Back-to-back with the European Union’s Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius (see EDM, December 3–5), Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a state visit to Armenia on December 2. Putin’s timing was designed to underscore Russia’s capacity to induce Armenia to choose Russia and Eurasia over Europe.... MORE

Reports of clashes between government forces and militants in Chechnya are rare these days. However, the absence of such reports is not always due to an absence of clashes. Russia’s information policy with regard to Chechnya is pointedly positive and thus practically excludes the very... MORE

Cyberspace is emerging as a contentious frontier in cross-Strait relations. Overt military tension in the Taiwan Strait has ostensibly given way to a cold war in the cyber-domain. A surge in China-sponsored cyber intrusions was highlighted recently by Taiwan’s intelligence chief, Tsai Der-sheng. In remarks... MORE

On November 23, China announced the creation of a new Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) covering the East China Sea. Immediate reactions have focused on its effect on the territorial claims of Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. However, the new ADIZ is also a major... MORE

On November 23, Beijing announced that a new Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) would go into effect over the East China Sea, overlapping existing Japanese and South Korean ADIZ, requiring all air traffic passing through the zone to file flight information irrespective of its destination.... MORE

Typhoon Haiyan, known as Yolanda in the Philippines, killed 5,719 and injured 26,233 and displaced more than four million people (ndrrmc.gov.ph, December 4; Manila Bulletin, November 20). This is more than 4% of the country's total population. To put this into perspective, by comparison, approximately... MORE

North Caucasus Federal District Deputy Prosecutor General Andrei Medvedev, recently reported that the number of extremism-related crimes in the North Caucasus rose by 40 percent in the first three quarters of 2013 in comparison to the same period of 2012. According to the official, 69... MORE

In theory, the Russian Air Force (Voyenno-Vozdushnye Sily—VVS) is in “permanent readiness,” with 80 percent of its assets in a serviceable condition. Nonetheless, the real condition of the VVS, according to an October 28 article in Kommersant, is far from this mythical status; only 42... MORE

China’s declaration of an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) covering the disputed Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands—as well as the greater part of the East China Sea, including sections of Taiwan’s and South Korea’s own ADIZs—demands explanation. The announcement, issued by China’s Ministry of National Defense (MoD) on... MORE

More than one year after the appointment of Sergei Shoigu as defense minister, Moscow still struggles to fully man Russia’s Armed Forces. Despite official claims that the total under arms is “one million” the recognition of under-manning in the military has now permeated the Ministry... MORE