As the world focuses on the immediate threat of the coronavirus pandemic, China is exercising its muscle over territorial claims. As The New York Times reports, “In recent weeks, the Chinese have sunk a Vietnamese fishing boat in the South China Sea; swarmed a Malaysian offshore oil rig; menaced Taiwan; and severely tightened their grip on the semiautonomous region of Hong Kong”.
There has also been a marked increase in tensions along the Line of Actual Control between China and India with both sides reinforcing troops by the thousands over the past several weeks. India has so far declined an unsolicited offer on Twitter by US President Donald Trump to mediate the dispute. The increase in tensions presents Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a difficult choice.
“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief in terms of the number of articles published by formers.” —Sept. 2018, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 62
Access all of The Cipher Brief‘s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+Member.