In terms of geopolitical optics, this week was nothing short of a banquet. It served up at least two sets of images that seem to crystallize our historical moment and that will live on in the Wikipedia of history as shorthand for where the world was in 2025.
One is the waves of uncannily synchronized soldiers and a bewildering array of high-tech weaponry gliding down Beijing’s Chang’an Avenue. The ...
Category: Weapons
Why Sahel States Are Turning to Chinese Military Gear
In early September, Guinea’s port of Conakry turned into a military stage as convoys of CS/VP-14 mine-resistant vehicles, VN-22 6×6 infantry carriers, command and recovery vehicles, and even an SR-5 rocket artillery system rolled off Chinese cargo ships and headed toward Mali’s capital. ...
China Condemns U.S.–UK Taiwan Strait Transit, Tracks Warships
China’s military on Friday condemned the sailing of U.S. and British warships through the Taiwan Strait, saying it ordered naval and air forces to monitor and warn the two ships. The U.S. destroyer Higgins and the UK frigate HMS ...
China Denies Using Beijing’s Parade to Pitch J-10C to Indonesia
China denied using last week’s Beijing military parade to pitch Indonesia further to buy the J-10C fighter jet. A high-level Chinese diplomat for ASEAN, in her statement, called the event a commemoration and not a sales pitch. “It is not a ...
China’s Military Parade Cements Superpower Optics
China displayed a vast array of advanced weapons during a large military parade to mark the 80th commemoration of World War II. The parade snaked down Chang'an Avenue in central Beijing. President Xi Jinping delivered a speech on Tiananmen Square and inspected the soldiers from a parade ...
India Test Fires Nuclear-Capable Ballistic Missile That Can Reach Anywhere in China
India said Wednesday it had successfully test-fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile which, when operational, should be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to any part of China. The Agni-5 missile was successfully launched in India's eastern Odisha state, with authorities saying ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
China Says Opposes European Sanctions Over Iran Nuclear Program
China said Friday it opposed invoking sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program after three Western nations told the UN they would reimpose them if no diplomatic solution was found by the end of August. European sanctions on Iran were eased ...
Chinese-Made Helicopter Under Scrutiny in Crash That Killed Two Ghanaian Ministers
Ghanaian aviation investigators are looking into whether a technical malfunction onboard the Chinese-made Z-9 helicopter led to last Wednesday's crash in the central Ashanti region that killed eight people, including the country's defense and environment ministers. The Z-9, manufactured by the Harbin ...
Philippines’ Marcos Strikes Defense Deals in India
The Philippines and India signed a raft of security deals Tuesday aimed at strengthening strategic ties between the nations as they navigate tensions with China across the Asia-Pacific. President Ferdinand Marcos, on a five-day visit to India, was accorded a red carpet ...
Pakistan Takes Delivery of Chinese Z-10ME Attack Helicopters
The Pakistani Army inducted a new fleet of advanced Chinese-made attack helicopters on Saturday, marking the first time the Z-10MEs have been put to use by a foreign military. The Z-10ME is similar to the U.S.-made Apache AH-64 attack helicopter with ...
China Backs ASEAN Nuclear Weapon-Free Treaty, U.S. in Review
China has expressed its willingness to sign the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) Treaty without reservations in a move that may signal renewed diplomatic momentum for one of the world’s least-recognized nuclear-free zones. The offer, confirmed ...
China Denies Rafale Smear, France Points Finger, Indonesia Silent
China has forcefully denied allegations from France that it mounted a coordinated campaign to undermine and sabotage sales of France’s Rafale fighter jet, pushing back against claims made by French intelligence that Beijing used its embassies and online influence to steer countries like Indonesia toward Chinese-made alternatives ...
One of China’s Largest Arms Companies Pitches Ghana’s Navy on New Defense Tech
Representatives from one of China's largest weapons manufacturers paid a courtesy call to the head of the Ghanaian navy earlier this month to discuss "potential avenues for future collaboration." Fang Xu, head of the Africa department at the China National ...