Indo-Pacific
Power balances, maritime competition, deterrence, and flashpoints across the Indo-Pacific.
134 Dispatches
A New Myanmar Is Emerging: How a Stalemated Civil War Became a Victory for Beijing
After five years of war, Myanmar's rebellion is fracturing, the Tatmadaw is regaining ground, and the only real winner sits across the border in China.
Pakistan Besieged: How the Balochistan Insurgency and Afghan War Are Converging at Once
Pakistan faces a hardened Baloch insurgency, an undeclared war with Afghanistan, the TTP, and IMF dependency—all at the same time, with no clean exit.
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?
North Korea's Dead Hand: How Pyongyang Is Trying to Trump-Proof Its Regime
North Korea amended its constitution to launch its nuclear forces automatically if Kim Jong Un is killed. What a "dead hand" clause means for war on the peninsula.
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.
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.
Iran War Update: 'Love Taps,' Project Freedom, and a Secret Israeli Base in Iraq
A fragile Iran ceasefire is tested by fresh strikes, a stalled MOU, a secret Israeli base in Iraq, and China's quiet push for peace ahead of a Trump-Xi summit.
Is the U.S. Military Losing Its Edge? What the War With Iran Exposed
The war with Iran exposed drone vulnerabilities, interceptor shortages, and eroding alliances behind America's trillion-dollar military machine.
Pakistan's Forever War with Afghanistan Settles Into a Grinding Stalemate
Two months into Pakistan's air war on the Afghan Taliban, the bombing has produced no concessions, drones keep crossing the border, and Islamabad's recovery is unraveling.
Did America Just Create a Secret New Military Branch? Inside the Pentagon's $54.6 Billion DAWG Program
A little-known Pentagon program called DAWG just requested $54.6 billion, a sum that points to a standalone US drone force in the making.
Why Iran Now Wants the Bomb: Deterrence in the Shadow of the Mushroom Cloud
How a bruising war shattered Iran's threshold strategy and pushed Tehran toward the one deterrent that has reliably worked: a nuclear weapon.
The Iran Ceasefire: What We Know and What We Don't
Inside the two-week Iran ceasefire over the Strait of Hormuz, the rival US and Iranian peace plans, the pressures that forced both sides to the table, and whether it can hold.