South Korea

Chinese Jets Target Japanese Fighters, Escalating Tensions Between Beijing and Tokyo

Chinese fighter pilots have upped the ante in the East China Sea. On December 6, The Wall Street Journal reported that two Chinese J-15 fighters from the aircraft carrier Liaoning twice trained their fire-control...

U.S. Approval for South Korean Enrichment of Uranium Would Be a Serious Mistake

South Korea may soon have uranium enrichment technology. “We agreed to a 50-50 joint venture,” South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said, disclosing that when President Donald Trump visited South Korea...

Iran’s Oil Exports Remained Near Peak in November

Although Iran’s oil exports dipped slightly from their October high of 2.15 million barrels per day (mbpd), its exports in November remained robust at 2.06 mbpd, for a total of 61.8 million barrels,...

Taiwanese President Proposes New Investment in Island’s Defense Amidst Rising Regional Tensions

In response to Beijing’s belligerence, Taiwan is planning to invest in its own security. On November 26, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te announced a proposed special budget of $40 billion to strengthen...

Review of Submarine Cable Landing License Rules and Procedures To Assess Evolving National Security, Law Enforcement, Foreign Policy, and Trade Policy Risks

New York, New York, it’s a socialist town

Mamdani’s up and the centrists are down

North Korean workers to make Russian drones, Ukrainian intel says

In addition to supplying munitions and troops to aid Russia’s war effort, North Korea is now providing thousands of workers to help Russia produce long-range one-way attack drones, Ukrainian military...

American AI Exports Program

Maritime Protection of Taiwan’s Energy Vulnerability

Chinese Coercion of Taiwan’s Energy Lifelines: A Contest Taiwan and the West Can’t Afford to Lose

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China’s kicking our butts in warship-building — here’s how we can catch up

US shipbuilding is in trouble. China builds 200 merchant ships a year for every one America builds. The gap is smaller for warships, but falling behind there is more dangerous — and Beijing...

Using Shutdown as Cover, Suspected Chinese Hackers Target the Congressional Budget Office

While President Donald Trump raved about his meeting with Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping in South Korea on October 30, it was business as usual for Beijing, targeting Washington’s secrets and security...

China Pauses Some Rare Earth Export Curbs While Retaining Levers of Control

While China may have officially halted some hostile trade actions, Beijing isn’t laying down its most potent weapons. On November 9, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) announced a one-year delay...

Signaling Confidence in Its Domestic Industry, China Bans Foreign AI Chips in State-Funded Data Centers

China is pulling away from the United States to complete its own artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem. Following a ceasefire with the United States over export controls, China is signaling its intention...

US pushes for UN resolution on Gaza to support peace plan

The US is seeking a United Nations Security Council resolution on Gaza “aimed at bolstering President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan, including by greenlighting an international security force,”...

Trump and Xi call truce for now, but this ‘12 out of 10’ meeting leaves a lot unanswered

President Trump appeared buoyant after concluding his first face-to-face meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping since retaking the White House, confident in having achieved a breakthrough. Yet...

U.S. Cuts Tariffs, Lowers Trade Tensions With China After Trump-Xi Meeting

Trump and Xi Meet: President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea on October 30, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. When...

Trump rallies the allies to break China’s dangerous mineral, rare earths monopoly

As President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping prepared for their Thursday meeting in South Korea, trade talks between Washington and Beijing had fallen into a familiar pattern. Trump’s...

Qatar’s Calculated Bet on the Islamic Republic

Qatar’s wealth and prestige are built on the incompetence of the rulers of Iran’s Islamic Republic. As long as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his gang of fools are in charge in Tehran, Doha...

The Effectiveness of Trump’s New Russia Oil Sanctions Depends on Stringent Enforcement

The Trump administration imposed sweeping new measures targeting Russia’s two biggest oil companies on October 22. The sanctions apply to Rosneft and Lukoil, along with 34 of their subsidiaries, and...