Executive Summary Paresh Baruah, the long-time leader of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), remains at large in Myanmar and along the China border, sustaining a weakened but still symbolically potent Assamese separatist movement through criminal networks and transnational alliances. Though ULFA-I’s operational capacity... MORE

Executive Summary: The maiden Arctic voyage of the Istanbul Bridge from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to the U.K. via Russia’s Northern Sea Route (NSR) halved transit time to 20 days, signaling potentially growing PRC–Russian cooperation in Arctic trade corridors. Despite the advantages of... MORE

Executive Summary: Georgian officials and PRC diplomats present the PRC–Georgian strategic partnership as a path to Georgia’s prosperity, but reality shows minimal PRC investment in Georgia, trade imbalances that benefit Beijing, and PRC companies winning lucrative state contracts in Georgia. Beijing consistently abstains or opposes... MORE

Executive Summary: Trade between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is now defined by selective weaponization, not interdependence or decoupling. Both sides are learning to use high-value channels of exchange—technology, materials, and capital—as instruments to shape the other’s behavior. Neither seeks... MORE

Executive Summary: The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) influence in Central Asia is growing, and it presents a greater challenge to Russia, the traditional regional hegemon, through multilateral summits such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the China–Central Asia Summit. PRC–Central Asia cooperation is... MORE

Executive Summary: A humanoid robotics ecosystem is developing in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). A vertically integrated supply chain is improving global competitiveness and market share in core component technologies. In most segments, Western firms remain dominant. PRC firms note that they are constrained... MORE

Executive Summary: The Ministry of National Defense announced on October 17 that nine generals—including Central Military Commission Vice Chairman He Weidong and Political Work Department Director Miao Hua—had been expelled from the Party and the military. The purge centers on personnel mismanagement and alleged job-related... MORE

Executive Summary: The PLA’s new regulation on political cadres aims to reform a deeply entrenched political work system by emphasizing impartial personnel management and personal discipline. The regulation defines behavioral standards for political cadres across three main categories: core political logic, operational priorities, and personal... MORE

Executive Summary: Uzbekistan’s plans to build infrastructure facilities at the Iranian Chabahar port to gain direct access to the Indian Ocean have not been implemented, indicating Tashkent’s possibly cautious approach to this issue. New Delhi is strengthening its economic ties with Russia and the People’s... MORE

Executive Summary: Like many militaries around the world, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) places strong emphasis on Clausewitz’s concept of the center of gravity—the single most important and decisive operational problem to the PLA in a given phase or time window. A recent PLA Daily... MORE