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Bhatt cover

Cover of Nine Dash Line book

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Toyota Hilux trucks used by Taliban

Toyota Hilux trucks used by Taliban

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AFGSC Director of ICBM Modernization discusses “monumental” Sentinel Program at Joint Engineers Conference

Brig. Gen. Colin J. Connor, Air Force Global Strike Command Director of Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Modernization, speaks with Katie Rediske, assigned to the 341st Civil Engineer Squadron, at the annual Joint Engineers Conference in Helena, Mont. Nov. 3, 2023. The LGM-35A Sentinel, which will modernize 400 missiles, 450 silos and more than 600 facilities across almost 40,000 square miles of U.S. territory over 6 states, 3 operational wings and a test location, is scheduled to replace the LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile weapon system. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Breanna Christopher Volkmar)

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AFGSC Director of ICBM Modernization discusses “monumental” Sentinel Program at Joint Engineers Conference

Brig. Gen. Colin J. Connor, Air Force Global Strike Command Director of Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Modernization, speaks with a local resident at the annual Joint Engineers Conference in Helena, Mont. Nov. 3, 2023. Connor provided the keynote address at the conference to highlight the future of the LGM-35A Sentinel and subsequent retirement of all land-based LGM-30G Minuteman III missiles deployed in the continental United States. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Breanna Christopher Volkmar)

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AFGSC Director of ICBM Modernization discusses “monumental” Sentinel Program at Joint Engineers Conference

Brig. Gen. Colin J. Connor, Air Force Global Strike Command Director of Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Modernization, speaks at the annual Joint Engineers Conference in Helena, Mont., Nov. 3, 2023. Connor highlighted the future of the LGM-35A Sentinel, which will modernize 400 missiles, 450 silos and more than 600 facilities across almost 40,000 square miles of U.S. territory over 6 states, 3 operational wings and a test location. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Breanna Christopher Volkmar)

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AFGSC Director of ICBM Modernization discusses “monumental” Sentinel Program at Joint Engineers Conference

Brig. Gen. Colin J. Connor, Air Force Global Strike Command Director of Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Modernization, speaks at the annual Joint Engineers Conference in Helena, Mont., Nov. 3, 2023. Connor highlighted the future of the LGM-35A Sentinel, which will modernize 400 missiles, 450 silos and more than 600 facilities across almost 40,000 square miles of U.S. territory over 6 states, 3 operational wings and a test location. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Breanna Christopher Volkmar)

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One Team, One Fight: Joint forces, NATO units participate in command and control exercise HEAVY RAIN 23

U.S. Army Sgt. William Ansong, 44th Expeditionary Signal Battalion-Enhanced signaler, explains the effects of a jammed signal during exercise HEAVY RAIN 23, at Grostenquin, France, Nov. 16, 2023. HEAVY RAIN is a U.S. Air Forces in Europe-led command and control exercise that integrates communicators, operators and aggressors from joint forces, NATO allies and partners, testing and evaluating their communication and data-sharing capabilities in a rapidly changing operating environment. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jared Lovett)

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230830-F-YY907-1520

An MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft piloted by Airmen from the 556 Test and Evaluation Squadron flies over the Nevada Test and Training Range and performs live-fire exercises with Air-to-Ground Missile-114 Hellfire missiles and Guided Bomb Unit-12 Paveway IIs, Aug. 30, 2023. The 556 TES performs all software and physical testing to improve the combat capabilities of the MQ-9 Reaper. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Victoria Nuzzi)

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Nine-Dash Line & PLA projection in the South China Sea

Nine-Dash Line & PLA projection in the South China Sea. (Source: Office of the Secretary of Defense, “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China,” 2022, 113, https://media.defense.gov/.)

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CCP unrestricted warfare strategy design

CCP unrestricted warfare strategy design

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Polls on US/China Favorable Ratings & China’s Growing Influence.

Polls on US/China Favorable Ratings & China’s Growing Influence. (Source: Laura Silver, Christine Huang, and Laura Clancy, “Across 19 Countries, More People See the U.S. than China Favorably—but More See China’s Influence Growing,” Pew Research Center (blog), 29 June 2022, https://www.pewresearch.org/.)

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Pre-COVID CCP Overall Satisfaction Poll

Pre-COVID CCP Overall Satisfaction Poll (Source: Edward Cunningham, Tony Saich, and Jesse Turiel, Understanding CCP Resilience: Surveying Chinese Public Opinion through Time [Cambridge, MA: Ash Center, July 2020], https://ash.harvard.edu/.)

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Undersea cable chokepoints affecting Asia and the Middle East

Undersea cable chokepoints affecting Asia and the Middle East. (Source: “Arctic Submarine Fiber-optic Cable Line Polar Express,” Morsviazsputnik (website), 2020, https://www.marsat.ru/.)

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PEACE: A 1,500-km-long network connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe

PEACE: A 1,500-km-long network connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe. (Source: Peace Cable International Network Co., Limited http://www.peacecable.net/.)

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China’s Increasing Space Power and India–China Orbital Competitions

The space race reflects terrestrial geopolitical anxieties, with the Indo-Pacific witnessing an extension of its rivalries into space. India and China, prominent players in this arena, showcase terrestrial conflicts influencing their space strategies. China, evident through projects like the Belt and Road Initiative in South Asia, emphasizes its strategic space policy. India, although lacking a dedicated space force like China, has established itself regionally. Both nations possess antisatellite capabilities and reject the UN resolution banning antisatellite missile tests. This study investigates China’s expanding space influence, raising security concerns in the Indo-Pacific, particularly South Asia. Employing explanatory research, the article explores the geopolitical implications, shedding light on perspectives often overlooked in the context of great-power rivalries: those of smaller aspiring spacefaring nations.

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The Nuclear Revolution: Fact of Fiction?

For nearly eight decades, nuclear weapons have played a vital role in achieving peace and security through deterrence policies. Simultaneously, they shielded aggressors from third-party intervention, contributing to conflict. This contradiction raises questions about nuclear weapons’ true impact on international affairs. Some scholars view nuclear weapons as transformative in statecraft, fostering optimism about security, while others remain skeptical. Thus, this article asks: How revolutionary were nuclear weapons? Further inquiries persist. To what extent does this revolution affect global competition? Can the nuclear revolution’s principles adapt to evolving security contexts, and to what extent? This article explores the nuclear revolution’s key aspects, examines the contemporary security landscape, and offers conclusions. It argues that the nuclear revolution has validity but acknowledges the complexity of the situation. The evolving security environment introduces more uncertainty than the nuclear revolution suggests.

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Kim’s Nukes, Yoon’s Qualms: Strengthening the US Nuclear Umbrella over South Korea

Since North Korea’s first nuclear test in 2006, its rapid expansion of nuclear weapons and missiles has raised doubts in South Korea about US extended deterrence commitments. In 2023, President Yoon Suk-yeol opened discussion of an independent South Korean nuclear arsenal. This article examines South Korean perspectives and support for nuclear weapons through expert interviews and polling data analysis. It finds enduring fears of US abandonment drive South Korean interest in indigenous capabilities or a return of US nuclear weapons. Experts emphasize the need to improve South Korean understanding of nuclear strategy and assurance policies. Recommendations include strengthening the US–ROK Nuclear Consultative Group, increasing strategic asset deployments and exercises, enhancing information sharing on nuclear planning, and expanding Korean involvement in nuclear consultations and training. Given President Yoon’s concerns, concrete assurance efforts are critical to preventing a collapse of the global nonproliferation regime and a new nuclear arms race in Northeast Asia.

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Irregular Influence: Combating Malign Chinese Communist Party Actions in Southeast Asia

As the United States seeks to reorient its foreign policy to effectively compete with China, it must gain a profound understanding of China’s ambitions. Uncovering the historical roots and driving forces behind Chinese actions is crucial for comprehending the underlying motivations fueling these ambitions. This research scrutinizes the global ambitions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and assesses the strategic means by which it seeks to realize them. It critically examines the CCP’s pursuit of global hegemony and outlines its strategy, with a particular focus on its regional ambitions in Southeast Asia. Emphasis is placed on the CCP’s utilization of malign influence as a tool to achieve its objectives while carefully avoiding actions that might provoke a military response from the United States. This research is relevant to foreign relations experts and the operational military force alike.

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Securing the Digital Seabed: Countering China’s Underwater Ambitions

Title: Securing the Digital Seabed: Countering China’s Underwater Ambitions Author: Raghvendra Kumar Abstract: China’s Digital Silk Road provides Beijing with a potent instrument to disrupt undersea cables and gain an advantage in the Indo-Pacific. Submarine fiber-optic cables are critical infrastructure yet vulnerable to sabotage. This paper examines how the planned Pakistan and East Africa Connecting Europe (PEACE) cable from China could become a new flashpoint in the Western Indian Ocean. The cable has strategic implications, allowing China to project power and leverage its technological edge. Its landing sites in Pakistan and Djibouti would anchor Chinese naval assets in key chokepoints. The civil-military fusion strategy also facilitates surveillance and espionage via the cables. To counter such threats, India and allies must secure submarine cables through monitoring, contingency planning, and multilateral cooperation. Investing in alternative “democratic digital networks” can also mitigate China’s ambitions. Ultimately, submarine cables are emerging as a domain of geopolitical competition requiring policies that safeguard their resilience.

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China’s Security Agreement with the Solomon Islands: Wider Implications for Geopolitics in the South Pacific

Title: China’s Security Agreement with the Solomon Islands: Wider Implications for Geopolitics in the South Pacific Author: Joseph Hammond Abstract: This article explores the leaked security agreement between China and the Solomon Islands, which has significant implications for the geopolitical landscape of the South Pacific region. China’s first-known bilateral security arrangement in the area enables potential deployment of its forces near vital shipping lanes, raising concerns about a future Chinese military base. The agreement’s leaked details reveal provisions for Chinese personnel to assist in maintaining social order and providing humanitarian aid. Australia, New Zealand, and the United States have expressed apprehension, with Washington reopening the US embassy in the Solomon Islands and negotiating exclusive military use rights with other nations. This move by Beijing expands China’s maritime strategic presence and bolsters its hard power in the region, while also enhancing its soft power through similar agreements with other Pacific Island nations. The establishment of Chinese naval bases in the Solomon Islands would be a significant development with far-reaching implications for the Indo-Pacific. Urgent proactive measures are needed to mitigate potential conflicts and uphold regional stability.

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