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Flashpoints
Will China’s military rival the United States’ in the Pacific? Will Japan abandon the constitutional fetters on its own military? How will India respond to the String of Pearls strategy? The Diplomat has put together a team of leading analysts to offer must-read, regular commentary on the big defense and security issues in the Asia-Pacific.
What Is Iran Doing With 1000 Tons of Sodium Perchlorate From China?
By Daniel Allen, Katherine Michaelson, and Marco Volpitta
The shipment of Chinese sodium perchlorate indicates a rapid rebuilding of Iran’s missile industry since Israeli strikes in October – with Beijing’s help.
Is China’s DeepSeek Using Smuggled AI Chips From Singapore?
By Sebastian Strangio
The U.S. government is probing whether the Hangzhou-based AI firm has built its disruptive R1 AI model on restricted Nvidia chips.
The DeepSeek Doctrine: How Chinese AI Could Shape Taiwan’s Future
By Max Dixon
Taiwan's security in part rests on perceptions, particularly in the U.S., of its status. Should a generation of Americans emerge that is schooled and socialized by DeepSeek, the future for Taiwan appears incredibly bleak.
What to Make of Russia’s New Security Agreements
By Michael MacArthur Bosack
The treaties with Iran and Belarus are different from the one Russia reached with North Korea, and there has been no attempt to link any of them.
China’s DeepSeek Is America’s AI Sputnik Moment
By Selina Xu
A Chinese AI model is now as good as leading U.S. AI models, using only a tiny fraction of GPU resources available. This is a gamechanger for the global AI arms race.
China-India Relations: The Thaw-Provoke-Repeat Cycle
By Rahul Jaybhay
Since the Cold War, relations have followed a pattern: a thaw, followed by a concoction or recycling of the boundary dispute.
Will Casualties in Ukraine Lead to Change in North Korea?
By Karl Anthony Borg
The unprecedented loss of life in a foreign conflict means that the war in Ukraine could be the Kim regime’s most significant test since the 1990s famine.
The US Pivot to Asia Depends on Peace in Ukraine
By Martijn van Ette and Andrew Gawthorpe
In the 1950s the U.S. carried out a pivot from Asia to Europe – despite the outbreak of the Korean War. Trump can learn from that history.
Beijing’s Targeting of Taiwan’s Undersea Cables Previews Cross-Strait Tensions Under a Trump Presidency
By Hans Horan
We can expect China to test the resilience of the Taiwan-U.S. partnership under Trump with more gray-zone operations.
Trump, China, and the Truth about the Panama Canal
By Carla Martínez Machain, Michael A. Allen, and Michael E. Flynn
Trump’s canal canard obscures a truth: Panama just wants to run its shipping passage without interference from China or the U.S.
North Korea Launches SRBMs Toward Its Eastern Waters, South Korea Says
By Mitch Shin
Eight days after Pyongyang launched a hypersonic ballistic missile, it fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the sea.
Over 300 North Korean Soldiers Have Died in Russia’s Kursk Region
By Mitch Shin
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service reported that more than 300 North Korean soldiers were killed fighting against Ukraine, while more than 2,700 were injured.
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