Hawaii

January 27, 2025 | Cleo Paskal |

Who’s afraid of China? Palau inauguration calls bluff of ‘friends to all, enemies to none’

For all the regional talk of “Pacific family” and “friends to all enemies to none” who did – and who didn’t – show up for the Jan. 16 inauguration of Palau President Surangel S. Whipps Jr....

January 26, 2025 | Cleo Paskal |

Deconstructing the Inauguration: No, not that one

We have a country that is geopolitically sophisticated, with close ties to the U.S., Japan and Taiwan, and is in a highly strategic location. So who showed up to Palau’s party, and who didn’t?

December 16, 2024 | Jack Burnham, Reece Breaux

China Conducts Major Military Exercises Around Taiwan 

In its largest military exercise in nearly three decades, China demonstrated its growing capacity to blockade Taiwan and project power throughout the First Island Chain of Pacific archipelagos that run...

July 1, 2024 | Cleo Paskal |

Protecting the Corridor of Freedom to America’s Asian Border

Excerpt Guam and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)—constituent parts of the United States—sit in such proximity to the Asian coast that the CNMI shares a maritime border with Japan....

April 28, 2024 | Cleo Paskal |

China watches as the U.S. fumbles around in central Pacific

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April 10, 2024 | Col. Grant Newsham, Cleo Paskal

NATO Isn’t Defending Guam, But Others Are

NATO provisions don’t include security guarantees for American Pacific Territories. But other U.S. treaty allies do—which is why this week’s meetings in D.C. are so important

December 17, 2023 | Cleo Paskal, Col. Grant Newsham

In the Pacific, U.S. bureaucracy messes up against PRC influence operation

I have no idea what the U.S. State Department was thinking. But if the goal was to help honest people in a highly strategic country that is also a close ally protect themselves against Chinese influence...

November 19, 2023 | Cleo Paskal |

Three upcoming events that could torpedo Pacific peace

Three things are going on that could turbo charge Chinese strategic expansion in the Pacific. U.S. DEFENCE ARCHITECTURE IN THE PACIFIC The first two involve what are known as the “Compact States”....

September 17, 2023 | Cleo Paskal |

War flashbacks in Guam as China projects power in the Pacific

Lourdes A. Leon Guerrero, the Governor of Guam, a US territory, is not just waiting for the rest of the US to come save them. In this interview conducted in July, she describes some of the initiatives she is hoping to get off the ground so Guam is better able to defend itself.

September 15, 2023 | Akhil Ramesh, Cleo Paskal

From Non-Alignment to Realignment

The US and India expanded cooperation across various domains in the second reporting period of 2023. The two moved to materialize projects and initiatives that were conceived in the first quarter,...

September 5, 2023 | David Panuelo, Richard Clark

Former President of Federated States of Micronesia David W. Panuelo Warns Country Could See Democratic Backsliding

New, exclusive interview with former President of Federated States of Micronesia, David W. Panuelo.

September 3, 2023 | Cleo Paskal |

Northern Mariana: Time to close China’s backdoor into the U.S.

‘The Northern Marianas economy continues to struggle, and the government remains in deep fiscal distress. These are conditions that make the commonwealth acutely vulnerable to CCP exploitation’.

August 20, 2023 | Cleo Paskal |

In sign of weakness, pro-PRC Solomons PM avoids meeting US Congress members

PM Sogavare avoided meeting a US Congressional Delegation that was visiting the country. Not a single government minister met the two Members of Congress during their time in the capital, Honiara.

August 2, 2023 | Clifford D. May |

Anniversary of a forever war

Seventy years ago, the Korean War didn’t quite end

July 21, 2023 | Cleo Paskal |

Politics Risk Derailing One of America’s Most Important Strategic Agreements

China is the biggest winner from the current train wreck that is the Marshall Islands–United States COFA negotiations.

June 25, 2023 | Cleo Paskal |

Palau under CCP pressure to switch recognition from Taiwan to China

The President of Palau, Surangel Whipps Jr., speaks to The Sunday Guardian on what his Pacific Island Country is facing.

June 21, 2023 | RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery |

A C2 Structure for a Strong U.S.-Japan Alliance

This commentary is part of the Exploring New Horizons: Japan’s Defense Priorities project, a CSIS Japan Chair initiative featuring analysis by leading Japanese and American scholars examining the implications...

June 15, 2023 | RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery, Jerry Hendrix

Marines Need to Move beyond Their Amphibious-Assault Past

Shifting the USMC's concept of operations will help confront China.

March 22, 2023 | Cleo Paskal, Col. Grant Newsham

Beijing’s Subversive Political Warfare in the Pacific—and the Need for Greater Engagement by the United States and Taiwan

Honduras has said it intends to shift diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China. We know this story: with the exception of 2007, when St. Lucia switched from Beijing to Taipei, the trend has run in this...

March 9, 2023 | Cleo Paskal |

Micronesia’s President Writes Bombshell Letter on China’s ‘Political Warfare’

Outgoing President David Panuelo released a lengthy letter detailing Beijing’s efforts to bribe and bully Micronesian leaders – and exploring the possibility of recognizing Taiwan instead.