Tell me how this ends? was the despairing question attributed to American generals as they contemplated the quagmires in Vietnam and Iraq. The same question needs to be asked by US policymakers now, as they consider the escalating tensions between America and China. The world’s two most powerful countries are locked into confrontations on a […]
A new study offers little evidence for its bold generalizations that the U.S. is losing its ability to win a state-vs-state war. One of the first things one learns as an infantry platoon leader is that he who tries to secure everything with his soldiers on the battlefield usually ends up securing nothing. Unfortunately for […]
China and Russia have joined forces and are going ahead with controversial plans to heat and alter the Earth’s atmosphere. This project, experts claim, has potential military applications as it can disrupt satellite communication, a distinct advantage in the event of war or espionage. Charged particles, known as ions, create a reflective layer over a […]
No GPS? No satellite TV? No radar? Russia and China say they have found ways to boost their own signals — and jam others. Northern European nations have this year been complaining of unexplained ‘outages’ of vital GPS systems. Now we know it was actually a secret experiment with the Chinese to modify the Earth’s […]
President Xi Jinping said China would stick to its policy agenda, despite pressure from the U.S. and others to allow more competition in its economic system. Xi told an audience of party officials, military leaders and entrepreneurs in a speech Tuesday that “no one is in the position to dictate to the Chinese people what […]
TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s cabinet has approved a revised version of the National Defense Program Guidelines, which set out the country’s defense capability targets over 10-year periods. https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics/Five-things-to-know-about-Japan-s-new-and-bigger-defense-plan
Beijing’s US$2 billion commitment at the facility unsettles US military strategists Political considerations concerning Chinese investment in Israel’s third-biggest port may be the reason behind the Israeli government’s decision to review a deal that gives Beijing a majority stake in the facility, analysts said. The assessment came after Israel’s national security cabinet was reported to […]
In this Sept. 23, 2015, file photo, Chinese Coast Guard members approach Filipino fishermen as they confront each other off Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, also called the West Philippine Sea. AP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—A possible armed confrontation over the disputed maritime areas in the South China Sea is on the top […]
It has been just five years since China initiated its major land reclamation in the South China Sea, and the country has already shifted the territorial status quo in its favour—without facing any international pushback. The anniversary of the start of its island building underscores the transformed geopolitics in a corridor central to the international […]
This story is part of an ongoing series on U.S.-China relations, jointly produced by the South China Morning Post and POLITICO, with reporting from Asia and the United States. Rising tensions over Beijing’s accelerating military buildup in the South China Sea are stoking fears of a major-power clash between China and the United States — […]