A peace pact will yield numerous dividends for both sides and promote peace and stability in the Western Pacific, which is why politicians in Beijing and Taipei ought to listen to the people.

Cross-Strait relations in 2017 are only a part of the changing Sino-US relationship and reorganization of the global order. It is in the interests of both the US and China, as well as the interests of Taiwan, to maintain the status quo, which must be recognized anew by Taipei and Washington.

Generations of Chinese leaders have said China aims to have the minimum capability required to launch an effective nuclear counterattack. From the long-term perspective, global disarmament has always been China’s goal, and the country should lead the way to keep other major powers faithful to that goal.

What will be President-elect Donald Trump’s policy on the use of offensive cyber weapons? First, he will likely adopt a more aggressive cyber position, with the subsequent risk of an accelerated cyber arms race. Second, he may loosen cyber alliances and abandon the quest for norms of state behavior in cyberspace. Both prospects could potentially make cyberspace more dangerous for the United States.

China’s Cybersecurity Law has elicited rather negative responses from foreign businesses, governments and NGOs. Perhaps ironically, the U.S. thus seems to have fallen victim to what Beijing has long feared would happen to them: ideological infiltration by a geostrategic adversary aimed at upsetting the political system.

Western overconfidence cost President Obama and US allies the chance to shape the resolution of the Syrian crisis. Turkey’s realignment with Russia and Iran on the issue is a game-changer, for no neighboring countries of Syria can replace the role of Turkey for the Western alliance.

The contrast between a collapsing neo-liberalism of the west and the much-welcomed new development model espoused and practiced by China is not to be missed.

For China, Trump’s sleight of hand through pushing for a new round of nuclear arms race is nothing but a distraction. What China needs most now is to mend its own business well per its own plan.

Given the apparently low intelligence value of the recently seized U.S. UUV, China may have intended the seizure primarily as a provocation or warning. Though the vessels involved held a low-risk of escalation, the legal precedent is more significant: last Thursday’s incident occurred approximately 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay, nowhere near sensitive Chinese military facilities, and in waters that China has not claimed any jurisdiction over.

If the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) accepted Turkey as a member state, that could serve to improve the NATO-Russian relationship, further promote SCO economic integration, and add strength in counteracting terrorism, separatism and extremism, the primary goals of SCO. Russian suspicions of Turkey, however, pose one of several challenges to the idea.