Archive
Pieces
NOTE: China's budget slowdown, the context we often forget
The rise in China's defense budget for 2026 comes to 6.9%, the weakest increase since 2021, according to Reuters, in a March 10, 2026…
FACT CHECK: decoding Philippine fishermen versus Chinese coast guard in three parts
Ten years after an international arbitral ruling favorable to the Philippines, Philippine fishermen still say they are being driven away from Scarborough Shoal, according…
PORTRAIT: the chip war intensifies between Washington and Beijing
A legislative proposal. A targeted response. A budget that confirms priorities. This portrait traces the technological escalation between the United States and China over…
COMMENTARY: 282 billion dollars, what China's military budget reveals
One number, two readings. China's defense budget for 2026 reaches 1.94 trillion yuan, or roughly 282 billion dollars, according to Reuters, in a March…
COLUMN: seven nations, what Western observers take away
Seventeen thousand troops. Seven nations. A message that needs no translation. Exercise Balikatan 2026 brought together these considerable forces, according to Asialink, in an…
EDITORIAL: Xi Jinping shifts tactics on Taiwan, a strategic reading
Fewer jets, more calculated silence. The daily average of Chinese air incursions into the Taiwan Strait has fallen by half compared to 2025, according…
INVESTIGATION: two Type 055 destroyers for the Chinese navy, a status check
Two names, two ships, a naval modernization that shows no sign of slowing. The destroyers Dongguan and Anqing, of the Type 055 class, were…
REPORT: starved of silicon, China one month later, a cold read
A month is sometimes exactly the time it takes to tell apart a communications move from a genuine strategic break. On June 22, 2026,…
DECODING: why the American MATCH Act targets Chinese chipmaking machines
An acronym can sometimes carry more geopolitical weight than ten official statements. The MATCH Act, proposed in Washington, seeks to restrict exports of semiconductor…