Examining the force structure, doctrine, and capabilities of China’s PLA Navy after decades of modernization and rapid shipbuilding.

While Trump's tone and tactics may differ from his predecessor, the underlying direction of US foreign policy in Asia is unlikely to see major changes.

The vast Indian Ocean Region is increasingly home to a fluid geopolitics of great power competition pitting China and Russia against the West.

A response to US attempts to contain China’s military expansion, China’s Blue Dragon strategy envisions a widening PLA Navy footprint in three critical maritime arenas: the South China Sea, the East China Sea, and the Indian Ocean.

A recent scandal involving a PRC ‘research ship’ loitering near India-Maldives-Sri Lanka military exercises underscores China’s widening military and diplomatic footprint in the Indian Ocean region.

Amid high-profile port calls from MSDF destroyers in Cambodia, it’s important to differentiate what is tangible in terms of a potential geopolitical shift, from what is merely an exercise in optics.