Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have reached a preliminary agreement to split the Caspian Sea’s oil and gas deposits after a decadeslong dispute, allowing the seabed’s eventual opening for drilling, pipelines and lucrative energy deals. The five states have agreed to 15-mile-wide territorial waters with borders that nominally function as state boundaries, with exclusive 10-mile fishing zones nearby. The deal expressly forbids any military presence on the Caspian Sea, though issues such as delimitation and shares of respective littoral states will continue to be discussed going forward. Read More
U.S. Responds to China's Threats to Navy P-8A in South China Sea
By Jesse Johnson, The Japan Times: “The U.S. military had unusually strong words for Beijing over social media on Saturday after recent reports that an American reconnaissance plane had been warned to “leave immediately” during a flight near China's man-made islands in the contested South China Sea.”
CHINA: China’s New Missile Force: New Ambitions, New Challenges
By Adam Ni & Bates Gill, China Brief: “The establishment of the PLARF signals the increasing importance of conventional and nuclear missiles to PLA warfighting and deterrence capabilities.”