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Asia-Pacific

Coverage of Indo-Pacific security, South China Sea disputes, Taiwan contingencies, and the strategic dynamics of ASEAN, Australia, Japan, and Korea.

What breaks first when US allies must self-defend: NATO's eastern flank, Taiwan, or the Gulf?

What breaks first when US allies must self-defend: NATO's eastern flank, Taiwan, or the Gulf?

Three allied theaters share a common vulnerability: industrial dependence on American production that no ally has seriously attempted to replicate. When stockpiles determine survival, the question becomes who runs out first.

Britain cedes Diego Garcia sovereignty—but America keeps the base

Britain cedes Diego Garcia sovereignty—but America keeps the base

The UK-Mauritius agreement transfers sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago while preserving a 99-year US military lease. Critics warn of strategic disaster. The operational reality is far more mundane—and the legal foundations far stronger.

Japan's hypersonic gamble: Deterrence restored or arms race accelerated?

Japan's hypersonic gamble: Deterrence restored or arms race accelerated?

Tokyo's new strike capabilities are designed to counter China and North Korea. But the same weapons that strengthen deterrence also fuel the regional arms competition they aim to prevent—a contradiction Japan cannot escape.

Has Chinese espionage already crippled Taiwan's military before the war begins?

Has Chinese espionage already crippled Taiwan's military before the war begins?

Taiwan prosecuted 64 espionage cases last year while absorbing 2.4 million cyberattacks daily. The island can still fight—but decades of Chinese intelligence penetration have eroded command coherence, constrained American cooperation, and enabled Beijing to calibrate coercion with uncomfortable...

Diego Garcia's new landlord: How Mauritius gains leverage over America's most valuable Indian Ocean base

Diego Garcia's new landlord: How Mauritius gains leverage over America's most valuable Indian Ocean base

Britain's transfer of Chagos sovereignty to Mauritius preserves US military operations under a 99-year lease—but gives a small island nation with growing Chinese ties quiet leverage that compounds over decades.

Why a tiny Indian Ocean atoll is fracturing the UK-US alliance

Why a tiny Indian Ocean atoll is fracturing the UK-US alliance

The Chagos Islands deal was meant to resolve a colonial wrong. Instead, it has exposed how legal challenges, sovereignty disputes, and shifting politics can threaten military infrastructure that great powers assumed was permanent.

Japan's hypersonic missiles will work—the system that commands them will not

Japan's hypersonic missiles will work—the system that commands them will not

Tokyo's new strike weapons force a question Japanese strategic culture has avoided for three generations. The answer will fracture alliances before it deters adversaries.

What the strikes on Iran revealed about Israeli vulnerability and regional realignment

What the strikes on Iran revealed about Israeli vulnerability and regional realignment

The June 2025 attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities tested a generation of assumptions about proxy coordination and Israeli defense capacity. The outcome defied predictions of both triumph and collapse, exposing structural dynamics that will shape Middle Eastern security for decades.

Will Trump's security doctrine push Japan, South Korea, and Poland toward nuclear weapons?

Will Trump's security doctrine push Japan, South Korea, and Poland toward nuclear weapons?

The Pentagon's 2025 strategy tells allies to handle their own defense. For three countries living under nuclear-armed adversaries, this creates a calculation that diplomatic frameworks may be too slow to constrain.

Why Venezuela's collapse emboldens rather than deters China on Taiwan

Why Venezuela's collapse emboldens rather than deters China on Taiwan

Beijing watched Venezuela's economy contract 88% under Western sanctions—and concluded that authoritarian regimes can survive isolation. The lesson China learned is not the one the West intended to teach.

Japan's hypersonic missiles blur the line between defense and attack

Japan's hypersonic missiles blur the line between defense and attack

Tokyo's new weapons can strike Chinese bases within minutes. Officials call them defensive. Beijing sees a sword dressed as a shield. The distinction may determine whether Asia's next crisis stays contained or spirals into catastrophe.

China has penetrated Taiwan's military. Does that make US intelligence sharing dangerous?

China has penetrated Taiwan's military. Does that make US intelligence sharing dangerous?

Taiwan charged 64 people with espionage in 2024, most of them military personnel. As Washington deepens intelligence cooperation with Taipei, every secret shared risks reaching Beijing. The question is whether the deterrent value exceeds the counterintelligence cost.