The big risks of 2024: Taiwan elections, Philippine shoals, AUKUS dough

The big risks of 2024: Taiwan elections, Philippine shoals, AUKUS dough
The big risks of 2024: Taiwan elections, Philippine shoals, AUKUS dough

Keep your eyes on the Second Scarborough Shoal and other atolls in the South China Sea, where China has pressed an increasingly aggressive and dangerous campaign.

5 Indo-Pacific stories: China’s neighbors clasp hands while AUKUS tumbles along

5 Indo-Pacific stories: China’s neighbors clasp hands while AUKUS tumbles along
5 Indo-Pacific stories: China’s neighbors clasp hands while AUKUS tumbles along

The biggest strategic shift in the Indo-Pacific was clearly the combination of China’s economy faltering at the same time as turmoil roiled the top echelons of the Chinese Communist Party and its government.

‘Mind your own business’: PRC defense minister to world, hours after PLAN ship rushes US destroyer

‘Mind your own business’: PRC defense minister to world, hours after PLAN ship rushes US destroyer
‘Mind your own business’: PRC defense minister to world, hours after PLAN ship rushes US destroyer

“The big strategic goal is a Chinese-led international order, a Chinese century, where the US strategic primacy has ended. The US can basically move back to the Western Hemisphere and focus on itself, which is what he was saying,” Malcom Davis, China expert at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said.

China ‘will fight to the very end’ over Taiwan: Chinese defense minister

China ‘will fight to the very end’ over Taiwan: Chinese defense minister
China ‘will fight to the very end’ over Taiwan: Chinese defense minister

Gen. Wei Fenghe described the US Indo-Pacific strategy as “an attempt to build an exclusive small group in the name of a free and open Indo-Pacific.” It is designed “to create conflict and confrontation, to contain and encircle others.”

Chinese Execute ‘Huge’ Theater Level Exercise; Russia & PRC Start Joint Exercise

Chinese Execute ‘Huge’ Theater Level Exercise; Russia & PRC Start Joint Exercise
Chinese Execute ‘Huge’ Theater Level Exercise; Russia & PRC Start Joint Exercise

“Everywhere we went, we were confronted with Chinese. They would come up to us in the hotels, out in the streets and just kind of get really in our face,” Marine Maj. Gen. David Furness said of his recent service in East Africa. “And they’d basically tell us, we’re coming after you. They weren’t shy about it at all.”

Allies, No-Strings Vaccines, Human Rights, Open Seas: SecDef In Singapore

Allies, No-Strings Vaccines, Human Rights, Open Seas: SecDef In Singapore
Allies, No-Strings Vaccines, Human Rights, Open Seas: SecDef In Singapore

“Unfortunately, Beijing’s unwillingness to resolve disputes peacefully and respect the rule of law isn’t just occurring on the water. We have also seen aggression against India… destabilizing military activity and other forms of coercion against the people of Taiwan… and genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang,” Secretary Austin said.

‘Sense Of Crisis’ On China-Taiwan: Japan Defense White Paper

‘Sense Of Crisis’ On China-Taiwan: Japan Defense White Paper
‘Sense Of Crisis’ On China-Taiwan: Japan Defense White Paper

Chinese actions in the Pacific are posing a “grave concern” for Japan’s military, a new official paper concludes.

Esper Stands By Korea, Taiwan – But Offers Olive Branch To China

Esper Stands By Korea, Taiwan – But Offers Olive Branch To China
Esper Stands By Korea, Taiwan – But Offers Olive Branch To China

Esper said “I’ve issued no orders to withdraw from the Republic of Korea” — but rotational deployments may replace units permanently stationed there.

US Warns Putting China On Law Of The Sea Panel Like ‘Hiring An Arsonist’

US Warns Putting China On Law Of The Sea Panel Like ‘Hiring An Arsonist’
US Warns Putting China On Law Of The Sea Panel Like ‘Hiring An Arsonist’

In rejecting Chinese claims to the South China Sea, the Trump administration is in the opening throes of a rhetorical offensive, promising more concrete moves

US To China: You Do NOT Control South China Sea

US To China: You Do NOT Control South China Sea
US To China: You Do NOT Control South China Sea

“Beijing’s approach has been clear for years,” Mike Pompeo says. “In 2010, then-PRC Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi told his ASEAN counterparts that “China is a big country and other countries are small countries and that is just a fact.’ The PRC’s predatory world view has no place in the 21st century.”

‘A Chinese Military That is Active Everywhere:’ DIA China Military Power Report

‘A Chinese Military That is Active Everywhere:’ DIA China Military Power Report
‘A Chinese Military That is Active Everywhere:’ DIA China Military Power Report

WASHINGTON: China is not ready to wage war far beyond the shores of Taiwan, but it is pressing hard to develop some advanced weapons and increasingly wants to project power beyond its shores with an increasingly capable military. Those are the fundamental conclusions of the Defense Intelligence Agency in a unique report with its roots…

The US & China: A Colder Peace or Thucydides’ Trap?

The US & China: A Colder Peace or Thucydides’ Trap?
The US & China: A Colder Peace or Thucydides’ Trap?

As President Trump pushes Beijing on trade and cyber espionage, the United States and China are on a collision course. The U.S. urgently needs a new strategy to avoid the traditional fate of rising and status quo powers: catastrophic war.

Russian Intercept Underscores Tensions in Black Sea

Russian Intercept Underscores Tensions in Black Sea
Russian Intercept Underscores Tensions in Black Sea

A Russian fighter plane gave a US surveillance plane an unexpectedly rough ride on Monday, part of an increase in tensions in the Black Sea.

Russia’s Strategy, ISIS’ Future & Countering China: CJCS Dunford Speaks

Russia’s Strategy, ISIS’ Future & Countering China: CJCS Dunford Speaks
Russia’s Strategy, ISIS’ Future & Countering China: CJCS Dunford Speaks

  Gen. Joe Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Staff, spoke last week with a small group of traveling reporters after attending a conference of NATO Military Chiefs in Warsaw, including Breaking Defense contributor James Kitfield. Dunford described Russia’s strategy for pulling NATO apart and reiterated that Moscow poses the single greatest global threat to the UnIted…