China’s military is reorganizing itself to be a more modern, effective force. On January 1, 2016, the Second Artillery Force (第二炮兵部队) (responsible for China’s nuclear and conventional arsenals) was reorganized into the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF; 火箭部队), elevating it to a service (军种)... MORE

According to open media sources, over the past five years, five representatives of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and the Caucasus Emirate have been killed in Turkey. All five were actively involved in the ongoing armed conflict in the North Caucasus (Kavkazsky Uzel, April 15).... MORE

Last week (April 12), two Russian Su-24 bombers closely overflew the guided-missile destroyer USS Donald Cook, in the Baltic Sea, in international airspace. The incident happened relatively close to the Baltiysk naval base, in the Kaliningrad enclave. Two days later, an Su-27 fighter intercepted a... MORE

The recent landing of a Y-8X maritime surveillance aircraft on Fiery Cross Reef (永暑礁) in the South China Sea in response to an emergency is further evidence that China has made its presence in this contentious region routine (People’s Daily Online, April 17). Earlier in... MORE

After the eruption of intense hostilities around Karabakh on April 2, Georgian authorities attempted to clarify their position on this acute regional issue. President Giorgi Margvelashvili called on the conflicting sides “to resolve the conflict, which is only a hundred kilometers away [from Georgia], in... MORE

No region of the Russian Federation has a greater number of young men who could qualify to serve in the Russian military than does the North Caucasus, the combined result of rapid demographic growth and the absence of a Russian military draft there for most... MORE

Since Russia’s military operation in Syria commenced in September 2015, a number of features indicated a degree of experimentation with advanced weapons and hardware. These have promoted speculation that Moscow is trying to develop such systems as part of its alleged hybrid warfare capability or,... MORE

On April 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree establishing a new federal security service, the Russian National Guard, which largely inherits the troops from the Ministry of Interior. The director of the new federal service has the status of a Russian government minister... MORE

Leonid Tibilov, the de facto leader of the separatist Georgian province of South Ossetia, (Tskhinvali region), declared, on April 11, that his government is planning to hold a referendum about whether to join the Russian Federation. The vote will be held before August of this... MORE

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud appears intent on shaking off the perceived lethargy of the Saudi royals in international efforts to combat terrorism, forming a 35-nation anti-terrorism coalition. The coalition has been promoted by Muhammad bin Salman, Salman’s son and the Saudi Defense... MORE