Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)
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Northeast Asia
Sino-Russian bomber patrol reignites concerns over China’s nuclear commitments
Brandon J. Babin In late November 2024, China and Russia conducted their ninth combined strategic bomber patrol in the Indo-Pacific. The sorties differed from the others. It was China’s first use of the nuclear-capable H-6N bomber in a signaling event and represented the latest inconsistency in its nuclear commitments. While Beijing has been opaque about the H-6N’s nuclear mission, evidence…
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Northeast Asia
Corruption may postpone CCP’s military modernization, report says
FORUM Staff Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping’s crackdown on military corruption in the past 18 months could hinder his military modernization goals for 2027 and beyond, according to the China Military Power Report released by the United States Defense Department in December 2024. The annual report provides the U.S. Congress an analysis of the People’s Republic of…
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Northeast Asia
Joint bomber exercise, arms buildup contradict Xi’s statements on nuclear weapons
FORUM Staff A joint nuclear-capable bomber drill by Beijing and Moscow near Japan in late November 2024 drew condemnation and called into question Chinese Communist Party (CCP) General Secretary Xi Jinping’s past pronouncements against nuclear proliferation. The military exercise over the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan also tightened the links between the CCP and Russia, which repeatedly…
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Free and Open Indo-Pacific/FOIP
G7 defense chiefs pledge commitment to Free and Open Indo-Pacific
FORUM Staff Defense ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations said they seek constructive and stable relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), while stating that Beijing has no legal basis for its expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea. The ministers said they are “strongly opposed to China’s repeated obstruction of freedom of navigation, militarization…
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Features
Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction
FORUM STAFF The first case of COVID-19 reported outside the People’s Republic of China (PRC) involved a Chinese citizen who flew to Thailand on January 8, 2020. Days earlier, Thai health officials had begun screening arriving passengers after reports of an atypical pneumonia surfaced in China. The Chinese passenger tested positive for the new virus, called severe acute respiratory syndrome…
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Features
Force multipliers for Stability
FORUM Staff Since the 1950s, the Korean Peninsula has simmered as a potential flashpoint in Northeast Asia. Tensions now threaten to boil over amid North Korea’s banned nuclear and ballistic weapons development and Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine. Conventional military forces form the bulk of the multinational integrated deterrence posture in South Korea, enabling stability, security and a strong economy.…
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Northeast Asia
Japan, South Korea, U.S. unveil team to monitor North Korea sanctions
Reuters Japan, South Korea and the United States in mid-October 2024 announced the launch of a multinational team to monitor sanctions enforcement against North Korea after the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia thwarted monitoring activities at the United Nations. The Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team was introduced after Russia in March 2024 vetoed the annual renewal of a U.N. panel of experts…
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Northeast Asia
South Korea launches Strategic Command to integrate with U.S., counter North Korea, push peace through strength
FORUM Staff South Korea has launched its new Strategic Command to integrate its arsenal of conventional weapons with the United States’ extended deterrence to pursue peace through strength and to protect against aggression from North Korea. South Korea first revealed its Strategic Command plans in July 2022 and the command officially began in early October 2024. “Through unwavering efforts based…
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Conflicts - Tensions
U.S. sanctions target Russia-North Korea financial conspiracy for illegal weapons
Reuters The United States imposed sanctions on five entities and one individual for enabling payments between North Korea and Russia to support Moscow’s unprovoked war against Ukraine and Pyongyang’s illicit weapons programs, the U.S. Treasury Department said in mid-September 2024. The measures, which target attempts to evade prior sanctions, demonstrate the U.S.’s commitment to disrupting networks that facilitate funding of…
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Northeast Asia
South Korean defense expert shares insights on deterrence efforts, important alliances
Sentry Staff Dr. Hyeongpil Ham, a retired Republic of Korea colonel, has worked for more than 30 years at South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses. He led South Korea’s governmental task force responsible for addressing North Korea’s nuclear threats and developing South Korea’s deterrence and defense strategy. He…
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