Myanmar’s Resistance Winning Ground but Losing the Narrative
The Myanmar military has turned its information operations into a decisive battlefield, deploying state media, Russian cognitive‑warfare expertise, and costly U.S. public‑relations firms to portray the National Unity Government (NUG) as corrupt and fragmented. Domestically, propaganda attacks the NUG and ethnic armed groups, stokes ethnic and religious divisions, and spreads false claims about misappropriated U.S. aid. Internationally, the junta pushes a narrative of “stability” to attract Western investment in rare‑earths and hydropower, while deepening reliance on China and Russia. Meanwhile, the NUG’s own communications capacity remains weak, hampering its ability to counter these narratives.
Trump’s ‘Pro-Israel’ Policies Are Israel’s Biggest Liability
Donald Trump’s tenure produced headline‑grabbing pro‑Israel actions, including the Abraham Accords, the Jerusalem embassy move, and the killing of Qasem Soleimani, which were celebrated as diplomatic victories. Yet the article argues that his maximalist, transaction‑focused style has created strategic liabilities for...
With Three Contestants, the Globe’s New Great Game Is On
Analysts label today’s geopolitical rivalry a "New Great Game" pitting the United States against a China‑Russia alliance. The contest spans Central Asia, the Middle East, the Arctic and the Indo‑Pacific, driven by competition for fossil fuels, rare‑earth minerals and strategic...
China’s Missile Reach Forcing US Pacific Air Power Reset
China’s expanding missile and surveillance capabilities are turning U.S. forward airbases in the Pacific into high‑value targets, prompting the Air Force to abandon its Cold‑War‑era expeditionary model. A Hudson Institute report warns that without a three‑tiered “Edge‑Force, Pulsed‑Force, Core‑Force” redesign,...
Architect of Botched Doha Agreement Angling for a Comeback
Zalmay Khalilzad, the former U.S. special envoy who crafted the 2020 Doha Agreement, is signaling a return to Afghan diplomacy under a prospective second Trump administration. The Doha deal, widely blamed for the rapid Taliban takeover and the chaotic U.S....
China’s Submarine Surge Testing Pacific’s Undersea Balance
China’s nuclear‑submarine production has accelerated dramatically, with the Bohai shipyard launching more hulls in 2021‑25 than the entire previous decade and overtaking the United States in annual launches for the first time. The yard now produces roughly two Type‑093B attack...
China Gives Lithuania Punishing Silent Treatment over Taiwan
In 2021 Lithuania permitted a Taiwanese representative office to use the name "Taiwan" rather than "Taipei," directly challenging Beijing's One‑China policy. China answered not with public sanctions but with a silent diplomatic freeze, withdrawing embassy staff and removing Lithuania from...
Defunding the Taliban without Starving the Afghan People
The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the bipartisan No Tax Dollars for Terrorists Act, aiming to prevent American taxpayer money from funding the Taliban or affiliated terrorist groups. The legislation follows a SIGAR report indicating that roughly $3.83 billion of...
How Japan Should Respond to Trump’s Project Vault
The Trump administration’s Project Vault earmarks about $12 billion to create a U.S. Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve, a public‑private partnership that purchases, stores and manages a diversified portfolio of essential raw materials. Japan’s current METI‑JOGMEC approach evaluates projects individually, which could...
MQ-9 Drones Sharpen US Eye on China’s Pacific Moves
The United States is deploying and upgrading MQ‑9 Reaper drones across the Indo‑Pacific, stationing them at bases in Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and other locations. The expansion creates a persistent ISR web that allies such as Japan, Taiwan and...
What’s Behind UK-China Border Security Deal?
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a UK‑China border‑security agreement aimed at disrupting the supply of engines and equipment used for small‑boat crossings of the English Channel. The pact builds on a network of similar deals with Turkey, the Balkans,...
Trump’s Diego Garcia Fears Miss the Strategic Point
On February 5 President Trump said talks with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on returning the Chagos Archipelago to Mauritius were productive. The pending May 2025 agreement would transfer sovereignty to Mauritius while granting the UK a 99‑year lease of Diego Garcia to...
AI Is the Future of Warfare and US Is in the Lead
Artificial intelligence is reshaping modern warfare, with the United States far ahead in funding, infrastructure, and operational deployment. The Pentagon now spends at least $2 billion annually on AI‑enabled weapons and billions more indirectly through procurement, while private investment tops $109 billion....
Japan Hands Philippines Radars to Keep Closer Eye on China
Japan officially handed over five coastal radar systems to the Philippines under its 2023 Official Security Assistance program. The equipment, which includes surveillance, communications and support components, is designed to enhance the Philippine Navy’s maritime domain awareness and support ISR,...
Maritime Divide: Why the Philippines Is Failing Its Seas
Philippines’ maritime governance remains fragmented, leading to severe fisheries losses, safety failures, and costly logistics. Overfishing and weak enforcement cause an annual loss of about 45 million kilograms of fish, while ferry disasters like the MV Trisha Kerstin 3 highlight systemic safety...
Growing Cracks in the BRICS+ Wall
The 2026 Davos forum highlighted a widening rift between President Trump’s hyper‑transactional Board of Peace (BoP) and the consensus‑driven BRICS+ alliance. While the BoP can mobilise billion‑dollar initiatives within weeks, BRICS+ remains mired in slow multilateralism, hampered by its recent...
China’s US Treasurys Exit Could Limit Japan’s Military Spending
China is directing state‑owned banks to cut U.S. Treasury holdings to roughly $750 billion by 2025, halving its 2010 peak. The reduction removes a major buyer from the market, shifting the financing burden toward Japan, the world’s largest foreign‑reserve holder. Japan’s...
Will Donroe Doctrine Really Cut China’s Western Hemisphere Clout?
The Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy introduces the “Donroe Doctrine,” a modernized Monroe Doctrine that seeks to bar non‑hemispheric powers, especially China, from controlling strategic assets in the Western Hemisphere. It pledges to push out foreign infrastructure firms and...
US Containerized Drone Swarms No Silver Bullet vs China
The Defense Innovation Unit has issued a solicitation for a Containerized Autonomous Drone Delivery System (CADDS) that can store, launch, recover and service large numbers of unmanned aerial systems from a single container on land or sea. CADDS is designed...