Military

A person with an umbrella walks past a homeless person at Times Square during a rainy day on 19 January 2023 in New York City, US. (Angela Weiss/AFP)

Can the US afford a war with China?

The US’s propensity for spending more than it has has landed it in a US$31 trillion debt. Furthermore, the US’s actions against Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and China have weakened US dollar hegemony. US academic Han Dongping remarks that perhaps the US needs to focus on itself before it begins its sabre-rattling over issues such as the Taiwan Strait crisis.
Philippines and US officers link arms during the opening ceremony of US-Philippines Arm-to-Army exercise at Fort Magsaysay, in Nueva Ecija province, north of Manila on 13 March 2023. (Ted Aljibe/AFP)

Is Philippine President Marcos Jr swinging too far back to the US?

The Marcos Jr administration’s defence cooperation policy that hews closer to the US is facing domestic criticism, even from his sister. China is also growing increasingly uncomfortable with recent moves between the Philippines and the US, and posturing that suggests that the Philippines could be enlisted to part of the "China containment club".
A painting of former Taiwan President Chiang Kai-shek and a Taiwan flag remains on the wall of a house in Kinmen, Taiwan, 16 October 2021. (Ann Wang/Reuters)

The case of a missing Taiwanese soldier at Kinmen outpost: Desertion, defection or something else?

The case of a Taiwanese soldier who had gone missing from his post at Lieyu Garrison Battalion on Erdan Islet, an atoll off Kinmen County’s Lieyu Island, has drawn speculation of a possible “defection” to the mainland. But this incident and recent instances of military food shortages and missing weapons have kept negative attention on Taiwan’s military amid increasingly tense geopolitics. Zaobao’s China Desk examines the issue.
A cyclist rides on a bicycle past a house destroyed by shelling in Hostomel near Kyiv, on 19 March 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Sergei Chuzavkov/AFP)

The hypocrisy of big country politics in the Ukraine war

Former journalist Goh Choon Kang notes that while Singapore’s stand against the Russian invasion of Ukraine is clear, the conditions that led to the current situation are complicated, beginning with Ukraine's internal politics that weakened it considerably for others to take advantage of.
 Russia's President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with China's director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission Wang Yi during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, 22 February 2023. (Anton Novoderezhkin/Sputnik/Pool via Reuters)

What Russia's possible collapse could mean for China

Swedish academic Stefan Hedlund points out that China is weighing its options very carefully as to how much it should intervene to ensure a stalemate or renewed freezing of conflict in the Ukraine war. From China's point of view, while there are certain gains to Russia being further weakened, Russia's total fall would also spell trouble for China.
A Ukrainian soldier of the 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade "Edelweiss" prepares to fire a French MO-120-RT61 mortar towards Russian positions at a front line in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on 4 March 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Anatolii Stepanov/AFP)

Why China's close ally Cambodia is a staunch supporter of Ukraine

While China appears to be getting further embroiled in the Russia-Ukraine war on the side of Russia and may seek to influence close ally Cambodia to follow suit, the latter does not seem to be easily swayed.
A pigeon flies in front of the Kremlin's Spasskaya tower (left) and Saint Basil's cathedral (centre) in Moscow on 1 March 2023. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP)

Russia could decline into a failed state

Chinese academic Zhang Tiankan believes that while Russia looks and acts tough like a major power, it is in fact not as powerful as it thinks, or wants others to think. It has a long way to go before having the same influence as other world powers.
Rescuers work at a site of a residential building heavily damaged by a recent Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, 4 March 2023. (Stringer/Reuters)

Chinese academic: Lessons for China from the Russia-Ukraine war

Russia’s failure in winning its war in Ukraine has been largely due to its weak soft power as well as the poor performance of its weaponry, which had initially given the country false confidence in its ability to gain a quick victory. Chinese academic Deng Qingbo tells us what China can learn from Russia’s mistakes in this respect.
On 29 June 1942, Madame Chiang Kai-shek was at a ceremony in Chongqing in recognition of the valour of the pilots of the Doolittle Raid, to boost the morale of the Allied forces.

[Photo story] The Doolittle Raid and the historical bonds between China and the US

Historical photo collector Hsu Chung-mao recounts the details of the Doolittle Raid, named after US Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle, which saw US and Chinese soldiers fighting together against the Japanese in their first and biggest joint action in WWII.