Images Released by Think Tank Provide First Look at New Chinese Aircraft Carrier

Here is more from CNN:

New satellite images published by a US think tank may provide the world's first look at China's next aircraft carrier, as construction progresses on a mysterious large vessel in a shipyard outside Shanghai.

Significant new activity at the Jiangnan Shipyard was captured in satellite images from April, published by Washington-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

According to CSIS, they show a massive bow and main hull section of a large vessel under construction. At points, the hull section is as wide as 40 meters (131 feet). 

Experts said while it was difficult to be sure, the size and scale of the new vessel strongly suggested China's much-anticipated new aircraft carrier, referred to as Type 002.

Rumors that the Chinese military was constructing a third, more modern aircraft carrier have been circling for more than a year. It was only in November that state media Xinhua first hinted at a new vessel.

Here is a previous Think Tank Watch post about CSIS using satellite intelligence to track various Asian island disputes.

Canadian Think Tanks at Risk From Foreign Espionage

Here is more from The Globe and Mail:

Canada’s spy service is warning that Canadian research is “of interest to foreign states,” whose exploitation of such work poses potential harm to “Canada’s national interests.”

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) said on Tuesday that it routinely meets with universities to warn them of risks. The Globe and Mail reported this week that at least nine Canadian postsecondary institutions have conducted joint studies in recent years with researchers from Chinese military institutions, including the People’s Liberation Army Information Engineering University, China’s Air Defence College and the elite National University of Defense Technology.

In general, Canadian university policies require joint research to be published openly.

The collaborations, however, have raised concern that Canada’s academic establishment has become a target for Chinese intelligence-gathering, as Beijing conducts a sweeping technological modernization of its armed forces. Some Chinese defence scientists working with Canadian scholars have used the names of what appear to be non-existent civilian institutions rather than citing their military credentials in joint publications.

Think tanks all around the world have been targets of foreign espionage.  In October, US Vice President Mike Pence gave a major speech at the Hudson Institute in which he warned about Chinese espionage at think tanks.

Chinese Think Tanks Targeting Young Students, Says Germany

This is from a German counterintelligence report:

Chinese think tanks are used for targeting young students, diplomats and business persons. “The think tanks gather sensitive information, not least to prepare cyberattacks, but also to select suitable targets and disguise intelligence activities.”

The full report can be found here, and a 47-page English synopsis can be found here.

US's Top Spy Chief Joins CNAS

Top defense think tank Center for a New American Security (CNAS) has just announced that James Clapper, former Director of National Intelligence (DNI), will join the policy shop as a Distinguished Senior Fellow for Intelligence and National Security.  He will also join CNAS's Board of Advisors.

The Washington Examiner originally reported that Clapper has joined the Center for a New American Century, but rest assured, he is joining the Center for a New American Security (Think Tank Watch has pointed this out to them and they have since fixed it).

There are dozens of former spies at think tanks (Think Tank Watch has documented a number of them here), although very few spy chiefs.  But it is not a huge surprise since Clapper was sometimes seen around the think tank party circuit.

Recently, Clapper also joined Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs as a Non-Resident Senior Fellow.

We are now wondering if James Comey, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), will join think tank land after being fired.