Latest Articles about China and the Asia-Pacific
PLA Airborne Capabilities and Paratrooper Doctrine for Taiwan
Introduction In the event of a Taiwan contingency, PLA airborne troops are likely to assume a substantial role. Decapitation strike scenarios and the prospects of an airborne invasion are widely discussed by analysts, scholars, and policy practitioners in both the US and Taiwan. Despite PLA... MORE
Commentary—Can Export Controls Win a New Cold War: A Historical Case Study
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Export controls played a critical role in helping the West to prevail over the Soviet Union and its allies in the Cold War. The United States now faces a new national security challenge in the People’s Republic of China. After World War II,... MORE
The True State of Russian Arms Manufacturing, June 2023
In recent weeks, Russia’s military leadership has wholly changed its rhetoric regarding domestic arms manufacturing and the country’s military-industrial complex. From the nervous statements and even threats made to the upper management of state-owned companies and production facilities throughout 2022 and during the first months... MORE
Russia Planning Year-Round Navigation of Northern Sea Route in Early 2024
Western sanctions and changes in climate are impelling Moscow to realize a dream dating back three centuries to the time of Tsar Peter the Great—an all-water route from the Barents Sea to the Pacific through Russia’s coastal Arctic waters. During a Kremlin video conference on... MORE
The Counteroffensive, the Dam and the Proliferation of ‘Peace Plans’
The protracted deadlock in the trenches of the war in Ukraine is giving way to high-intensity battles, and this escalation instantly generates widespread international resonance, in which expectations of a Ukrainian victory are mixed with concerns about a Russian defeat. Now, the initiative is clearly... MORE
The Long Arm of the Law(less): The PRC’s Overseas Police Stations
Introduction In April, the FBI charged two Chinese-Americans, both U.S. citizens, with conspiring to act as agents of the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) by establishing an “overseas police station” on behalf of the Fujian Public Security Bureau in New York. The... MORE
Brief: Tatmadaw Uses Thermobaric Weapons on Village in Counter-Insurgency Struggle
On April 11, the Burmese air force struck a National Unity Government (NUG) ceremony at a village in country’s northern Sagaing Region (myanmar-now.org, April 11). The NUG proclaims itself as the legitimate government of Myanmar, in contrast to the military, which came to power through... MORE
The Rising Danger From Crude, Homemade Weapons and Political Violence in Japan
On April 15, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was attacked with a homemade explosive device while attending a public campaigning event in Wakayama, a city 50 miles south of Osaka (Japan Times, April 15). This attempted assassination was chillingly reminiscent of the assassination of former... MORE
Chinese PSCs in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Cases of Francophone and Lusophone Africa
Executive Summary Due to their wealth of critical natural resources (primarily rare earth minerals), rapidly growing populations (labor and consumer markets) and strategic geographic location, many Francophone and Lusophone countries in Africa occupy strategic roles for China and its large businesses operating in, among others,... MORE
Eganius Kogoya: The Headline-Making Leader of the West Papua National Liberation Army
Since 2017, Eganius Kogoya has committed 65 attacks, resulting in the deaths of 46 individuals (kompas, February 12). He has also waged a guerilla war on two fronts: The first one is in the Papuan jungles, where he and his militants exploit the mountain's difficult... MORE