In October 2012, most Western analysts of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) were surprised when the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) Central Military Commission (CMC) appointed General Tian Xiusi—who had served since 1968 as an Army enlisted member and political officer—as the PLA Air Force (PLAAF)... MORE

This article briefly discusses the history of the political commissars (PCs, zhengwei) for the People’s Liberation Army’s Navy (PLAN) and Air Force (PLAAF) since the services were established in 1949, especially during the tumultuous period the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 1970s. The article... MORE

In January, reports surfaced that Laos would borrow money from China to finance a $7 billion, 260-mile rail project connecting the Lao capital of Vientiane to the Chinese border (Ming Pao [Hong Kong], January 15;Global Times, January 10; RFA, December 2, 2012). The project, by... MORE

China’s DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) is no longer merely an aspiration. Beijing has successfully developed, partially tested and deployed in small numbers the world’s first weapons system capable of targeting the last relatively uncontested U.S. airfield in the Asia-Pacific from long-range, land-based mobile launchers.... MORE

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) plans to conduct 40 military exercises this year in order to improve its readiness as well as its ability to fight and win wars, according to the Training Department of the PLA’s General Staff Department (PLA Daily, February 28; Xinhua,... MORE

The February 26–27 round of the nuclear negotiations involving Iran and the P5+1 group (all five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany) in Almaty went as well as might have reasonably been expected. Nobody expected a breakthrough and none occurred. Yet, the sides met... MORE

Following the Kumyks, who held a rally in the city of Pyatigorsk on February 10 (https://www.chernovik.net/content/lenta-novostey/v-pyatigorske-proshyol-sezd-kumykskogo-naroda), Chechen residents of Dagestan have also come out into the streets to protest. The organizers of a rally held on February 23 to mark the 69th anniversary of the... MORE

On February 14, Russian Deputy General Prosecutor Ivan Sydoruk publicly admitted that Dagestan ranked first in the Russian Federation in terms of the number of crimes committed. That same day, Dagestan’s acting president, Ramazan Abdulatipov, presided over a Dagestani government meeting on the issues of... MORE

Russia is always extremely secretive about everything and defense in particular, especially so under former KGB agent President Vladimir Putin. The Russian constitution, adopted in 1993, did include a clause that the nation must have a military doctrine that must be a public document. To... MORE

Since it participates in the six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear disarmament, Russia has a vital interest in developments there. Therefore, Russia’s governmental and expert community reactions to the North Korean nuclear test on February 12 possess importance both for the six-party process and for... MORE