Human Security Centre Human Rights and International Security Research

Russia's expansive and modern range of missile defense and anti-satellite capabilities are not simply for defensive purposes. Instead, they are intended to enable offensive operations by hindering the ability of the US, as well as its allies and partners, to counter offensive operations.

Beijing’s pursuit of missile defense and anti-satellite systems call into question how justified its hostility to the defensive measures of its rivals are, while raising concerns over Chinese intentions.

Russia’s reliance on military means to achieve its foreign policy goals threatens the safety and security of the US, its allies and its partners. One measure Washington must pursue is cooperating with Warsaw to develop a short-range cruise missile.

North Korea’s nuclear and missile weapons programs have drawn considerable attention, yet they mask critical military vulnerabilities. To meet the threat posed by North Korea, the US and its allies should expand and modernize their surveillance and precision strike systems.

The LDP will use Japan’s October parliamentary election result as a mandate for its policies, but the election may have been more about the failures of the opposition. Without a capable alternative, the LDP will continue to win elections – almost regardless of its own successes in office.

Washington and its partners must support Thailand and Myanmar in their economic and political development. If the US does not take a more positive and proactive stance, it risks ceding the opportunity to China.

The US, Japan, and South Korea would greatly benefit from Washington, Tokyo, and Seoul taking a more direct approach to constraining Pyongyang. Only by relying less on Beijing can progress hoped to be made in forcing policy changes in North Korea.

China’s announced increase in its defense budget for 2017, only seven percent growth compared to double-digit increases over much of the last two decades, attests to the shifting landscape in Chinese defense strategy and force structure. It also reflects the domestic challenges the country faces.

The Xi Administration has presided over many policy changes while at the same time overseeing a major turnover throughout the Party and government. All the work that has gone into the last five years, and in some respects even longer, can be cemented with a successful 19th Party Congress.

United States strategic bombing during the Korean War was a major factor in repeatedly checking communist advances. However, since the armistice, North Korea has assiduously incorporated rhetoric about the use of airpower in its anti-South Korean and anti-US propaganda.