US-China ‘grey zone’ rivalry in South China Sea may be about to intensify

The United States has announced a strategy to integrate its maritime forces, including its coastguard, to counter China’s growing presence in the contested South China Sea. In the new American maritime warfare strategy for the next decade, the US Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard have jointly pledged to build an “integrated all-domain naval power” […]

Japan, US to boost defense ties with Europe in Indo-Pacific

Japan and the United States have welcomed planned naval deployments this year by major European countries to Indo-Pacific waters, as China’s rapid military modernization and maritime and territorial ambitions prompt moves to increase deterrence. With Beijing demonstrating increasing assertiveness in the East and South China seas and on the India-China border, Britain will deploy the […]

China’s rapid military development outpaces even the US

Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping is shaping to make the People’s Liberation Army his primary vehicle for driving the party’s strategic aims this year. The end of last year has brought remarkable policy and propaganda shifts in Beijing, mostly unreported in the democracies, that consolidate the CCP’s control of the military and make […]

Has China Decided That ‘Moderately Prosperous’ Is Good Enough?

As China’s growth model sputters and Xi Jinping prioritizes repression over reform, China looks unlikely to join the ranks of developed countries. China has a new set of economic goals—and they’re far less ambitious than those of past decades. In October, when the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) met to endorse President […]

PH ‘within striking distance’: China seen gearing up for full naval base operations on Kagitingan Reef

MANILA, Philippines—China’s biggest military transport plane landed recently on Kagitingan Reef (Fiery Cross) in the West Philippine Sea, giving a glimpse of what could happen if the Chinese base there becomes fully operational. A Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force Y-20 transporter was spotted on Kagitingan Reef last Dec. 25, Hong Kong-based news agency […]

South China Sea: India and Japan’s joint pact sparks Beijing anger as tensions rise

SOUTH CHINA SEA TENSIONS ESCALATED AFTER INDIA AND JAPAN MADE A JOINT VOW TO ENSURE BEIJING’S TIGHTENING GRIP ON THE MOST COVETED WATERS IN THE WORLD DOES NOT SPIRAL OUT OF CONTROL, AND INTO CONFLICT. SOUTH CHINA SEA: MILITARY EXERCISES ‘MUST CONTINUE’ SAYS EXPERT India and Japan’s defence ministers, Rajnath Singh and Nobuo Kishi respectively, […]