The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is in the midst of the biggest reorganization and reform effort since the 1980s. Among the major changes announced, the country’s primary nuclear deterrent, the Second Artillery Corps, was upgraded to a separate service branch called the PLA Rocket... MORE

China’s recent deployment of HQ-9 missiles to the Paracel Islands represent part of a larger effort to consolidate the country’s position in the South China Sea. While the deployment in itself only adds an incremental improvement to China’s ability to control the Paracel Islands, its... MORE

On March 19, Chinese and Indonesian media reported that a confrontation had taken place between Chinese fishing boats and an Indonesian Fisheries Ministry ship near the Natuna Islands, in the South China Sea (Guancha, March 21; Konpas [Indonesia], March 21). Indonesian media reported that the... MORE

Ramzan Kadyrov’s substantial interest in the development of the Chechen special forces has been noted before (see EDM, March 27, 2015). Chechnya’s ruler tries to portray these units as model Russian armed forces. A retired officer of the Alpha Group, the Russian elite special forces... MORE

In late February, Russian TV channel Zvezda, which is wholly owned by the Ministry of Defense, broadcast a video about a new type of assault boat that will be commissioned next year as part of Russia’s strategy to boost its coastal defense. The Murena-class fast... MORE

In an attempt to decrease tensions in the North Caucasus, the Russian authorities set out to register all potential extremists who might carry out a terrorist attack, in the opinion of the police and the Federal Security Service (FSB). Since the start of 2016, reports... MORE

When China is at peace, foreigners will submit willingly. Therefore, if one wants to repel external threats, he must first bring internal peace. —Zhao Pu (922–992), Prime Minister of the Northern Song Dynasty China’s People’s Armed Police, or PAP, is the world’s largest internal security... MORE

Cai Dongjia, party secretary for Boshe village in Lufeng, Guangdong province, and a man otherwise known as “the Godfather of Meth,” was sentenced to death last week (Guangdong Courts, March 7). Cai was arrested in 2014 when 3,000 police raided his village, confiscating three metric... MORE

Georgia is gearing up for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) upcoming summit in Warsaw, hoping to receive a “strong message” from the Alliance about strengthening their mutual ties (see EDM, March 11). Georgian leaders have accepted that Tbilisi will most likely not receive a... MORE

President Vladimir Putin has created a storm of speculation concerning his decision to wind down Russian operations in Syria by announcing that a withdrawal would commence on March 15, involving the “main group” of forces (see EDM, March 15, 17, 21). Reaction in the Russian... MORE