In the previous issue, the first part of this article examined the various strategic and other motivations behind China’s desire for an increased military presence west of Singapore (see China Brief, March 19). Having laid out China’s basic purpose in building up a military presence... MORE

A little more than a year after a French and African Union military intervention drove an Islamist coalition from their bases in northern Mali in early 2013, Prime Minister Moussa Mara ignited the seething tensions in the area with an ill-advised visit to the Kidal... MORE

Amid a series of government denials from Pakistan and Afghanistan regarding the presence of the Islamic State militant group in these countries and its ongoing outreach activities there, its expansion was corroborated by none other than the Islamic State’s spokesperson, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, on January... MORE

North Caucasian militants who recently pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his so-called Islamic State (see EDM, January 8) have experienced their first losses. It happened during a counter-terrorist operation conducted on March 31 in the city of Khasavyurt, near the administrative border with... MORE

Many Chechen supporters of the Islamic State have flocked to the Middle East. And as their numbers and fervency have grown, this has placed at a disadvantage other Chechen commanders in the Middle East who have refused to subordinate themselves to the self-styled new caliphate.... MORE

Recent geographically broad, intensive and large-scale military exercises of the Russian army, including those in the North Caucasus (Russia’s Southern Military District—MD), have again raised concerns about Vladimir Putin’s possible attempts to hinder the development of Georgia’s cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)... MORE

A fragile ceasefire is partially holding in Donbas (eastern Ukrainian region encompassing Donetsk and Luhansk provinces). Massive offensive operations have ceased and some heavy weapons have been withdrawn from the front line. But the truce is constantly broken by gun battles and bombardments. The Organization... MORE

In a measure of just how frightened Ashgabat is of the possibility that Afghan radical forces will invade Turkmenistan, it has reportedly allowed Russian and now Uzbekistani military personnel to provide help in fortifying its border and has appealed to the United States for military... MORE

Russia’s recent “snap inspection” military exercises in Western and Southern Military Districts (see EDM, March 19) and the defense ministry’s plans to reinforce conventional deployments in Crimea (see EDM, March 27) generate an impression of revived Russian military power. However, Russia’s relatively careful and low-scale... MORE