On January 29, 2010, the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced the approval of a major, long-awaited arms sales package for Taiwan. The $6.4 billion deal includes Patriot advanced capability (PAC-3) missiles along with radar sets and related equipment, UH-60M Blackhawk... MORE

China’s on-going tussle with the United States over issues including Taiwan, Tibet and trade is in a sense nothing new. For more than two decades, Sino-U.S. relations have periodically gone through rough patches over these and related causes of disagreement. What is new is China’s... MORE

As the U.S. economy dithers through a fragile global recovery, Chinese leaders are convening in Beijing for the annual plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC)—China's ceremonial legislature—that begins March 5. The purpose of the meeting is to "hammer" out, among other things, a... MORE

Thai and U.S. officials are preparing for another year of unrest emanating from the continuing insurgency in the Muslim Malay-dominated Thai provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala.  Officials are also bracing for violence from the possible spread of the insurgency to neighboring provinces and the... MORE

Philippine media is reporting that on February 21, 2010, leading Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) commander Albader Parad was killed along with five other fighters on the island of Jolo, in the volatile Sulu archipelago, in a confrontation with Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) 2nd... MORE

Statements by senior Russian defense officials raise many questions concerning Moscow’s defense posture. The Chief of the General Staff Army-General Nikolai Makarov and the First Deputy Defense Minister Army-General Nikolai Pankov recently chaired a roundtable with Russian journalists in Moscow, devoted to military reform. Noting... MORE

The triangular security relationship between the United States, China and Taiwan is under strain again. The January 29 announcement of the $6.4 billion U.S. arms sales package to Taiwan marks a low point, but no major change in direction, for a U.S.-China relationship that began... MORE

Strengthening China’s military presence in Latin America is one of the many manifestations of Beijing’s increased activity on the international stage. Arms sales is a subset of the Chinese military's growing involvement in Latin America. Yet, Chinese arms sales represent a small portion of its... MORE

C4ISR (Command Control Communication Computer and Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance) systems are a key measure of military capability, and an area in which the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is steadily advancing. Determining how strong PLA capabilities in this area are presents some analytical challenges, as unlike... MORE

In the first nine months of 2009, Chinese companies launched 14 projects in Ghana and topped the list of foreign firms registered in terms of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) in the country [1]. This trend follows in line with China’s growing footprint in the rest... MORE