China was the first country to establish diplomatic relations with the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste—more commonly referred to as East Timor—when it gained formal independence on May 20, 2002 (China Brief, July 5, 2006). Since that time China has expanded its economic interests in East... MORE

As the United States prepares to increase its military deployment in Afghanistan, attention is being devoted to the question of supply routes for these and other coalition forces. The U.S. European Command (EUCOM) held a conference in Baku on March 9 and 10 aimed at... MORE

It is early springtime and in the mountain passes separating Georgia from Russia, there is snowfall one day and wet snow or rain the next. Avalanches and mudslides caused by wet snow regularly close down the only road connecting Russia and the breakaway region of... MORE

The ministers of foreign affairs of NATO's 26 countries held an informal meeting on March 5 in Brussels, following the defense ministers' meeting in Cracow on February 19 and 20 (see EDM, February 23, 24). Both preparatory to NATO's April 3 and 4 summit. The... MORE

On February 17 Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev issued a decree ordering the government to set up the Syrbar foreign intelligence agency. The presidential press service told journalists that Syrbar would be directly subordinate to the president. By the same decree, the Barlau foreign intelligence service... MORE

On March 4 Russian Deputy Defense Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs Lyubov Kudelina outlined defense spending plans in light of the global financial crisis, expressing confidence that although there would be some cuts in the overall budget of the Ministry of Defense (MoD), this... MORE

The development of China’s nuclear and conventional missile power has been among the most impressive and most closely watched aspects of Chinese military modernization over the past two decades. During the past 20 years, the Second Artillery Corps (SAC) has been transformed from a small... MORE

The eastward expansion of membership and enlargement of missions undertaken by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) over the past decade push a lot of sensitive buttons in China’s national security policy. These sensitivities include long-standing opposition to the enlargement of military blocs and strengthening... MORE

Russia is currently actively promoting deeper defense and security ties with the Kyrgyz Republic. Following the announced activation of the CSTO Rapid Reaction Forces, established in Moscow on February 3, and the Russian-inspired eviction of the U.S. military from Manas Air Base, Russia's military interests... MORE

The Kyrgyz government announced that August 18, 2009, would be the final day for the U.S. base's functioning at Manas Airport (www.akipress.kg, February 24). Despite intense criticism from the international community, the Kyrgyz leadership seems is determined to shut down the base as soon as... MORE