Giving Trump North Korea Policy a Chance
It is fashionable in Washington to deride, or even condemn, every move President Donald Trump makes that is a departure from past, staid U.S. foreign […] More
China
What Does Xi Jinping Want from Mar-a-Lago?
“The president needs to look strong and decisive, and China is a convenient whipping boy,” Quartz White House correspondent Heather Timmons wrote Friday. Is President […] More
Japanese Fears of North Korea, China Spur Cautious Defense Buildup
Over the past decade, Japan has had to deal with external threats, from Chinese assertiveness in the seas surrounding the island nation to North Korea’s […] More
Climate Insecurity and the Changing Balance of Power
Since at least the 1979 Iranian revolution, intelligence and national security analysts have been working hard to identify the causal factors that lead to political […] More
China Pivots its Hackers from Industrial Spies to Cyber Warriors
China continues to deploy military equipment to contested islands in the South China Sea, raising concerns among regional players and U.S. forces stationed in the […] More
Why Beijing is Curbing Industrial Spying on the West
In September 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama reached an agreement that neither nation would “conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of […] More
China Developing Cyber Capabilities to Disrupt U.S. Military Operations
China is a burgeoning great power. It is continually figuring out the various dimensions of power – not least of which is power in cyberspace […] More
China’s Defense Budget Needs Transparency to Transcend Suspicion
Two decades of an expanding defense budget coupled with a multi-dimensional modernization effort have enabled China to field one of the world’s most capable militaries. […] More
Developing Special Operations Forces in China and Russia
When Syrian government forces retook the ancient city of Palmyra from ISIS for the second time in early March, they had the assistance of one […] More
SOF a Priority in China
Several Chinese government entities perform activities that fall under the rubric of special operations. China’s primary anti-terrorist forces are elements of the civilian Ministry of […] More
The TPP Without America
The countries of the Pacific Alliance – a small Latin American trade bloc – will hold a summit next week in Vina del Mar, Chile. […] More
A Gift to China
Just three days after his inauguration, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that confirmed his intent to abandon American participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. […] More
What Hope for TPP?
President Donald Trump confirmed his intention to abandon American participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership after signing an executive order on the subject in January. However, […] More
Over and Under Estimating the North Korean Threat
In the span of one week we have seen North Korea test four missiles, evidence of U.S. attempts to sabotage North Korea’s missile program with […] More
Georgetown Salon Series: A Tale of Two Seas
The South China and East China Seas present flashpoints for maritime conflict, though the assembled experts at The Cipher Brief’s Georgetown Salon Series could not […] More
Marines Head to Australia: Still Working Toward a Full Deployment
In 2011, former President Barack Obama and then-Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard signed a deal to base 2,500 U.S. Marines in Darwin, Australia in an […] More
"The End of the Asian Century": Exploring Asia’s Future
Conventional wisdom suggests Asia’s increasing wealthy and educated population will make it the most dynamic region of the world and that it will drive the […] More
Dialing Up Controversy with China
On Thursday February 9th, President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had their first phone call. Accounts from both sides described the call as […] More