Suga could mark his first policy success as Japan’s new leader by implementing a robust and comprehensive missile defense plan.
Craig Singleton – Washington Examiner
Bradley Bowman and Maj. Scott D. Adamson -- Defense News
Russia and China have been busy in a rapidly changing Arctic, and America seems to have barely noticed. Focused elsewhere, the U.S. now finds itself ill-prepared to compete in the thawing, resource-rich arena that also offers adversaries avenues of approach to the American homeland. If America is going to compete effectively against Russia and China, Washington must recognize that the competition is playing out in the Arctic too — and act accordingly. Read more
Pentagon Report: China Now Has World’s Largest Navy
By John Grady, USNI News: “China is bent on creating a world-class military that can conduct joint operations across the globe and already boasts the world’s largest navy, according to the Pentagon’s latest annual assessment of the Chinese military."
By Ryan D. Martinson, Proceedings: "The PLAN’s newest aspiration is to transform itself into a “world-class navy.” The idea of becoming “world class” was not a PLAN invention. Sometime in 2016, China’s head of state Xi Jinping told the PLA to transform itself into a world-class military. This injunction later appeared in Xi’s report at the 19th Party Congress in October 2017, making it the official policy of the Chinese party-state."
By Loren Thompson, Forbes: "In the midst of a global pandemic and hard-fought election season, it is easy to lose sight of the biggest danger to our democracy. The biggest by far is the threat posed by nuclear weapons."
By Patrick Tucker
The PLA is preparing for modern, networked warfare with more artificial intelligence, warships, and even a space station.
By James Joyner, War on the Rocks: "Crossing the Great Plains on an expedition to Utah in the 1850s, Maj. Charles A. May searched the wagons in an effort to reduce unnecessary baggage. When he reached the wagons of the light artillery battery, Capt. Henry J. Hunt proudly pointed out the box containing the battery library. “Books,” May exclaimed. “You say books? Whoever heard of books being hauled over the Plains?"
Guam Needs Aegis Ashore
By Shane Praiswater, Defense News: “Mohammed Morsi has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, a former general is head of state, and charges against Hosni Mubarak have been dismissed—it's like 2011 all over again.”
By Collin Meisel, Jonathan D. Moyer & Sarah Gutberlet, Modern War Institute: ““The ultimate yardstick of national power is military capability.” So declared RAND analysts in a monograph on measuring national power twenty years ago. Yet, no go-to measure of military assets currently exists beyond one-off net assessments of fighting forces, simple comparisons of military spending, or point estimates of firepower that conflate capabilities with combat power."
From USNI News: “These documents offer insight into how Russian leaders perceive threats and how Russian military and security policymakers envision the future of conflict."
By Caleb Slayton, Strategy Bridge: "When Africa might have given the U.S. a clean bill in terms of colonialism, Cohen contends that had early America not been engaged in expanding westward under the Louisiana Purchase or engaged in colonial-type activities in the Philippines, America’s history in Africa could have looked differently."
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