• ENERGY SECURITYEuropean Countries Would Be Wise to Assist Each Other with Regard to Energy

    By Fabio Bergamin

    If European countries collaborate, they can avoid severe energy scarcity due to a gas shortage. If the European countries act selfishly in times of gas shortage, Eastern Europe in particular will suffer. Eastern Europe is vulnerable because the entry points for natural gas are now in the west of the continent.

  • CHINA WATCHIs Taiwan Prepared for a Potential Chinese Attack?

    By William Yang

    Leaked U.S. documents cast doubt on Taiwan’s air defense capability against potential attacks. Experts, however, say that the island has some robust defense systems.

  • CHINA WATCHJapan: Public Reluctant to Defend Taiwan Should China Invade

    By Julian Ryall

    A new opinion poll has found that over half of the Japanese population is of the opinion that the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) should not become involved in fighting if China invades Taiwan. Tokyo has not explicitly stated that it would commit ground, air or maritime units to help fend off any Chinese attack; but soaring defense spending and the upgrading of Japan’s naval and air capabilities, in particular, indicate that the military is preparing itself.

  • CHINA WATCHChina’s Defense Spending Growth Continues Apace

    By David Uren

    China, India and Japan are leading a surge in military spending in the Asian region with geopolitical tensions pushing South Korea, Australia and Taiwan, among others, to follow suit. China’s military spending now exceeds the combined outlays of the next 25 biggest nations in the region, for which there are reliable estimates.

  • GUN TRAFFICKINGStopping Illegal Gun Trafficking Through South Florida

    By Will Freeman

    American-made guns trafficked through Florida ports are destabilizing the Caribbean and Central America and fueling domestic crime. It’s time for the United States to get serious about stopping the flow.

  • CHINA WATCHU.S.-China Tech Competition Expands to AI Regulations

    By Adam Xu

    Competition between the U.S. and China in artificial intelligence has expanded into a race to design and implement comprehensive AI regulations. The efforts to come up with rules to ensure AI’s trustworthiness, safety, and transparency come at a time when governments around the world are exploring the impact of the technology on national security and education.

  • ARGUMENT: CYBER ORDERThe Liberal Cyber Order

    Grand strategy is a theory of security, a logical narrative about how states employ the instruments of national power to make themselves safe. States may choose from a variety of grand strategies. Joshua Rovner writes that two grand strategies are particularly important to the current U.S. debate: restraint and liberal internationalism. Last month the Biden administration released its National Cybersecurity Strategy, which offers a full display of the foundations of liberal internationalism. This is surprising, since Joe Biden’s approach to national security has always blended liberal ideals with realist restraint.

  • CHINA WATCHU.S., Taiwan Defense to Firms Explore Weapons Co-Production

    By Xiaoshan Xue

    Defense contractors from the U.S. and Taiwan will next month resume in-person conversations to explore possibilities of co-producing weapons, a move likely to ignite protests from China. The Taiwan-US Defense Industry Forum will meet on May 3 in Taipei, with a focus on co-production, integrating Taiwan’s industrial capabilities, and a range of defense cooperation issues.

  • CHINA WATCHThe U.S. Is About to Blow Up a Fake Warship in the South China Sea – but Naval Rivalry with Beijing Is Very Real and Growing

    By Krista Wiegand

    As part of a joint military exercise with the Philippines, the U.S. Navy is slated to sink a mock warship on April 26, 2023, in the South China Sea. For its part, China is holding its own staged military event involving actual warships and fighter jets deployed around Taiwan. More than a century after President Theodore Roosevelt made the United States the preeminent maritime power in the Pacific, that position is under threat. China is seeking to displace it. The next time a warship is blown up in the South China Sea, it may not be just a drill.

  • CHINA WATCHTaiwan's Choice: China or the United States?

    By William Yang

    Following overseas trips by the current and former Taiwanese presidents, political parties are gearing up for Taiwan’s 2024 election, with the slogan “war or peace” dominating the conversation.

  • ARGUMENT: IRAQ REFLECTIONSIraq: Twenty Years On, Two Narratives Emerge

    Twenty years on, discussions of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq offer two distinct yet incongruent narratives. Most, if not all, veterans of “Iraqi Freedom” tell an inward-facing story focusing on tactical and operational “lessons” largely devoid of political context. Meanwhile, Iraqi scholars and civilians look at the political and social upheaval, concentrating far more on the costs of war than on the supposed benefits of U.S. interventionism.

  • EV BATTERIESEV Batteries: Chinese Dominance Raises Thorny Questions

    By Srinivas Mazumdaru

    Chinese firms currently dominate the electric vehicle battery supply chain — from mining and refining through to final assembly. This leaves Western automakers with little option but to rely on Chinese-made batteries.

  • CHINA WATCHThe Rise and Fall of the Belt and Road Initiative

    By Nadia Clark

    Amidst accusations of “debt-trap diplomacy,” Chinese companies seek more overseas direct investment opportunities and fewer foreign contracted projects as Xi’s flagship initiative is stymied by poor risk management.

  • CRITICAL MINERALSBetter Together: Japan and the Five Eyes Need to Focus on Critical Minerals

    By Gaurav Sareen

    Critical minerals are being consumed in greater volumes than ever before, and the level of demand will only increase over the next 10 to 20 years, and beyond. The governments of Japan and the Five Eyes countries (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States) are aware that critical minerals, including rare-earth elements, will be increasingly needed as the world shifts from fossil-fuel systems to renewable energy sources. The partner nations are also clear about the challenges and opportunities, especially given that the supply chains for several critical minerals have only one or few dominant key players.

  • ENERGY SECURITYPolish Shale Gas May Be the answer to the EU's Energy Shortage

    By Jo Harper

    Although there is currently no shale gas production in Europe, Polish energy experts say it could easily be brought back to the table to alleviate the European energy crisis.