Make your presence felt: Pacific Island diplomacy with the United States
The Pacific Islands cannot influence the Trump administration’s regional engagement, impacted by cost-cutting and a more fractious international engagement.
2025
The Overlooked Front in Missile Defense: China’s Ground Stations in Latin America
By expanding its remote sensing capabilities and dual-use infrastructure in the region, China is quietly positioning itself to challenge U.S. missile defenses and strategic early warning systems.
China’s Superstition Boom in a Godless State
In post-pandemic China, superstition has surged into a booming industry, as youth turn to crystals, fortune-telling, and AI oracles in search of hope and meaning.
China’s Dual-Use Infrastructure in the Pacific
China weaponizes Pacific infrastructure to expand regional military influence.
Deep-Sea Fishing: How China Turned Law Enforcement into National Organized Looting
“Deep-sea fishing” is a tactic whereby police detain businessmen and seize their assets under the guise of an investigation. In the absence of a free press, civil society or an independent judiciary, such predatory policing has evolved into a systematic abuse that even the formidable party-state struggles to eradicate.
Still light in the darkness? Unpacking the 2024 Japan-EU Security and Defence Partnership Document
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and China’s growing military activity near Taiwan, the EU and Japan are strengthening their defence ties.
CCP subnational influence in Malaysia
Co-opting Sabah’s Chinese elite.