Archive
Pieces
DECODING: 282 billion dollars, what Beijing chooses to fund
A number, on its own, never tells the whole story. China's 2026 defense budget, set at 1.94 trillion yuan, roughly 282 billion dollars, illustrates…
ANALYSIS: Seven nations, one exercise — what Balikatan 2026 reveals
Seventeen thousand troops. Seven nations. A single exercise. That figure alone sums up the scale of Balikatan 2026, the joint military maneuver that mobilized…
NOTE: Xi Jinping Changes Tactics on Taiwan
The daily average of Chinese air incursions into the Taiwan Strait has fallen by half compared with 2025, according to the Straits Times of…
FACT CHECK: Two New Type 055 Destroyers for the Chinese Navy
The Dongguan and Anqing destroyers, of the Type 055 class, were commissioned by the Chinese navy in early 2026, according to IDSA in March…
PORTRAIT: Starved of Silicon, China Builds Its Own Supply Chain
China added ten American companies to its export control list on June 22, 2026, according to Modern Diplomacy on July 12, 2026, a retaliatory…
COMMENTARY: The US MATCH Act Takes Aim at China's Chipmaking Machines
The United States proposed the MATCH Act to restrict exports of semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China, according to Reuters on April 3, 2026, legislation…
COLUMN: Balikatan 2026, Japan Steps to the Front Line Since 1945
The Balikatan 2026 exercise mobilized 17,000 troops from seven countries, according to Asialink, including Japan's first combat deployment since 1945, a historic marker that…
EDITORIAL: Scarborough, Ten Years On, the Tensions Refuse to Fade
Ten years after the 2016 international arbitration ruling that rejected Chinese claims at Scarborough Shoal, Philippine fishermen report being driven away from waters the…
INVESTIGATION: Manila Sanctioned, Beijing Bars a Philippine Minister
China barred Philippine defense secretary Gilberto Teodoro from entry, according to Al Jazeera on June 11, 2026, a diplomatic escalation that arrives a full…