Latest Articles about Military/Security

Islamic State Has Done Little in North Caucasus Despite Winning Over Regional Militants
August was a turbulent month for the armed Islamic resistance movement in the North Caucasus, with the Russian security services carrying out multiple successful operations. According to an independent news source, the Kavkazsky Uzel website, over three dozen people may have been killed or wounded... MORE

Moscow Ups the Stakes in the Syrian Conflict
Reports of the alleged troop buildup in Syria of a “Russian expeditionary force” to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, first appeared last month (August) in Israeli and Ukrainian online publications. The Kremlin denied these accounts, but seemingly halfheartedly (Kommersant, September 8). On September 4, speaking... MORE

Threatened From Afghanistan, Central Asia May Win the Battle Only to Lose the War
Dual armed attacks shook Tajikistan, on the night of September 4, as militants allegedly connected to former deputy defense minister General Abduhalim Nazarzoda fired on a police station and a weapons depot in and around Dushanbe. The resulting firefights with government forces ended with 22... MORE

PLA Transformation: Difficult Military Reforms Begin
President Xi announced a 300,000-personnel reduction at the 70th anniversary military parade (China Military Online, September 3). The reduction represents the most significant element of the current military reforms so far made public. Less contentious elements of the reform plan regarding training, rules and regulations,... MORE

Is Russia Preparing for a Second Major Assault on Georgia?
On August 22, Russian Deputy Defense Minister General Dmitry Bulgakov stated that as of the end of July, Russia had deployed 500 railway troops to restore the portion of the north-south Abkhazian railway that became non-operational since the 1992–1993 war in Abkhazia. General Bulgakov specifically... MORE

Poor Economic Outlook and Lack of Security Undermine Kabardino-Balkaria’s Governor
Brutal police operations in Kabardino-Balkaria in recent months have prompted some experts to conclude that the republic’s governor is building a “police republic.” Yuri Kokov has ruled Kabardino-Balkaria since December 2013, although he was officially appointed governor in October 2014. A career police official, Kokov... MORE

Slavic Brotherhood 2015 Rehearses Anti–Color Revolution Operations
Russia’s Armed Forces conducted a military exercise indicating Moscow’s intent and planning to use military force to thwart future “color revolutions.” Elite Airborne Forces and special forces from Russia, Belarus and Serbia participated in Slavyanskoye Bratstvo (Slavic Brotherhood) 2015, signaling that color revolutions—as a potential... MORE

Moscow Trying Every Middle Eastern Door
Throughout the year, the Middle East has remained engulfed in conflict as well as intense international diplomatic negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program. And just as the United States and other powers are grappling with the threats posed by the violence in the Middle... MORE

Rural China’s Public Security Vacuum
The month of August began for Chinese netizens with terrible news. Two siblings, aged 15 and 12, were murdered in a gruesome double homicide (QQ News Online, August 8). The story of the children’s murder struck a chord with the Chinese public, particularly because the... MORE

PLA Special Operations: Combat Missions and Operations Abroad
This is the second PLA special operations article. The first article appeared in the previous edition of China Brief and addressed special operations forces, command and planning, training and future direction. Special Operations Forces (SOF) execute key strategic and operational combat missions, respond to non-traditional security threats,... MORE