Members Only India Struggles to Modernize Defense Industry
India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to execute two highly ambitious programs: modernizing its military while also increasing the relative weight of domestic […] More
Latest Asia Briefs
Members Only
Members Only Trump Over-Emphasizes the Military in Afghanistan
Six months into his presidency, Donald Trump and his national security team are struggling to develop an Afghanistan strategy. His defense secretary, Jim Mattis, presented […] More
Members Only Another Russia-U.S. Proxy War Looms Over Afghanistan
As the Trump Administration struggles to develop a strategy in Afghanistan, Russia has surreptitiously inserted itself into the mix. In late July, reports once again […] More
Members Only Putin Could Pretend to be Peacemaker in Afghan Conflict
Over the last few months, Taliban orchestrated attacks have wreaked havoc across Afghanistan on a near-daily basis, leading to mounting deaths tolls for Afghan and […] More
Members Only North Korea Threat Greatest to Neighbors but Looms for U.S.
The nightmarish threat of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program appears more real than ever, but the devil is in the details. This summer’s most recent […] More
Members Only North Korea Talks Could Be Maddening, But What’s There to Lose?
President Donald Trump said Thursday his earlier “fire and fury” warning to North Korea may not have been “tough enough,” and he called for the […] More
Members Only Don’t Double-Dare Kim
In the wake of President Donald Trump saying threats to the United States from North Korea would be met with “fire and fury,” Defense Secretary […] More
Members Only How Reliable Are North Korea’s Nukes?
After President Donald Trump’s vow that any threats from North Korea “will be met with fire, fury, and frankly, power the likes of which this […] More
Members Only Dousing the Fire & Fury: Mixed Signals from Trump Administration to Kim
Top Cabinet officials sought to dial back the rhetoric while still pushing a strong message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un following President Donald Trump’s […] More
Members Only Trump Threatens North Korea with “Fire and Fury”
President Donald Trump vowed to respond to North Korea with “fire and fury” if the rogue nation continues to threaten the United States. Speaking to […] More
Members Only Tillerson: Talks Possible If North Korea Stops Missile Launches
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson capped off a whirlwind weekend at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial meeting in Manilla, Philippines by suggesting […] More
Members Only Network Take: U.S. Must Commit to the “Long Haul” in Afghanistan
As President Donald Trump struggles to find a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan, The Cipher Brief’s Mackenzie Weinger spoke to two experts — […] More
Members Only Permitting North Korea Even a Few Nuclear Weapons is a Mistake
My first meeting with the North Korean delegation to the Six Party Talks in 2003 was instructive. Their lead negotiator, First Vice Foreign Minister Kim […] More
Members Only China’s Military Goal: Peer Capability with the U.S. by Mid-Century
In just the past several weeks, China has sent troops to its first overseas base in Djibouti, intercepted a U.S. surveillance plane over the East […] More
Members Only Avoiding an East Asia Arms Race
When Chinese President Xi Jinping took office in 2013, he set out to tackle rampant corruption and reinvigorate a slowing economy, but he also set […] More
Members Only Enhancing China’s Status as a Great Power
China is investing heavily in its military modernization program as it aims to extend its power, not only in the region, but globally. This has […] More
Members Only North Korea the Defining Issue of the Trump Presidency
Editor’s Note: Amidst harsh rhetoric from both U.S. President Donald Trump and the North Korean regime, tensions are currently extremely elevated. After North Korea’s missile […] More
Members Only An Isolated North Korea Turns to Cyber Coercion
On Friday, Ben Wallace, the Minister of State for Security for the United Kingdom, said in a BBC radio interview the UK government believes a […] More
Members Only North Korean Cyber Operations: Active, Noisy, and Lacking Strategy
Since roughly 2009, North Korea has been active and noisy in cyberspace. From the hacking of government web sites in South Korea and the United […] More
Members Only Pyongyang’s Move to Compel Adversaries in Cyberspace
In December 2014, while many were still preoccupied with the aftermath of the North Korean cyber attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment, South Korea was in […] More
Members Only Russia Cuts U.S. Diplomats in Retaliation for Sanctions
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has demanded a cut in the number of United States diplomats in the country and said it will seize two U.S. diplomatic […] More
Members Only India and China’s Game of Chicken at the “Chicken’s Neck”
The recent tensions between India and China have entered their sixth week. What began as a dispute over the location of a Chinese road building […] More
Members Only Signs of a Thaw in India, China Border Dispute
After six weeks, tensions remain high in the Dolam Plateau (within the Doklam area), a contested border area nestled between India, China, and Bhutan. China’s […] More
Members Only Border Dispute: China Won’t Back Off, India Can’t Back Down
After six weeks of tension between China and India over a Chinese road building project on contested territory, neither side is prepared to back down. […] More