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US-China Relations

Deep analysis of the US-China relationship across technology, trade, military, and diplomatic dimensions. Understanding the defining geopolitical contest of our era.

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 Ice Beneath the Peace

Antarctica's greatest asset is its legal fiction. For sixty-five years, the Antarctic Treaty System has performed an extraordinary conjuring trick: seven nations claim sovereignty over the continent, two superpowers reserve the right to claim, and everyone pretends that freezing these positions...

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.