By Jimmy Drennan

Please join us tonight this Thursday evening, October 14, for the seventh annual  CIMSEC Forum for Author and Readers (CFAR), presented via Zoom by the Center for Naval Analyses. This annual event brings readers together with their favorite CIMSEC authors over the past year. Authors will discuss the articles readers voted for and will field questions from the audience.

Please register here to receive the Zoom link from our partners at CNA.

Below are the top vote-getting CIMSEC articles and authors, who will be presenting at CFAR 2021.

“Evolution of the Fleet: A Closer Look at the Chinese Fishing Vessels off the Galapagos,” by Dr. Tabitha Mallory and Dr. Ian Ralby
“Winning the War on Distraction: Military Leaders Need Quiet Minds in the Digital Age,” by Bill Bray
“No Ordinary Boats: Cracking the Code on China’s Spratly Maritime Militias,” by Ryan Martinson
“The Navy Should Stop Talking About the Future and Start Building It,” by Frank Goertner 

We look forward to their presentations and seeing you all online soon!

Jimmy Drennan is the President of CIMSEC. Contact him at President@cimsec.org.

By Jimmy Drennan

Please join us Thursday evening, October 14, for the seventh annual  CIMSEC Forum for Author and Readers (CFAR), presented via Zoom by the Center for Naval Analyses. This annual event brings readers together with their favorite CIMSEC authors over the past year. Authors will discuss the articles readers voted for and will field questions from the audience.

Please register here to receive the Zoom link from our partners at CNA.

Below are the top vote-getting CIMSEC articles and authors, who will be presenting at CFAR 2021.

“Evolution of the Fleet: A Closer Look at the Chinese Fishing Vessels off the Galapagos,” by Dr. Tabitha Mallory and Dr. Ian Ralby
“Winning the War on Distraction: Military Leaders Need Quiet Minds in the Digital Age,” by Bill Bray
“No Ordinary Boats: Cracking the Code on China’s Spratly Maritime Militias,” by Ryan Martinson
“The Navy Should Stop Talking About the Future and Start Building It,” by Frank Goertner 

We look forward to their presentations and seeing you all online soon!

Jimmy Drennan is the President of CIMSEC. Contact him at President@cimsec.org.

By Jimmy Drennan

CIMSEC is partnering with the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies (YCAPS) and the Japan-U.S. Military Program (JUMP) to bring you an online event you will not want to miss! The Indo-Pacific Maritime Hour will be held online Monday, 2 Nov, 2000 EDT (Tuesday, 3 Nov, 0000 JST) with special guest Dr. Olli Suorsa.

Dr. Olli Suorsa will discuss the decisions that smaller powers make when approaching multilateral naval exercises. He argues that participation in the exercises is inherently a political question. Specifically, he will discuss smaller powers’ considerations (with special reference to Southeast Asia) in taking part in naval exercises involving various sets of actors and the participation’s significance for conveying strategic signals. Olli will underline and contrast the different utilities reaped from inclusive and exclusive arrangements, and smaller powers’ agency in accepting/declining invitations, or initiating exercise routines of their own, to signal engagement, deterrence, and/or neutrality.

To join please go to https://meet.google.com/gkr-fved-tqp

Dr. Olli Pekka Suorsa is a Research Fellow in the Maritime Security Programme of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (IDSS) at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS). Before joining RSIS he lectured at the Department of Asian and International Studies in the City University of Hong Kong. Dr. Suorsa holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the City University of Hong Kong and a Master’s degree in Asian Politics from SOAS, University of London, UK, and Bachelor’s in International Relations from the Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia. Dr. Suorsa has also work experience in defence industry in Finland.

Moderator: John Bradford, YCAPS Executive Director and Senior Fellow, RSIS Maritime Security Programme
Webinar Cost: Free of charge
Co-sponsor: Japan-U.S. Military Program (JUMP)

Please register by RSVP to info@ycaps.org. RSVP not required, but helpful for organizers.

Jimmy Drennan is the President of CIMSEC. Contact him at President@cimsec.org. 

By Jimmy Drennan

On August 27, 2020, CIMSEC held its annual CIMSEC Forum for Author and Readers (CFAR), in partnership with the Center for Naval Analyses (CNA). This annual event brings readers together with their favorite CIMSEC authors over the preceding year. Authors discussed the articles the readers nominated and voted for, and engaged in question and answer sessions after their presentations. For the first time ever, CFAR was held online, which gave many more individuals an opportunity to participate. Esteemed podcast hosts Alex, Drach, and Jamie from our new Bilge Pumps podcast also joined us to help kick off the event.

Below you can find the replay (plus the access password), the timestamps for each author’s session, and links to their respective articles. We hope you enjoy!

Click Here to Watch the Replay Using the Password: *Af0*F2l

Replay Events

0:00-4:30 – Welcome
4:30-18:45 – Introduction and discussion by The Bilge Pumps
20:20-42:00 “Star Gazing: Why Do We Have So Many Flag Officers?” by James L. McClane and Kevin Eyer
42:00-56:30 “Reflecting the Law of the Sea: In Defense of the Bay of Bengal’s Grey Area”  by Cornell Overfield
57:50-1:17:00 – “Clausewitz, Corbett and Corvettes,” by Sascha Rackwitz
1:17:00-1:39:00 “How China has Overtaken Japan in Naval Power and Why it Matters,” by Toshi Yoshihara
1:39:00-2:02:00 “The Future of Aircraft Carriers: Consider the Air Wing, Not the Platform,” by Robert Rubel
2:02:00-2:03:21 – Closing Remarks

Jimmy Drennan is the President of CIMSEC. Contact him at President@cimsec.org.