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Foresight 2020: The Challenges Facing China
RUSI Journal, 11 February 2020
Charles Parton
The Chinese Communist Party is facing an increasingly challenging domestic and international environment.
Tags: China, Pacific
""Cryptocurrency exploitation is allowing North Korea to transact with the rest of the world in ways that aim to circumvent sanctions designed to curb its proliferation financing," Kayla Izenman, a research analyst who co-authored a paper on the phenomenon, told The Independent last year. "
North Korean Hackers Use Telegram to Steal Cryptocurrency
In The News, 10 January 2020 Tags: Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies, AML/CTF, North Korea, Pacific
1989–2019: How the End of the Cold War Shaped Today’s World: An Interview with Kristina Spohr
RUSI Journal, 18 December 2019
Emma De Angelis with Kristina Spohr
The Journal’s Editor, Emma De Angelis, interviews Kristina Spohr, author of Post Wall, Post Square: Rebuilding the World After 1989, on how the current era was forged after the Cold War.
Tags: China, Germany, History, Europe, Pacific
Book Review: Island off the Coast of Asia: Instruments of Statecraft in Australian Foreign Policy
RUSI Journal, 29 November 2019
William Clapton
William Clapton reviews Island off the Coast of Asia: Instruments of Statecraft in Australian Foreign Policy, by Clinton Fernandes.
Tags: Defence Policy, Pacific
Huawei and Siemens
In The News, 26 November 2019
Tags: China, Military Sciences, Modern Deterrence, UK, Europe, Pacific

Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones: The Trajectory of China's Maritime Transformation
Occasional Papers, 14 October 2019
Sidharth Kaushal and Magdalena Markiewicz
This Occasional Paper examines China's maritime strategy by placing its contemporary evolution in context.
Tags: Armed Forces, Asia, China, Military Sciences, Equipment and Acquisitions, Maritime Forces, Military Personnel, Technology, PacificPages

Pre-constructing Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Report to the 19th Party Congress
Commentary, 11 October 2017Charles Parton
The set-piece moment of China’s 19th Communist Party congress, scheduled to start on 18 October, is the General Secretary’s Report. It will reflect President and Party General Secretary Xi Jinping’s vision for governing China up to 2022. Here is a peek at what might be in its 13 sections.
China, Pacific
Does North Korea Matter to Russia?
Commentary, 28 September 2017Sarah Lain
Chinese, Russian and US cooperation at the UN over North Korea’s nuclear developments does not mean that these countries see the threat in the same way. However, Russia has the potential to play a constructive role in de-escalating tensions.
North Korea, Russia, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Europe, Pacific
Doklam Plateau: A Challenge to China’s Great Power Ambitions?
Commentary, 25 August 2017Amrita Jash
Will China's face off with India over the Doklam Plateau put a dent in Beijing's bid to be seen as a responsible world power?
China, India, Pacific, Central and South Asia
ROKing the Boat: US Nuclear Weapons in South Korea?
Commentary, 22 August 2017Emil Dall and Cristina Varriale
South Korea’s main opposition party has called for the reintroduction of US nuclear weapons on the peninsula. This is just posturing and not a good idea, but could reopen a debate in South Korea about the credibility of Washington’s security guarantees.
Defence, Industries and Society, North Korea, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Pacific
Robust International Peacekeeping: Is Asia Up to the Task?
Commentary, 17 August 2017Ewan Lawson and Veerle Nouwens
A political dispute in Japan over an alleged cover-up in a UN peacekeeping operation in South Sudan highlights a bigger regional problem with international operations that are no longer about maintaining, but more about imposing, peace.
United Nations, Japan, International Institutions, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding, PacificPages

Mending Vulnerabilities to Isolation: How Chinese Power Grows out of the Development of the Belt and Road Initiative
RUSI Journal, 1 December 2017Christer Ljungwall and Viking Bohman
The Belt and Road Initiative is gradually moving China and its economy beyond the reach of Western sanctions and reducing the economic impact that a US naval blockade could have.
China, RUSI Journal, Pacific
China’s Battle with Abandoned Chemical Weapons
RUSI Journal, 4 October 2017Wanglai Gao
Beijing and Tokyo have developed a robust relationship to address the ongoing damage caused by Japan's abandoned chemical weapons.
China, RUSI Journal, Japan, Global Security Issues, History, Pacific
The Origins of Today’s Chemical Weapons Controversy in China–Japan Relations
RUSI Journal, 4 October 2017Jeanne Guillemin
Japan's activities in China form an important, but often underappreciated, part of the history of chemical weapons.
China, RUSI Journal, Japan, Global Security Issues, History, Pacific
Preparing for War in Korea
Whitehall Reports, 27 September 2017Malcolm Chalmers
This report looks at how a war in the Korean Peninsula could start and what might happen should it break out.
US Defence Policy, Whitehall Reports, North Korea, Defence Policy, Pacific
The Tactics and Strategy of the Australian Light Infantry in Counter-Revolutionary Operations in South Vietnam, 1966–71
RUSI Journal, 9 August 2017Andrew T Ross
The tactics used by the 1st Australian Task Force yielded better results than those used by US forces.
RUSI Journal, History, PacificPages

"It is five years since Mr Xi’s pair of speeches in Astana and Jakarta launched the BRI. Since then, much of what China does outside China has become associated with the BRI. At one stage, this was true of much within China as well, where almost every region and institution sought to associate themselves to the leader’s big initiative. Five years later, it can come as no surprise therefore that some of the projects that were brought under the broader BRI umbrella have encountered issues"
China’s Belt and Road hits problems but is still popular
In The News, 15 November 2018 Tags: China, International Security Studies, Pacific
""It's not a big deal that they have this ship," Veerle Nouwens, an Asia-Pacific expert at the Royal United Services Institute, told Business Insider. Japan already has an even more formidable aircraft carrying destroyer active in the region and "they're using it for military exchanges or diplomacy. That's effectively what it's doing by potentially going around to India, Sri Lanka, and Singapore.""
Beijing's response to Japan's new destroyer shows its authoritarian endgame in the South China Sea
In The News, 6 August 2018 Tags: China, International Security Studies, Japan, Global Security Issues, Maritime Forces, Pacific
"The dynamics of this kind of summit meeting might also work for President Trump. Yes, it seems that he is vulnerable to flattery and the trappings of a head of state meeting, as others have found. But this is an opportunity to make a deal that, unlike the Iran nuclear deal or the Paris climate agreement, he would personally own."
How the Historic North Korea Summit Gave Trump a Path to Create a Lasting Peace
In The News, 28 April 2018 Tags: Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, United States, North Korea, Global Security Issues, Pacific
"The worry here is that expectations raised too high are dashed more completely when they fail – and, after all, it isn't so long since the US was 'locked and loaded' for 'fire and fury' in Korea.' "
The first step towards peace? Korea experts warn of caution
In The News, 28 April 2018 Tags: Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, United States, North Korea, Global Security Issues, Proliferation and Nuclear Policy, Pacific
"A crisis looms, with potentially far more serious economic, social and political consequences than demographics, debt and deleveraging. So why is water scarcity not a central feature of studies of China’s economic outlook? "
China’s acute water shortage imperils economic future
In The News, 27 February 2018 Tags: China, Pacific
Underwater Drone Incidents Point to China’s Expanding Intelligence Gathering
The UK Should Align with Biden in the Indo-Pacific
The UK and Afghanistan: Raising Our Voice