Showing 1 - 10 of 10
Red Sea crisis presents US, allies with tough choices
News, Peter Apps, Published on 25/12/2023
» As the Pentagon asked allies to provide warships for an international task force to protect Red Sea commercial shipping from mounting drone attacks from Yemen last week, one of the United States' closest partners appeared to be holding back.
Behind US-China smiles, Taiwan face-off risks peril
News, Peter Apps, Published on 28/11/2023
» When John F Kennedy became US president in January 1961, he was determined to meet his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, directly. It was better, he told advisers, "to meet at the summit rather than the brink".
China challenges US amid Gaza, Ukraine conflicts
News, Peter Apps, Published on 06/11/2023
» As US and European warships gathered in the eastern Mediterranean amid rising tensions around Israel last weekend, the carrier USS Ronald Reagan dropped anchor off Manila to quietly project the message that Washington would stand behind the Philippines in any conflict in the South China Sea.
Karabakh offensive brings wins to Erdogan, Putin
News, Peter Apps, Published on 26/09/2023
» As Armenia called on Russian peacekeepers in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region to step in to stop an offensive by Azerbaijan this week, pro-Kremlin pundits in Moscow took to social media to mock Armenia's leaders for their recent efforts to build relations with the West.
Xi's favourite general trips up over Taiwan
News, Peter Apps, Published on 10/06/2019
» As the head of Beijing's strategic nuclear forces and its fastest rising general, Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe had a reputation for "doing more and saying less". It was a methodical, determined approach that made him a clear favourite of President Xi Jinping, placing him at the heart of China's remarkable military revolution and its efforts to dominate the region.
How far is China prepared to go over Taiwan?
News, Peter Apps, Published on 09/01/2019
» In the first week of 2019, as China grabbed headlines for landing a spacecraft on the far side of the moon, a New Year's Day editorial in the nation's official military newspaper told its readers that "war preparations" should be a top priority for the year. The following day, President Xi Jinping offered a forceful reminder of what Beijing considers its most likely focus of conflict to be: Taiwan.
America's waning Middle East clout
News, Peter Apps, Published on 19/10/2018
» When it comes to defining America's quandary on Saudi Arabia, US President Donald Trump's description is mercenary in the extreme. If Washington doesn't stay close to Riyadh and sell it arms, he told reporters in the Oval Office this weekend, the Saudis will turn to Moscow or Beijing instead. Given that, he seemed to be suggesting, the United States should just keep its plans for a US$110 billion arms deal and the 450,000 jobs he says it would bring.
China, Russia's war game obsession
News, Peter Apps, Published on 31/08/2018
» As the West obsesses over Donald Trump's legal and political challenges, Brexit and a host of other domestic crises, Chinese troops will join their Russian counterparts for Moscow's largest military exercises in more than three decades.
The next super weapon could be biological
News, Peter Apps, Published on 21/04/2017
» With the threat of chemical weapons in Syria and nuclear arms in North Korea, the risk of biological weapons has largely dropped off the international agenda. But evolving technologies and genetic engineering may open the door to new dangers.
Syria, NK a fine balancing act for US
News, Peter Apps, Published on 14/04/2017
» If there were ever any doubt that US President Donald Trump's strike against Syria was also intended to send a message to Pyongyang, the deployment this weekend of a US carrier strike group towards the Korean Peninsula should have cleared it up.