ZAPAD-18 The Russian Bear is Back
Zapad-18 is the largest Russian wargame since Zapad-81 and involves some 300,000 personnel, 1,000 aircraft, 36,000 vehicles, and an unknown number of warships, along with Chinese and Mongolian forces. The exercises will range from the Western edge of Russia all the way back through the Urals to the Pacific with the Central and Eastern Military Districts bearing the brunt of the activity to simulate a NATO attack on Russia and Russia’s counter-attack. The exercises will begin
North Korea-US Summit Doomed to Failure
This will come as no surprise, but on North Korea I remain a sceptic. Will there be a US-North Korean summit? Yes potentially. Will it result in the end of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, long-range ballistic missile program, and size able chemical and biological weapons arsenal? The answer is a clear No. Will it be the end of the Kim Jong-un regime? No! Will US troops remain in South Korea? Yes. For all the political posturing going on in the US and the Far East it is
Only Direct Diplomatic and Military Action will Halt Chinese Ambitions to the South China Sea, Taiwa
In our 5 February post “Is Scarborough Shoal the Next to Fall to Beijing's South China Sea 'Salami Tactics'?” we warned that China’s next move in the South China Sea is the seizure of Scarborough Shoal and it appears Beijing is one step closer with the Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte claiming that China has agreed not to ‘fortify’ the islets where Philippine fisherman are ‘allowed’ to fish under the ever-vigilant watch of the Chinese Coast Guard. This new agreement fol
John Bolton A Great Addition to Team Trump
Ambassador John Bolton will be a welcome addition to Team Trump and the White House as US National Security Adviser. First, John Bolton is a Yale-trained lawyer with a mind like a 'steel trap,' forty-years-experience serving several US Republican Presidents, and a 'conservative hawk.' There is nothing 'slow pitch' about John Bolton. He has served as US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and UN Ambassador among many other posts. Bolton knows Washington, DC, like the bac
Kelly Induced Asia Strategic Update
My friends have been asking for a Pacific-oriented strategic update and so here goes. Chinese President, Xi Jinping, has been given a second term by the Chinese Communist Party and continues to strengthen his grip on the party, state and military establishment of China. In real terms President Xi is likely to remain Chinese leader for life. Xi is China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong and his personal goal is to leave a legacy of reunification, forced if necessary, wit
Trudeau Ideology, Mali and Peacekeeping
The Trudeau government has finally decided to embark on its long-promised peacekeeping mission to Mali to buttress its hopes of gaining a non-veto wielding UN security Council seat. A seat which holds little prestige, and no real power. The Trudeau government has already invested billions in this exercise so that it can trumpet “Canada is back” to anyone who cares to listen to its ideologically driven worldview ‘battle cry!’ The very same “Canada that is back” that tried to s
The Trump Administration 2019 Fiscal Defense Budget Geared to Deterrence and Defeating Rogue Regiona
The Trump Administration’s 2019 budget request reportedly includes almost $686 billion in new equipment and munitions to position the US military for a global fight against the Russia and China and rogue regional states such as Iran and North Korea, while continuing global counter terrorism operations. The request includes $617 billion in base funding and $69 billion in cap-exempt wartime funds, to support and initiate the $716 billion national security program. The budget pl
Trump Administration Nuclear Posture Review A Strategic Triumph
The Trump administration Nuclear Posture Review has finally given the long-overdue strategic guidance to deter Putin’s Russia in Europe, China in the South China Sea and Indian sub-continent, Iran in the Middle East, and North Korea. The return of the nuclear-tipped, Sea Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM) to the US strategic deterrent will send shock waves through the military high commands of America’s great power strategic competitors, and its rogue state opponents, not felt si
Is Scarborough Shoal the Next to Fall to Beijing's South China Sea 'Salami Tactics'?
China has long wanted to take control of the South China Sea and it is one step closer to that goal as photographic evidence demonstrates that Beijing has just about completed its fortification of the disputed Spratly Islands with air and naval facilities on seven islands in the South China Sea. This has left observers wondering when Scarborough Shoal, off the coast of the Philippines, will be next. Most experts agree that Chinese strategy in the South China Sea hinges on two
‘Barking Dogs’ and Trump’s Visit to Asia in the Face of Likely North Korean Provocation
US President, Donald Trump, is set to depart today for a five-nation tour of Asia including China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and the Philippines and while a host of issues will be discussed North Korea tops the agenda. With little doubt, this is China’s last chance to step on its ally the Hermit Kingdom once and for all. President Trump and his advisers have made it clear that they will not allow North Korea to threaten its neighbors or the American homeland. The Trump admi
