The term rare earths (RE) apply to a group of 17 chemically similar metal elements that include scandium, yttrium and the fifteen lanthanides. RE elements are considered strategically important commodities that are used to manufacture defense and commercial high value-added applications, especially green technology. Rare... MORE

The National Security Council (NSC) is an apparatus for the top executive to “formulate, coordinate and oversee security and defense policy” in order to “enhance effectiveness by developing strategies, guidance, mobilizing resources and overseeing implementation” [1]. Conceptually, the NSC in Taiwan, as in the United... MORE

Underneath the fanfare that greeted the FBI’s arrest of ten Russian intelligence officers in June, federal authorities quietly proceeded against a young Michigan man, Glenn Duffie Shriver, applying to the CIA at the direction of Chinese intelligence. The story missed major media outlets and was... MORE

On October 9, the Chinese media announced the start of a multi-region, joint air-land exercise called Mission Action 2010 (shiming xingdong 2010). People’s Liberation Army (PLA) ground force units from three of the seven Military Regions (MR) were deployed by road, rail and air across... MORE

In spite of an apparent thaw in overt cross-Strait tensions since Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou was elected into office in 2008, the shadow war between Chinese and Taiwanese intelligence agencies has continue unabated. While Beijing and Taipei have made remarkable progress in liberalizing economic barriers,... MORE

In early September, a Chinese fishing boat that collided with a pair of Japan Coast Guard (JCG) vessels near the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands reignited a longstanding dispute between Beijing and Tokyo over the East China Sea. The captain of the Chinese trawler was detained by the... MORE

The military dimension of Sino-Russian ties, particularly arms sales, has been deteriorating since 2006-07. While that decline partly reflects the growing prowess of China's defense industrial base, a major part stems from Russia's growing apprehension about China's growing capabilities and anger over its wholesale piracy... MORE

While attending a conference on security in Taipei as October arrived, I found it easy to point to indications of an erosion in American support for Taiwan unprecedented since the 1970s. This was in part owed to a sense in Washington that President Ma Ying-jeou's... MORE

The appointment of Vice-President Xi Jinping as vice-chairman of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Military Commission (CMC) has confirmed the Fifth-Generation cadre's status as heir-apparent to President and General Secretary Hu Jintao. Xi's induction into the policy-setting CMC, which was decided by the just-ended plenum... MORE

Images and media reports about new types of submarines appearing in recent months have generated a lot of interest in China's evolving submarine force. While the magnitude of such developments remains to be seen, since much depends on the submarines' tested capabilities, these rare glimpses... MORE