Asia-Pacific
Coverage of Indo-Pacific security, South China Sea disputes, Taiwan contingencies, and the strategic dynamics of ASEAN, Australia, Japan, and Korea.
The Partnership That Isn't
Russia and China present a united front against Western hegemony. But beneath the summits and joint statements lie deep structural tensions—over status, territory, and economic dependency—that Western policy could exploit through patience rather than manipulation.
The Amber of American Strategy: What the 2025 NDAA Reveals About American Strategy
The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act was shaped by Biden but will be implemented by Trump. Its $895 billion framework reveals what American strategic culture has decided to preserve regardless of who holds power—and what remains dangerously unresolved.
Licensed to Kill: Australia's Firearms Paradox After Bondi
The December 2025 Bondi Beach attack killed sixteen people with legally obtained weapons. One attacker had been known to ASIO for six years. The system worked exactly as designed—which is precisely the problem Australia must now confront.
The Exemplary Destruction: What Jimmy Lai's Conviction Reveals About Beijing's Control of Hong Kong's Business Elite
Jimmy Lai's life sentence is not punishment but potlatch—the ritual destruction of the most valuable to demonstrate absolute sovereignty. For Hong Kong's surviving tycoons, the message is unmistakable: everything they possess exists at Beijing's pleasure.
The Geography of Fear
America's military infrastructure is migrating eastward and fragmenting as it goes. The redistribution of bases and decentralization of command reveal what doctrine papers obscure: the United States has accepted that its dominance can no longer be assumed, only contested.
The Temple and the Trap
A leaked phone call, a disputed cliff-top temple, and two nations' domestic politics collided in 2025 to produce Southeast Asia's bloodiest conflict in decades. The Thailand-Cambodia crisis reveals how ancient grievances become modern catastrophes—and why neither side can afford to stop fighting.
The Reef That Decides Everything
The rusting hull of the Sierra Madre sits on Second Thomas Shoal, a Philippine Navy vessel deliberately grounded in 1999 to stake a territorial claim. A handful of marines live aboard, resupplied by small boats that must run a gauntlet of Chinese Coast Guard water cannons.
The Countdown That Isn't
Taiwan exists in a state of permanent almost. Almost a country. Almost at war. Almost reunified. For seventy-five years, the island has occupied a liminal space that international law cannot classify and strategic planners cannot resolve.
