Top American and Chinese defense officials will lay out rival visions for the Indo-Pacific region as they meet in Singapore this week amid a bruising global trade war, tensions over China’s push for technology leadership and the specter of stalled U.S.-North Korea nuclear talks.

Acting Defense Secretary Shanahan highlighted China in remarks to civilian leaders of the U.S. military.

China’s activities in its surrounding seas may be as much a recognition of its weaknesses as an assertion of strengths. What is certain is that the East and South China Seas will continue to be sources of contention in the immediate future.

China eyes a 8.1 percent boost in its defense budget this year.

Beijing has long refrained from engaging militarily beyond its borders. However, as some recent reports suggest, this situation may soon change. Ferghana News reported that China will build a military base in the northern province of Afghanistan.

Given the rising prominence and influence of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Chinese President Xi Jinping is endeavoring to maintain a delicate balance between civil and military authority.  His failure to reign in the increasingly assertive armed forces could have a significant and far-reaching impact on international relations and security.

President Xi Jinping has ordered Chinese defence firms to speed up weapons development and aim to do better than the world’s most powerful militaries, a d

If many analysts prove correct in their forecasts, China’s military leadership will undergo the largest-ever turnover of military elite in the history of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) at the 19th Party Congress this October.

The US is spending naval resources it can ill-afford patrolling the Western Pacific. These patrols serve no useful purpose and only raise the risk of conflict with the Chinese Navy.