Latest Articles about Cross-Strait Relations

The PLA Navy’s Evolving Posture Beyond the First Island Chain
Executive Summary: The concurrent deployment of the Liaoning and Shandong aircraft carriers beyond the First Island Chain represents a significant strategic milestone, highlighting the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) improved capability to coordinate complex naval operations and signaling a shift towards more sophisticated Anti-Access/Area-Denial (A2/AD) operations... MORE

Taiwan Bounty: PRC Cross-Agency Operations Target Taiwanese Military Personnel
Executive Summary: For the first time, public security authorities in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) are targeting Taiwanese military personnel and so-called “Taiwan independence” (台独) forces through a law enforcement framework. Akin to techniques previously used in Hong Kong, the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau... MORE

PLA Military Aerospace Force: On the Frontier of Innovation and Competition
Executive Summary: The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Aerospace Force (ASF) is structured to rapidly integrate space-based surveillance, targeting, and offensive capabilities into any conflict involving the PLA, signaling Beijing’s strategic anticipation of conflicts over Taiwan or the South China Sea. By consolidating the People’s Republic... MORE

Inside Taiwan’s Opposition: How the KMT’s Future Could Shape Cross-Strait Stability
Executive Summary: The Kuomintang (KMT) is undergoing a complex transformation, seeking to redefine itself by moving away from its perception as a “pro-China” party to one grounded in support for the Republic of China’s (ROC) democratic institutions. Internal factions—ranging from pro-unification traditionalists to sovereignty-leaning localists—reflect... MORE

Taiwan’s ‘Great Recall’ a Historic Bid to Overturn the Opposition’s Legislative Majority
Executive Summary: In a historic first for any democracy at the national level, mass recall campaigns in Taiwan are seeking to overturn the opposition’s legislative majority that was elected in 2024. The recall campaigns are the latest battleground in an ongoing power struggle between the... MORE

Drills and Experts Suggest Beijing Favors Blockade on Longer Timeline
Executive Summary: The People’s Liberation Army increasingly emphasizes blockade scenarios in its exercises and drills, signaling a strategic shift in Beijing’s approach to a military contingency in the Taiwan Strait. Policy elites and current and former military officials corroborate this shift but largely project any... MORE

Taiwan’s Lai Risks DPP Factional Infighting in Bid for Control
Executive Summary: Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te has jettisoned a Tsai Ing-wen era formula designed to keep peace between factions within the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and has actively advanced his own New Tide faction. Lai’s more control-oriented approach has given the president increased leverage over... MORE

Taiwan Exposes More PRC Military Infiltration Cases
Executive Summary: Recent infiltration cases indicate that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has significantly intensified non-military espionage operations targeting Taiwan’s military, demonstrating strategic diversification beyond traditional military threats. Data reveals a sharp rise in prosecuted espionage cases over 2021–2024, with military personnel (active and retired)... MORE

Taiwan Focuses on Societal Resilience and U.S. Cooperation in New Defense Review
Executive Summary: Taiwan's 2025 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) prioritizes enhancing all-of-society resilience and emphasizes U.S.-Taiwan military cooperation. The document represents a significant improvement over its predecessor in content and clarity but suffers from being a document without consensus: Published by the Ministry of National Defense,... MORE

Fujian Unveils Incentives for Militia Training for a Cross-Strait Campaign
Executive Summary: Fujian Province’s new “Measures for Guaranteeing Militia Rights and Interests” aim to incentivize maximum readiness for forces who likely will be key in any campaign against Taiwan. The measures provide financial support and other perks in an attempt to motivate troops and promote... MORE