Indo-Pacific
Power balances, maritime competition, deterrence, and flashpoints across the Indo-Pacific.
143 Dispatches
The Battle of Hong Kong: The British Empire's Humiliation
How Imperial Japan overran British Hong Kong in just 17 days in December 1941, and why historians still debate whether the colony's fall was inevitable.
The Battle of Okinawa: The Pacific's Bloodiest Battle
How the 1945 Battle of Okinawa became the Pacific War's deadliest fight, sealed the fate of the battleship Yamato, and shaped the decision to use the atomic bomb.
The Blueprint for an Invasion of South Korea: How a Second Korean War Would Unfold
A phase-by-phase analysis of how a second Korean War could begin, escalate, and draw in the United States, China, and Russia on a divided peninsula.
What If BRICS Became a Military Alliance?
A defense analysis of whether the BRICS bloc could become a NATO-style military alliance, its combined firepower, and why collective defense remains unlikely.
Can Japan Stop China? Tokyo's Remilitarization and the Race for Asia
As Washington's commitment to Asia wavers, Japan under PM Takaichi is rearming and building a regional coalition to check Chinese dominance. Can it work?
China's J-36 Reveal: Did Beijing Just Checkmate America's Sixth-Generation Fighter Program?
China's surprise Chengdu reveal of two tailless stealth aircraft challenges Western assumptions about its air power and rattles America's NGAD program.
China's Invisible Navy: How a Fishing Fleet Became a Strategic Weapon in the East China Sea
Thousands of Chinese maritime militia vessels are massing in geometric formations off Shanghai, testing a force that could decide a Taiwan invasion while Washington looks elsewhere.
China's Population Crisis and the Limits of Its Military Ambitions
China's population is falling fast, and the demographic decline threatens Beijing's economy, pension system, and the modernized military Xi Jinping envisions.
Now or Never: Why 2026 Could Be Xi's Closing Window on Taiwan
A 2027 invasion was conventional wisdom, but a distracted world, a divided Taiwan, and a malleable Washington may convince Beijing the time is now.
Conflicts to Watch in 2026: The World's Flashpoints Go Hot
A region-by-region forecast of 2026's most dangerous flashpoints, from Venezuela and Ecuador to Syria, the Horn of Africa, Sudan, Ukraine, and Taiwan.
Could Russia and China Attack America's Allies Together?
Why a coordinated Russian and Chinese assault on America's allies isn't zero-percent likely, how an "Asian NATO" really works, and what Moldova's vote revealed.
Countdown to War: How Imperial Japan Prepared for the Second World War
From the Treaty of Versailles to Pearl Harbor, how Imperial Japan's hunt for self-sufficiency and resources drove its step-by-step march into world war.