Latest Articles about China and the Asia-Pacific
China’s Power Projection in the Western Indian Ocean
The People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) recently participated in an operation to free the Tuvalu-flagged OS 35 bulk carrier with help from the Indian Navy in the Gulf of Aden (The Hindu, April 9). The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) 24th task force in the... MORE
Baku-Beijing Relations and China’s Growing Interest in the South Caucasus
This past January, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attended a session on “The Silk Road Effect” at the 2017 World Economic Forum in Davos, alongside Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili (President.az, January 19). Presumably, the intention of both leaders was to promote the importance of the... MORE
Russian-Chinese Joint Ventures in Russia’s Far East, Arctic
Since 2001, Russian-Chinese relations have been largely grounded in security issues, both military and economic. The former is a shared perception of an increasingly aggressive United States and, in the case of Russia, concerns over the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) deployments on the periphery... MORE
A Brief Profile of Hafiz Tohar: Militant Mastermind Behind Myanmar’s Rohingya Insurgency
Myanmar’s beleaguered Rakhine state has witnessed a series of violent incidents since last October following surprise armed raids by a group of Rohingya Islamist militants. The raids, which targeted security posts in Maungdaw district and left several dead on both sides, triggered a fresh wave... MORE
Xi’s Korea Policies Stumble
On March 7, the United States began installation of a Terminal High-Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) system in on a golf course outside Seoul, South Korea. Washington and Seoul did so over strong economic and diplomatic pressure from Beijing, which argued that THAAD posed a threat... MORE
Refugees Flee into Yunnan After Renewed Violence Along Myanmar Border
Violence along China’s border with Myanmar is threatening yet again to spill across into Yunnan Province. According to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, more than 20,000 refugees have fled into Yunnan after renewed fighting between the Kachin Independence Army and Myanmar’s Armed Forces (Tatmadaw).... MORE
PLA Theater Joint Intelligence: Organization and Operations
China’s new theater command structure represents a major advancement in building a streamlined joint command structure. One key remaining bottleneck is intelligence sharing. Accurate and timely intelligence is always a key component of any successful military operation, and especially so for the advanced joint operations... MORE
Taiwan’s Search for Security Partners: Looking Beyond Washington
In November 2016, Hong Kong authorities seized nine Singaporean Terrex infantry carrier vehicles en route home after training exercises in Taiwan (Today News, November 29, 2016; Phoenix News, November 30, 2016). The carriers were taking the same route shipping containers have taken for decades as... MORE
A “First” for the People’s Liberation Army: A Navy Admiral Becomes a Joint, Regional, Commander
Among recent changes in the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) leadership, the appointment of Vice Admiral Yuan Yubai to Commander of the Southern Theater Command is particularly noteworthy (PLA Daily, January 23). Yuan is the first and only non-Army officer ever to command a Military Region... MORE
Another Russian Failure: Moscow and the Korean Question
North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs represent a threat to all of Asia if not beyond. Yet, despite this being an issue with grave implications for Russia’s vital interests, once again Moscow is not making any constructive progress in helping to resolve it. Many pundits... MORE