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Rigging the Game: PRC Oil Structures Encroach on Taiwan’s Pratas Island
Executive Summary: Beijing’s relentless pressure on Taiwan now includes oil rigs: twelve permanent or semi-permanent structures and dozens of associated ships. The structures, which are owned by state-owned firm CNOOC, include seven rig structures, three floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessels, and two semi-submersible... MORE

Guns of September: What a Parade May Reveal About China’s Military Modernization
Executive Summary: The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) upcoming military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII will serve as both a symbolic display and an operational exercise, highlighting the PLA’s advancements in new combat domains—such as unmanned systems, directed energy, and... MORE

Experts Reminded of Central Mission at Summer Retreat
Executive Summary: This August, 62 experts from the fields of science and technology, philosophy and social sciences, and basic research were invited to take a vacation and meet with senior officials in Beidaihe as part of an annual tradition that dates back to at least... MORE

Rahman Gul: The Former Pakistani Army Captain Now Commanding the BLA’s Majeed Brigade
Executive Summary: Captain Rahman Gul, the Baloch Liberation Army’s second-in-command, is thought to be behind the group’s turn toward sophisticated suicide attacks in recent years. A poet and former member of Pakistan’s security forces, Rahman Gul provides his group with both military training and effective... MORE

Moscow’s Mouthpieces Claim Russia Has Already Won Ahead of Alaska Summit
Executive Summary: Moscow believes the upcoming Alaska summit will end Russian President Vladimir Putin’s international isolation, taking note of its location in Alaska, which Russia once owned. Russian commentators are interpreting the summit as U.S. acceptance of Moscow’s view that decisions can be made about... MORE

Dr. Aminul Haq: Osama bin Laden Associate Released from Prison in Pakistan
Executive Summary: Top al-Qaeda leader Dr. Aminul Haq has been in and out of Pakistani prisons over the years. Most recently, he was released in April 2025 and deported to Afghanistan after having been arrested in July 2024. Officially designated as a terrorist by the... MORE

Strategic Snapshot: Caspian Littoral States Conduct Multi-Vector Diplomacy, Trade, and Defense
The Caspian Sea, once considered a “Russian lake,” is becoming a more multipolar space. Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan have expanded their navies, built new security accords with each other, and increased cooperation with Türkiye. Russia has responded with naval cooperation with Iran, but this alliance... MORE

Strategic Snapshot: Implications of Peace Between Armenia and Azerbaijan
Three decades of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan have consumed most of their attention on both domestic initiatives and international relations. The unfolding peace process, therefore, has the potential to dramatically change political developments in the South Caucasus. Direct talks over the past two years... MORE

Russian Foreign Ministry Journal Views Baltic as Irreversible Center of Military Conflict
Executive Summary: The Russian Foreign Ministry’s premier journal, International Life, says the Baltic Sea region has become “a potential theater of military conflict,” one where there is no chance that regimes more amenable to Moscow will arise in the absence of a radical shift in... MORE

Armenia and Azerbaijan Agree on Next Steps at White House Summit
Executive Summary: Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, and U.S. President Donald Trump signed a seven-point joint pledge declaring their intention to pursue peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia during an August 8 meeting at the White House. During the same trip, the... MORE