Operation Sindoor: Ten strategic lessons for India’s military future

The Times of India  |  Major General Rajan Kochhar Retd

This analysis of 'Operation Sindoor' offers crucial strategic lessons for India's military future, primarily focusing on air power and the nature of modern conflict. It highlights air power's initial effectiveness in securing battle outcomes through precision strikes and force projection. However, the operation also revealed the transient, contested, and resource-intensive reality of air superiority, constrained by factors like aircraft availability and maintenance. The article stresses the need for enhanced resilience, advocating for dispersed basing, hardened shelters, rapid runway repair, and redundant command networks over simply acquiring more platforms. Furthermore, it asserts that even with high-tech precision weaponry and ISR dominance, Operation Sindoor gravitated towards attrition warfare. This suggests that advanced systems redistribute attrition across various domains, including missiles, drones, interceptors, and logistics, rather than eliminating it entirely, a critical insight for India’s strategic planners.

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After Iran, Ukraine conflicts: Centre targets homegrown AI systems for defence sector

The Indian Express  |  Soumyarendra Barik, Anil Sasi

India's defence ministry is aggressively pursuing domestically-developed artificial intelligence (AI) systems, motivated by the effective use of AI in operational decision-making during the Iran and Ukraine conflicts. The strategic imperative is to build an "Indian version of Palantir" to reduce reliance on foreign technology, particularly US-made AI models, in critical sectors. Conversations are ongoing with Indian companies like SarvamAI and BharatGen to integrate their AI models into existing defence capabilities. China's rapid integration of AI into military operations, aiming for "intelligentised warfare" through AI-powered battlefield decision-making and autonomous systems, underscores the urgency. While cost and access to high-end computing hardware like GPUs remain challenges, India aims to bridge the technology gap. India has previously deployed AI in its air command and control systems (Operation Sindoor) and predictive tools along the Line of Actual Control. The push reflects a broader strategy to ensure national security through indigenous technological self-reliance, despite US expectations for allies to utilize the 'America AI stack'.

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Taiwan is looming over this week's Trump and Xi summit

Responsible Statecraft

The escalating confrontation between the United States and China over Taiwan, despite being overshadowed by the war in Iran, poses a catastrophic risk of major conflict, potentially nuclear, if not addressed by Presidents Trump and Xi. This danger stems from a mutual erosion of a decades-old understanding that preserved cross-Strait peace, pairing a U.S. "One China policy" with Chinese commitment to peaceful unification. Both Washington and Beijing are weakening these commitments through intensified deterrent signaling and provocative rhetoric. The U.S. has increasingly framed Taiwan as strategically vital, eroding unofficial relations, while Taiwan's pro-independence leadership and Japan's endorsements exacerbate tensions. China has responded by accelerating military preparations near the island, creating an action-reaction cycle that heightens miscalculation risks. During their summit, Trump and Xi must take concrete steps: Xi should publicly state no timeline for unification and reaffirm peaceful processes; Trump should reaffirm U.S. openness to any peaceful resolution. They must establish direct communication channels with Taiwan’s leadership and revive crisis management mechanisms to stabilize relations.

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China Sees a ‘Giant With a Limp’ as U.S. Drains Weapons on Iran War

The New York Times  |  David Pierson and Berry Wang

A grinding war in Iran has severely depleted U.S. weapon stockpiles, causing Chinese analysts to question Washington's ability to defend Taiwan. The U.S. has reportedly expended half its long-range stealth cruise missiles and ten times its annual Tomahawk purchases since February, exposing a critical flaw in its war strategy: the inability to rapidly replenish its arsenal during sustained, intense conflict. This perceived weakness shatters America's aura of dominance, with Chinese military experts labeling the U.S. a 'giant with a limp.' This shifting calculus significantly undercuts President Trump’s leverage in an upcoming summit with China’s Xi Jinping, emboldening Beijing's view that the U.S. would struggle against a peer competitor like China if it cannot quickly defeat a regional power like Iran.

Xi’s Forever Purge The Real Goal Behind China’s “Self-Revolution”

Neil Thomas

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Since becoming China’s leader in 2012, Xi Jinping has carried out stunning assaults on both the Chinese Communist Party and its People’s Liberation Army, purging millions of cadres and even senior leaders who were once thought untouchable. Rooting out corruption was an early focus of Xi’s tenure, but he has intensified the effort in recent years: in 2025, the CCP’s “discipline inspection” authorities filed more than one million cases, an almost sevenfold increase from the year Xi took office. In January, Xi abruptly removed top generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, which hollowed out a Central Military Commission

The Geometry of Coercion Tracking the PRC’s Maritime and Air Pressure on Taiwan

Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS)  |  Jose M. Macias III, Benjamin Jensen

The People's Republic of China (PRC) is executing a sustained, below-threshold pressure campaign against Taiwan, marked by a over 500 percent increase in China Coast Guard (CCG) incursions near Taiwan's waters and a doubling of People's Liberation Army (PLA) air activity between 2020-2025. This gray zone coercion is strategically timed and geographically targeted, exploiting political flashpoints and aiming to normalize incursions while exhausting Taiwan's readiness. The report identifies that current U.S. and allied responses are predominantly reactive rather than preventive. To counter this, the analysis recommends establishing a coalition-based Taiwan Pressure Observatory for persistent tracking and public reporting, implementing a Readiness Relief Package for Taiwan's early warning and endurance capabilities, and developing a pre-authorized response ladder tied to specific PRC behaviors to ensure rapid, collective consequences.

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The Winners and Losers of the Iran Energy Shock: How the War Created a New Geopolitical Divide

Foreign Affairs  |  Benjamin H. Bradlow

The war in Iran, particularly the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has plunged many nations into an energy crisis, illustrating the profound political pitfalls of fossil fuel dependence. With roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas choked off, countries like the Philippines declared national energy emergencies, while others, including Zambia and Slovenia, implemented drastic measures. This chaos reveals that energy independence is synonymous with political independence, as dependent states are paralyzed in their response to the conflict, unable to openly criticize Tehran or Washington. This realization is accelerating a global pivot towards domestic energy capacity, predominantly renewable sources. China, having heavily invested in clean energy supply chains, emerges as a significant geopolitical winner, exporting its technologies worldwide. Conversely, the United States, having scaled back clean tech investment for fossil fuels, appears to be the ultimate loser in this new geopolitical divide, as showcased by nations like India, compelled to align with the US for energy access, contrasting with Pakistan's increased autonomy due to renewable energy growth.

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The U.S. and China Have a Common Foe. Hint: It’s Not the U.S.S.R.

The New York Times  |  Thomas L. Friedman

The article highlights an impending summit between President Trump and President Xi Jinping, drawing parallels to the historic 1972 Nixon-Mao meeting. It argues that both the U.S. and China now confront a common, non-state adversary: a "metastatic disorder" arising from two major global shifts. First, the proliferation of asymmetric artificial intelligence tools, possessing "staggeringly powerful cyberattack capabilities," enables small, malign actors—including terrorists, criminals, or minor nation-states—to severely disrupt critical infrastructure worldwide. Second, the hyper-connectedness facilitated by globalization, while fostering economic growth, has simultaneously amplified global vulnerabilities. The author emphasizes that Washington and Beijing must devise a dual strategy of competition and collaboration, particularly to establish robust "guardrails against the malign uses of A.I.," to collectively mitigate these shared, destabilizing global challenges threatening the international system and both nations' interests.

Views of America

State Dept. Substack  |  U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio

Secretary of State Marco Rubio's foreword for 'Views of America' celebrates the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Reception Rooms as symbols of a unique American diplomacy. Rubio traces this distinct approach to figures like Benjamin Franklin, who skillfully blended classical virtue with New World democratic ideals to navigate European aristocratic protocols. The Rooms' privately funded art and artifacts exemplify American craftsmanship, meritocracy, and a commitment to excellence rooted in Western inheritance. Strategically, Rubio critiques past foreign policies, specifically citing China's WTO entry and its negative impact on American manufacturing, arguing it alienated foreign policy leaders from everyday Americans. He advocates for a renewed 'America First' foreign policy focused on national interest, restoring domestic industries, and prioritizing the 'common good of the American people,' inspired by foundational virtues and traditions.

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The Stakes of Trump vs. Xi: How the Summit Could Change the Course of U.S.-China Competition

Foreign Affairs  |  Kurt M. Campbell

The article posits that a hypothetical summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping could fundamentally alter the trajectory of U.S.-China competition, drawing parallels to historical single combats where individual duels determined broader conflicts. The author, Kurt M. Campbell, a former Deputy Secretary of State and Indo-Pacific Coordinator, highlights the potential for such a high-stakes meeting to establish new parameters for the relationship between the two global powers. The analysis suggests that the outcomes of a Trump-Xi encounter, much like the duels of Achilles and Hector or David and Goliath, could have profound implications for the strategic landscape, potentially leading to either a de-escalation or a sharpening of the ongoing competition across various domains including economic, technological, and geopolitical spheres. The piece emphasizes that the personal dynamics and policy orientations of both leaders would be critical factors in shaping the future of U.S.-China relations, with significant ramifications for global stability and the international order.

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Why the European Right keeps rising

Brussels Signal

The European Right is continuously rising across Germany, Austria, France, and other nations because citizens increasingly perceive that post-1990s elections fail to enact real policy change. Critical decisions on migration and energy are now made by supranational bodies and unaccountable NGOs, a condition described as Post-Democracy. A German example shows a parliamentary request for transparency on public funds to "democracy-defending" NGOs was refused, highlighting a lack of oversight. The 'firewall' against parties like the AfD, intended to protect constitutional order, paradoxically prevents policy shifts, nullifying voter majorities. Figures like Björn Höcke gain traction by advocating a cultural nationalism, distinguished from ethnic nationalism, and argued as essential for the secular liberal state. This vital cultural substrate is eroded by progressive politics. The Right's ascent reflects voters observing their concerns are dismissed and institutions ratify externally determined decisions, rendering the 'firewall' a clear symptom of fundamental governance failure.

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Switzerland to vote on limiting immigration

Brussels Signal

Switzerland faces a critical June 14 referendum on the "Sustainability Initiative," aiming to cap its population at 10 million by 2050. Launched by the Swiss People’s Party (SVP), the proposal mandates restrictive immigration measures if the population exceeds 9.5 million, potentially jeopardizing bilateral agreements with the European Union on free movement. The SVP argues that immigration-driven growth, facilitated by 2002 EU agreements, strains housing, transport, and public services despite a low fertility rate. Conversely, the federal government, parliament, business associations, and trade unions vehemently oppose it, citing significant economic risks and potential damage to EU relations. Justice Minister Beat Jans warned of threats to "prosperity, internal security and Switzerland’s humanitarian tradition." Brussels officials are closely monitoring, emphasizing that restrictions on free movement could impact Switzerland's access to the EU single market. Polls indicate a deeply divided electorate, reflecting the profound uncertainty ahead of this pivotal vote.

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The Week the New Global Reality Showed Itself

Geopolitical Futures  |  George Friedman

Russia's President Vladimir Putin is significantly shifting his foreign policy, driven by intense internal pressures including a weakened economy, frozen front lines in Ukraine, and rumored opposition from the FSB. Putin recently proposed a new economic relationship with the United States and announced his intent to settle the Ukraine war through negotiations involving European powers, specifically seeking former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder as an interlocutor. This strategic pivot aims to restore Russia's role within the European system, providing Europe access to Russian natural resources and Russia access to European capital. Simultaneously, a critical U.S.-China summit, long in the works and scheduled for May 14, is poised to redefine their bilateral relationship. Throughout the Iran war, U.S. and Chinese officials have continued negotiations, with China also engaging Iran's foreign minister, demonstrating Beijing's focus on economic influence and minimizing direct military involvement, highlighting its urgent need for a robust economic relationship with the United States.

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The Last Undefended Perimeter

The Cipher Brief  |  Jennifer Ewbank

This article analyzes Russia's industrialized cognitive warfare, which employs AI-generated synthetic media through a modular production system. This system targets Ukrainian soldiers, civilians, and Western publics with content designed to induce despair, erode trust, and question alliance support. The strategic objective is "information chaos" rather than persuasion, making authentic evidence contestable and imposing a continuous "epistemic cost" on the target population. This operational method, termed the "Narrative Kill Chain," is now spreading, with Iran adopting similar tactics. A critical development is the democratization of this capability: Chinese frontier AI models, previously state-level resources, are now open-source and widely accessible. This confluence of a proven adversary doctrine, democratized technology, and an unresolved gap in U.S. domestic defenses poses a severe threat, particularly with upcoming major election cycles.

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What is hantavirus and how does it spread?

Dominic Hughes

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A cruise ship hit by an outbreak of hantavirus has arrived in the Canary Islands.

Three people confirmed to have the virus and five suspected cases have been linked to the ship - the MV Hondius.

The confirmed cases are a Dutch woman who died, a British passenger in intensive care in South Africa and a Swiss passenger who is being treated in a Zurich hospital.

A British man, a Dutch crew member and a German national are among the suspected cases. Two have arrived in the Netherlands for treatment while a third, who is in a stable condition, is on board an evacuation flight that has been delayed.

Switzerland to vote on limiting immigration

Luca Steinmann

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On June 14, Swiss voters will decide whether to approve or reject the so-called “Sustainability Initiative”, also known as the “10 million Switzerland Initiative”, which seeks to cap the country’s population at 10 million by 2050. Switzerland currently has more than nine million inhabitants in steady growth.

If approved, the proposal would require the federal government to introduce restrictive measures on immigration once the population exceeds 9.5 million to prevent it from surpassing the 10 million threshold. Among the measures envisaged is the possible termination of Switzerland’s agreement with the EU on the free movement of persons.

What is hantavirus and how does it spread?

BBC  |  Dominic Hughes, Philippa Roxby and Smitha Mundasad

A hantavirus outbreak on the MV Hondius cruise ship, which arrived in the Canary Islands, has confirmed three cases and five suspected, including one death and hospitalizations across several countries. UK and US authorities are monitoring disembarked passengers, some isolating at home after potential exposure. The World Health Organization identified the Andes strain, known for rare human-to-human transmission, necessitating strict social distancing and infection control measures. While hantavirus primarily spreads from rodent excretions, the Andes strain, previously linked to a 2018 Argentinian outbreak, significantly complicates containment. Globally, infection risk is low beyond the vessel, but lacking specific treatment or widespread vaccine, combined with HPS's 20-40% mortality, exposes significant public health vulnerabilities. Approximately 150,000 HFRS cases occur worldwide annually, predominantly in Europe and Asia. This event critically highlights the need for robust international surveillance and rapid response protocols for emergent, trans-national health threats.

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Multipolarity and the End of Nuclear Stability

Raphaël Dosson

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Going back to the core motive behind U.S. military campaigns against Iran—intensifying from 2025 into full-scale war in 2026—and, more broadly, to the enduring regional confrontations involving Israel, the central objective has been to prevent nuclear proliferation, as a nuclear Iran would emerge as a dominant regional power, threaten U.S. allies, and exert control over critical energy routes, thereby undermining the regional balance of power. In 2012, Kenneth Waltz argued that “more may be better,” suggesting that a nuclear Iran could, in fact, enhance regional stability by restoring the balance of power, counterbalancing Israel’s nuclear monopoly, keeping conflicts limited below the threshold of escalation, and inducing greater strategic caution. In this view, nuclearization could ultimately accomplish Iran’s security imperatives, reducing incentives for revisionist behavior. Can the same argument still be made – and could Iranian nuclear proliferation contribute to stabilizing the region by addressing the underlying imbalance of power and security dilemma?

The Week the New Global Reality Showed Itself

George Friedman

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Last week, I wrote about the phone call Russian President Vladimir Putin made to U.S. President Donald Trump, during which he proposed a new economic relationship with the United States. By itself, it indicated a shift in Russian policy, as did the telling cancellation of the full ceremonies of the May 9 celebration of the end of World War II. Pressure is growing in Russia for Putin to end the war in Ukraine, given that the battle lines are essentially frozen and that the Russian economy has become extremely weak.

It would seem the internal pressure is working. On May 9, Putin announced that the war in Ukraine is coming to a settlement, and that he wants a new relationship with Europe. (Toward that end, he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.) Specifically, he said he wants the war to end via negotiations involving the Europeans, along with possible new security arrangements. His preference is to negotiate through Gerhard Schroeder, a German ex-chancellor with whom Putin had been close and who was from 2017 to 2022 the chairman of Russian energy giant Rosneft. Schroeder’s chancellorship began in 1998, not many years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when it seemed possible that Russia would become not just a liberal democracy but a part of Europe.

The next Army chief won’t inherit a force, he’ll inherit an argument

John Ferrari 

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The next Chief of Staff of the Army — whether it be Gen. Christopher LaNeve, currently filling the role, or a new nominee — will be walking into two live-fire Pentagon debates that threaten to derail the service’s much-needed modernization efforts.

The first debate is a political dispute among administration officials, a spat that reportedly helped remove his predecessor. The new chief will need to figure out how to handle this quickly. But once that is settled, the new chief will have to turn his gaze to a bigger, broader problem, one sharpened by the war with Iran and reinforced by the grinding reality in Ukraine.

The GRU’s Hogwarts: Inside Bauman University’s Department 4, an elite spy school for Russian military intelligence

Michael Weiss, Kato Kopaleishvili, Fidelius Schmid, Alexander Chernyshev

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The slim young man with short darkish blond hair appears harmless in his FBI “Most Wanted” photo. But Vladislav Borovkov, a member of Russia’s most notorious black ops unit, stands accused of "criminal cyber activities," specifically using malicious software to disable critical infrastructure in more than a dozen Western countries.

GRU Unit 29155, the Russian military intelligence grouping to which Borovkov belongs, is behind some of the boldest kinetic operations carried out against NATO interests over the past decade and a half. It has poisoned defectors and arms dealers, bombed ammunition and weapons depots, suborned the Taliban to kill U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan, and likely deployed directed energy attacks against U.S. spies and diplomats, causing them to experience Anomalous Health Incidents, or “Havana Syndrome.”

Ukraine Uses Ground Robots And Drones To Capture Russian Positions Without Troop Losses

TheDefenseWatch  |  Mr. SHEIKH

Ukraine successfully used ground robots and FPV drones to seize Russian positions without suffering troop losses, demonstrating a significant evolution in robotic warfare. This coordinated assault highlights Kyiv’s increasing reliance on unmanned systems to offset manpower shortages and minimize frontline troop exposure to high-intensity combat, mines, and entrenched defenses. Both Ukraine and Russia are rapidly integrating drones and UGVs for reconnaissance, strike missions, logistics, and direct assaults, transforming tactical doctrine. UGVs offer advantages in trench warfare by approaching fortified positions with lower detection risk, while FPV drones provide low-cost precision strikes. The conflict serves as a testing ground for rapidly evolving robotic combat concepts, influencing global defense planners. Strategic implications include accelerated interest in scalable, lower-cost unmanned systems for contested environments and reinforced importance of electronic warfare resilience, distributed operations, and rapid drone production for NATO. Despite successes, electronic warfare remains a critical challenge, driving focus on fiber-optic control, AI navigation, and hardened communications. This shift towards autonomous operations may signal broader attrition-reduction strategies.

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Drone Strikes, Deep Strikes: How Ukraine's Long-Range Air Attacks Are Hurting Russia

RFE/RL  |  Denys Tymoshenko, Valentin Baryshnikov, Yauhen Lehalau, Donbas.Realities and RFE/RL's Russian Service

Ukraine's long-range drone and missile strikes deep into Russian territory, particularly targeting hydrocarbon infrastructure in regions like Leningrad Oblast, are significantly impacting Russia's war effort and domestic perception. These attacks, now occurring hundreds of kilometers from the front lines, have forced Russia to declare distant regions as "frontline" areas and scale down public events like the Victory Day parade. Ukraine's drone launches have increased dramatically, with numbers in March surpassing Russia's. While quantity is one measure, the quality of strikes and their strategic effects—such as disrupting logistics, reducing refinery output, and forcing Russia to disperse air defenses—are proving increasingly effective. The strikes have caused Russia's crude oil processing volume to drop to its lowest since 2009, highlighting the severe economic and military costs imposed on Moscow. This shift marks a fundamental change in warfare approaches, with both sides rapidly developing drone capabilities, significantly influencing the trajectory of the ongoing conflict.

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Top Pentagon tech officials optimistic Mythos-style AI tools will improve cyber defense

Sydney J. Freedberg Jr

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WASHINGTON — Amidst anxiety about Anthropic’s as yet unreleased Mythos model, whose much-hyped hacking ability has raised fears of a looming “bugmageddon,” two top Pentagon tech leaders said this morning they were optimistic that Mythos — and future models like it — could help cyber defenders even more.

“I hear a lot of people talking about challenges and threats when they talk about Mythos,” said Katherine Sutton, Assistant Secretary for Cyber Policy, told the SCSP AI+Expo this morning. “[But] there’s huge opportunity in these models. One of the foundational things that they’re going to enable is the development of secure code.”

Deep Battle and Deep Operations in Contemporary Warfare: Maintaining Momentum and Sustaining Operations on the Transparent Battlefield

Military Review  |  Capt. Randy Noorman, Royal Netherlands Army

Contemporary warfare necessitates a re-evaluation of established military doctrines like deep battle and deep operations, particularly in an era characterized by a "transparent battlefield." This environment, marked by pervasive surveillance, advanced reconnaissance, and rapid information sharing, significantly complicates efforts to achieve and maintain operational momentum and logistical sustainment. Military strategists are challenged to adapt the principles of striking deep into enemy territory to disrupt command, control, and support systems, while simultaneously safeguarding one's own forces and supply lines from similar threats. Sustaining prolonged operations demands innovative approaches to logistics, force protection, and resilience against continuous observation and targeting. Furthermore, the analysis probably delves into how modern technologies, from AI-driven analytics to advanced communication networks, reshape the execution and viability of traditional deep operations, suggesting new tactical and strategic imperatives for military forces worldwide.

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Missile Defense Meets Its Moment

RealClearDefense  |  Frank A. Rose

Recent global conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have decisively transformed missile defense from a theoretical debate into an operational imperative, demonstrating its critical value in saving lives, preserving freedom of action, and complicating aggressor strategies. While proving effective, these conflicts also exposed severe vulnerabilities: insufficient interceptor inventories for prolonged engagements, the inherent fragility of fixed land-based sensors, and the strategically unsustainable cost curve where inexpensive drones exhaust costly interceptors. Moreover, adversaries like Russia and Iran are rapidly adapting with sophisticated saturation attacks. To maintain an advantage, the article urges accelerated modernization through expanded interceptor production, a layered global sensor architecture (including space-based systems), aggressive development of emerging technologies (lasers, AI), enhanced "left-of-launch" capabilities for pre-emptive disruption, and strengthened allied integration. Missile defense is no longer optional but now central to deterrence and security.

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Emerging From the “Zombie State” of Trade Agreements: The India-EU FTA

Vrinda Sahai and Nicolas Köhler-Suzuki

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Nicolas Köhler-Suzuki: For most of the time, the honest answer to when this deal will happen was probably undetermined. The negotiations started in 2007 and for the best part of the decade, they were in what I would call a “zombie state.” What changed is that the world changed around both India and the EU, faster than anticipated. We must understand the three forces that converged almost simultaneously. The first and most obvious one is Trump. The United States slapped tariffs of up to 50 percent on Indian exports in mid-2025 - 25 percent reciprocal, 25 percent for Russian oil purchases. 

The EU also got hit with 15 percent baseline tariffs even after a deal. Suddenly, both sides found themselves at the receiving end of American aggression and the political incentive was to show the world that you have other friends. The second force is China. For the EU, the exposure to China is structural—earths, technologies, battery components, pharmaceuticals. India can offer something that no other partner of a comparable scale can: a very large English-speaking economy with a young workforce and strong ambitions for manufacturing. For India, the calculation is similar but in reverse.

Xi’s Forever Purge The Real Goal Behind China’s “Self-Revolution”

Neil Thomas and Shengyu Wang

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Since becoming China’s leader in 2012, Xi Jinping has carried out stunning assaults on both the Chinese Communist Party and its People’s Liberation Army, purging millions of cadres and even senior leaders who were once thought untouchable. Rooting out corruption was an early focus of Xi’s tenure, but he has intensified the effort in recent years: in 2025, the CCP’s “discipline inspection” authorities filed more than one million cases, an almost sevenfold increase from the year Xi took office. In January, Xi abruptly removed top generals Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli, which hollowed out a Central Military Commission

Plug and Play À La PLA

Anushka Saxena

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On May 6, 2026, the PLA Daily published an interesting article pertaining to the Eastern Theater Command Navy utilising “plug-and-play” (PaP) modular combat units (即插即用的模块化作战单元) for rehearsing integrated deployments and “systems-of-systems” operational tactics.

Across Chinese-language military press over the past 5 years, the idea of these “plug-and-play” (即插即用) modular combat units has moved from theory/ doctrine to a routine element of combat preparedness drills. In May 2020, a long PLA Daily article by Zhao Zhongqi and Nan Dangshe, “Building New-Type Precision Combat Units (打造新型精确作战单元)” likely delved for the first time into doctrinal commentary on how “foreign militaries” were implementing concepts like joint all-domain operations, joint all-domain command & control, and multi-domain operations. Unmistakably, this is a reference to the US’s JADO/ JADC2/ MDO doctrines.

The New Age of Supply Chain Warfare

Richard Weitz

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The Strait of Hormuz crisis illustrates how America’s adversaries can abruptly manipulate supply chain dependencies as geopolitical weapons. Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has boosted oil prices to heights not seen in years. Meanwhile, China has already primed future US chokepoints.

China’s leaders have become experts at supply chain warfare. They follow the master Chinese strategist, Sun Tzu, who observed that the supreme art of war “consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.” According to the congressional US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, “Beijing has shifted toward an explicit policy goal of establishing uncontestable dominance across global value chains, eliminating its own vulnerabilities while creating global dependencies on Chinese products.”

China’s War Wolves: From Commercial Tech to Combat Power

Craig Singleton, JackBurnham, Duncan Lazarow & Anika Iyer

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China is not just modernizing its military. It is reimagining how future wars will be fought. The People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA’s) embrace of “intelligentized warfare” (智能化战争) reflects a systematic effort to integrate artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and unmanned systems into frontline operations. Robotic quadrupeds — often described in Chinese reporting as “robotic wolves” — sit at the center of this shift. These robots are not propaganda props. They offer a clear window into how China is converting commercial innovation into combat power.

The PLA’s robotics strategy matters because Taiwan is the most plausible test case for many of these cutting-edge systems. A cross-strait conflict would force the PLA to confront its hardest operational problems: contested littorals, dense urban terrain, degraded communications environments, and the threat of high casualties in the opening phase of combat. Semi-autonomous and autonomous platforms could shape whether the PLA sustains operational momentum or stalls when it matters most.

Takaichi and Japan Resist Chinese Pressure

Matthew Fulco

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Japanese Prime Minister Sane Takaichi is holding firm against Chinese diplomatic and economic pressure, bolstering her domestic popularity. Takaichi’s comments regarding Japan’s security in relation to a potential invasion of Taiwan and plans to reform Japan’s defense posture have triggered rare earth export restrictions and clampdowns on tourism from Beijing.

Effectively efforts to reduce economic dependence on the People’s Republic of China following previous coercive actions are mitigating Beijing’s latest moves. Takaichi’s government is deepening security partnerships, including with the Philippines, the United States, and France.

Trump’s China Trap

Michael Kovrig

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In January, after weeks of threats by U.S. President Donald Trump to annex Canada as the “51st state,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stood in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, radiating cordiality toward the leaders of a country he had called Canada’s greatest geopolitical threat less than a year earlier. In a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, he said that “the progress that we have made in the partnership sets us up well for the new world order.” It was not a great moment for the United States. Yet that scene—a leader anxious about Washington, rushing to Beijing with a newfound urgency—has played out again and again since Trump’s return to the White House.

In 2025, the leaders of Australia, France, Georgia, New Zealand, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, and the European Union all traveled to China. In January, the pace of visits accelerated, with the leaders of Finland, Ireland, South Korea, and the United Kingdom arriving in quick succession, followed in February by Uruguay’s president and Germany’s chancellor. In April, Spain’s prime minister cemented the pattern with his fourth visit in four years.

Fallow farms, more coal burning and copper shortages – how this El Nino could affect China

Mia Nurmamat

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A strong El Nino expected later this year, together with the fallout from the US-Israeli war on Iran, may threaten China’s agricultural security as the country’s traditional small-scale farming system lacks sufficient capacity to cope with extreme weather shocks, analysts have warned.

The climate phenomenon also risked disrupting China’s supply of critical commodities, such as copper – essential for renewable energy systems – potentially forcing the energy-intensive economy to lean more heavily on coal, they said.

Iran’s New Oil Weapon

Gregory Brew

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Despite a fragile cease-fire between the United States and Iran, the global economic crisis sparked by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz continues unabated. Dueling blockades have kept 20 percent of the global oil supply, 20 percent of the global supply of liquefied natural gas, and critical commodities such as helium, aluminum, and urea trapped inside the Persian Gulf, unable to reach markets. U.S. efforts to evacuate ships from the strait have been met with a renewed barrage of Iranian missiles and drones, and very few ships have managed to get through.

The economic impacts of this crisis have already begun to crystallize: shortages of fuels and other products in East Asia and Australia, skyrocketing jet fuel prices, and a drop in the global demand for oil for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In the United States, gasoline has exceeded $4 a gallon and could break $5 by the end of May. Should the strait remain closed, these economic pressures will worsen, causing rising inflation and slowing GDP growth.