The reforms announced by the recent Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee were headlined by economic pronouncements, but also contained ambitious language on the reform and restructuring of the Chinese military. The details remain sketchy, but according to the communiqué and subsequent press... MORE

While the recent Third Plenary Session of the 18th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee was expected to unveil major initiatives in economic liberalization, what has struck Chinese and foreign observers most is the weight that the leadership has given to enhancing state security, particularly... MORE

Recent statements by Russia’s naval top brass concerning highly ambitious plans to develop sixth-generation warfare capabilities at sea and to shortly introduce another Borey-class submarine run contrary to the long-term narrative of decline in Russian naval power. The author recalls asking a leading specialist on... MORE

On November 16, the Russian security services reported the killing in Dagestan of Dmitry Sokolov, an ethnic Russian convert to Islam who was suspected of masterminding the female suicide bombing in the Russian city of Volgograd in October. According to Russian media reports, the security... MORE

October–November 2013 witnessed a series of concerted Russian actions designed to express Moscow’s anger at the ballistic missile defense (BMD) program being implemented by the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). First, President Vladimir Putin dissolved the Russia-NATO task force for cooperation... MORE

In an interview aired by state TV channel Rossiya last weekend, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spelled out the three main military threats Russia is facing: international Islamist terrorism, the withdrawal of Western coalition forces from Afghanistan in 2014, and the continued expansion of the North... MORE

According to General-Lieutenant Viktor Sevostianov, the commander of air forces in the Central Military District, which controls the Kant airbase in Kyrgyzstan, Russia plans to double the number of its aircraft there before the end of 2013 (https://argumenti.ru/army/2013/10/293863). Sevostianov made the announcement during an October... MORE

Since President Vladimir Putin appointed Sergei Shoigu to be Russia’s defense minister in November 2012, the defense ministry leadership has resorted to Soviet-era “snap inspections” of its Armed Forces to raise combat readiness and gain additional insight into the condition of various units. Such an... MORE

Steadfast Jazz 2013, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) exercise just held in the three Baltic States and Poland (see accompanying article), marks the start of rebalancing the Alliance’s missions: from an disproportionate concentration on distant, low-intensity though resource-absorbing, and politically ineffective wars (epitomized by... MORE

On November 2–November 9, the NATO Response Force (NRF) conducted the Steadfast Jazz 2013 troop exercise in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, combined with the Baltic Host logistical exercise in the latter three Baltic States. The hosting countries had been awaiting exercises of this type... MORE