Speaker Event: China's "Asian Encirclement" with Larry Lamborn

In outlining his talk, Lamborn said, “Few countries have risen as fast as has the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It is the world’s second largest economy, increasingly powerful with modern military forces and global ambitions. Today China has the power to challenge the United States economically and militarily, and its goal is to surpass America as the world’s leading power by 2030.”

He explained, “Toward that end the PRC is steadily displacing the West throughout Asia and Africa and extending its influence into the Pacific Ocean area, Latin America and even Europe. The Encirclement of Asia is aimed not only at encircling Asia, but ultimately at drawing a technological and economic circle around the United States itself.”

Larry Lamborn is a retired CIA Officer and Army Colonel who’s 45 year national security career included security analysis and field operations around the world. He was trained as a US Army strategic intelligence officer whose career included assignments with the Strategic Warning Staff, the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He is a Vietnam veteran and holds a Master of Arts degree in Chinese Regional Studies from the University of Washington.

Lamborn is the author of four books, as well as numerous essays. He has been a “China watcher” for 50 years, and China has been the centerpiece of his academic study and professional work. “China fascinates me, and I have drawn upon my China knowledge in writing my books and essays.  I wrote my essay, “The Encirclement of Asia”, on which my talk will focus, because I believe it is important for Americans to understand Chinese expansionism and how that will shape the world in the coming years — not always to our benefit.”