Donald Trump’s forthcoming foreign policy challenges

You may love him. You may hate him. Either way, Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States. The tasks ahead of him are enormous. Most of the early focus has been on what he will do in regard to domestic policy. Abroad, however, he will find the challenges no less daunting. President […]

U.S. warship challenges China’s claims in South China Sea

A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea on Friday, drawing a warning from Chinese warships to leave the area. The U.S. action was the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters, U.S. officials said. The […]

China closer to securing South China Sea with new Philippine pact

President Duerte in a somewhat expected move – denounces the United States of America. For what exactly he did this in exchange for, we do not publicly know. But, no doubt assured financial and economic Chinese backing played a role, as well as a tolerance for corruption and black market dealings (drugs). In turn, the […]

China sets up new logistics force as part of military reforms

Xi’s reforms include establishing a joint operational command structure by 2020 and rejigging existing military regions, as well as cutting troop numbers by 300,000, a surprise announcement he made last year.

China has been moving rapidly to upgrade its military hardware, but integration of complex systems across a regionalized command structure has been a major challenge.

Duterte wants U.S. Special Forces to leave South Philippines

This year, before Duterte became president on June 30, the Pentagon announced agreements with the Philippines that will allow for more frequent rotations of American troops and joint sea and air patrols with Philippine forces in the South China Sea. The changes were seen as a way of checking China’s disputed claims to territory there, including reefs and waters belonging to the Philippines.

Beijing’s South China Sea claims scrutinised at summit

The Philippines and Japan have both expressed serious concern over China’s actions in the South China Sea at a regional meeting of Asian leaders in Laos. Hours before leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met China’s Premier Li Keqiang at the summit in Vientiane on Wednesday, the Philippines released photos purportedly showing Chinese […]

IED attack, Philippines declared a ‘State of Lawlessness’

Investigators have discovered mortar round shrapnel and the remnants of an IED in the preliminary findings of the post-blast analysis from the scene of the explosion. Bunching munitions together, such as mortar round, and tying them together, most typically on an electrical circuit/initiation system, and in conjunction with land mines, artillery shells, and/or homemade explosives (HME), such as pentaerythritol tetranitrate, more commonly referred to as PETN.

China to begin train, advise, assist mission in Syria to back Assad Regime

A few years ago, relatively early on in the war against ISIS, I was smuggled into Northern Syria along a PKK re-supply route.  Taking a small inflatable boat across the river which acted as the border between Syria and Iraq, my first stop in the Kurdish held areas of Syria (known as Rojava) was a […]

New Photos Cast Doubt on China’s Vow Not to Militarize Disputed Islands

When President Xi Jinping of China visited President Obama at the White House last September, he startled many with reassuring words about his intentions for the Spratly Islands, a contested area where the Chinese government has been piling dredged sand and concrete atop reefs for the past few years and building housing and runways on them. “China does not intend to […]

‘Give them a bloody nose’: Xi pressed for stronger South China Sea response

China’s leadership is resisting pressure from elements within the military for a more forceful response to an international court ruling against Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea, sources said, wary of provoking a clash with the United States. China refused to participate in the case overseen by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The […]