Track 2 Talks Aimed at Preventing Conflict with China
OPINION – The need to avoid war and military confrontation was the focus of Track 2 talks with China following the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) […] More
South China Sea
War is the Realm of Uncertainty
Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Walter Pincus is a contributing senior national security columnist at The Cipher Brief. He spent forty years at The Washington Post, writing on […] More
Multilateralism and the South China Sea
The Cipher Brief’s Academic Incubator partners with national security-focused programs from colleges and Universities across the country to share the thinking of the next generation of national […] More
The China Problem
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called out China’s claims in the South China Sea this week, saying they are “completely unlawful.” It was a distinctive […] More
The Latest
The Uneasy Balance between Care and Provocation
OPINION — This past March and April, US Naval Forces attached to Central Command carried out live fire exercises in the North Persian Gulf’s international […] More
Beijing’s Latest White Paper: China’s National Defense in the New Era
Bottom Line Up Front On July 22, 2019, China issued a new defense white paper titled China’s National Defense in the New Era. The […] More
China 30 Years After Tiananmen Square
Bottom Line Up Front: On June 4, 1989 the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) staged a violent crackdown on peaceful protesters who gathered at Tiananmen […] More
Chinese Military Modernization and Implications for Taiwan
Bottom Line Up Front Earlier this month, China released footage from a military exercise where the ‘Guam killer’ DF-26 ballistic missile was tested. In […] More
2019: New Beginnings & Old Challenges
Bottom Line Up Front As 2019 begins, the U.S. and its allies will continue to deal with crises that started years ago and have […] More
Best Of: China Ramps Up Navy to Challenge U.S. Dominance
According to CNBC, sources “with direct knowledge of U.S. intelligence reports” say China has installed long-range anti-ship and surface-to-air missiles on three of its artificial […] More
Surf and Turf: China Ramps Up Navy to Challenge U.S. Dominance
Bottom Line: As part of its ambitious strategy to evolve into a leading global power by 2050, China has spent considerable resources upgrading its naval […] More
Chinese Drone ‘Swarms’ Could Overwhelm U.S. at Sea
Since the time of the first kinetic attack by an unmanned aircraft in October of 2001, the United States has relied heavily on drone technology […] More
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
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
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
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
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
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
Red Lines and Red Carpets in the South China Sea
Few security challenges are as vexing as the South China Sea. With multiple claimants and murky claims, the contours of the conflict can be difficult […] More