On July 8, a high-ranking Taliban delegation came to Moscow and held talks with Zamir Kabulov, a former ambassador to Kabul, the Kremlin’s special envoy on Afghanistan and a department chief in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Apparently, the Taliban representatives hoped to meet Russian... MORE

With the ongoing withdrawal of the United States’ military forces and the consequent weakening of the Afghan government, the Taliban now controls much of the territory of Afghanistan and most of its northern borders, posing a threat to its three immediate northern neighbors (Tajikistan, Turkmenistan... MORE

Infections and deaths from COVID-19 are again reaching critically high levels in the Russian Federation even as such indicators are mostly declining elsewhere in Western countries, and especially in the United States. Faced with this troubling reality, various Russian commentators and even senior officials have... MORE

The perception of China as a growing and global threat has become a bipartisan issue in Washington that more or less seamlessly persisted through the handover of power from the previous presidential administration to the current one. Indeed, over the past several months, the United... MORE

On June 22, soldiers backed by armored vehicles clashed with fighters of the recently-formed People’s Defense Force (PDF) in Mandalay, Myanmar’s second largest city. This was the first time that the PDF has engaged the Tatmadaw, as the Myanmar military is known, in a major... MORE

Militants Target Chinese Nationals in the Sahel and Nigeria Jacob Zenn China is increasing its influence in West Africa. Most recently, on June 11, China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that Beijing plans to extend the Belt and Road Initiative to Burkina... MORE

On June 22, the Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) delivered a joint statement to the 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on behalf of 44 countries expressing grave concern about the “repression of religious and ethnic minorities” by the People’s... MORE

Introduction On June 25, the 19th Central Committee Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held its 31st “group study” (集体学习, jiti xuexi) session on the topic of “Making Good Use of Red Resources and Continuing Red Blood” (用好红色资源、赓续红色血脉, yong hao hongse ziyuan, gengxu hongse... MORE

Introduction The Republic of China (ROC or Taiwan) is emerging from its worst drought in more than half a century (Focus Taiwan, June 2). Following the annual plenary sessions of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC or China) National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese... MORE

Introduction The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has identified artificial intelligence (AI) as an economic and security developmental priority. The State Council’s National AI Development Plan, released in July of 2017, calls AI “the new focus of world competition” and the 14th Five Year Plan,... MORE