Created in April 2016, the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia—see EDM, April 7, 11, 12, 18, 2016) is turning into a much more formidable weapon in the hands of the Kremlin than was initially expected. If the most recent information pertaining to this structure proves correct,... MORE

As the Syrian civil war enters its seventh year (the conflict officially started on March 15, 2011, with mainly peaceful protesters in Damascus coming out into the streets to demand democratic reforms and the release of political prisoners), a potential peace deal remains out of... MORE

The massive Russian military involvement in Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad may be the first move to reestablish Moscow’s influence over the entire Middle East (see EDM, March 8). Russia has also been seeking contacts in conflict-ridden Libya, which still lacks an effective... MORE

In February, the Iranian government extradited five members of the same family originating from Hamadoni district, in southern Tajikistan, back to their home country (Radio Ozodi, March 2). Abdulfayz Vazirov, 33, and his sister Mohira Salimova, 32, left Tajikistan for Russia in the summer of... MORE

The issue of closer defense cooperation among the three Baltic States—Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia—was raised again, on March 3, by defense professionals and distinguished speakers from the United Kingdom and the United States, during a conference on “Social Resilience Against Hybrid Threats in the Baltic... MORE

Delivering his work report to the National People’s Congress, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang noted that “the Chinese mainland will resolutely oppose and contain ‘Taiwan independence separatist activities’” (“台独”分裂活动) (Xinhua, March 5). [1] President Xi Jinping, however, was even more explicit in early November 2016, when... MORE

The continued and entrenched inter-governmental conflict in Moscow over the size of funding for the new State Armaments Program to 2025 (Gosudarstvennaya Programma Vooruzheniya—GPV) has pit the defense and finance ministries against one another. Nevertheless, it appears that the military will procure more high-technology assets once... MORE

In the summer of 2016, the PLA completed the most recent round of its “Stride” (跨越) exercises, a series of large-scale military training exercises that prominently feature simulated opposing force confrontations. Militaries and other national security actors have for decades utilized “red teams” to improve... MORE

The Chinese government has held several shows of force in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), with machine-gun toting police and armored personnel carriers parading through the streets of the region’s major cities, foreground the ongoing instability in China’s far western region (Tianshan, February 28).... MORE

Part One of this series examined the state of renewable energy in China and the connections between civilian and military industry partners. Part Two looks in detail at the PLA’s developing energy strategy both on the mainland and, increasingly on offshore islands at the center... MORE