strategic Initiatives Group. It was the inaugural presentation under a new Marine Corps initiative to solicit analysis from and interact with non-government sources. Pirchner made a presentation about China’s relationship with Taiwan, drawing on historical lessons and contemporary anecdotes and discussing the future of PRC-ROC relations. Smith then spoke at length about Sino-U.S. tensions over the right of U.S. ships to operate in China’s “Exclusive Economic Zone,” about the history of Sino-U.S. naval confrontations, and about territorial disputes between China and its neighbors in the South China Sea.