Author Archives: Over the Horizon

Breaking Down Pakistan’s Dasu Bus Blast The Indus River passing by Dasu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan (Wikimedia Commons) On July 14, Pakistan’s mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province was rocked by a bus explosion that claimed the lives of 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals. The bus, which had been carrying Chinese workers employed atContinue reading “Chaos in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa”

Myanmar lies at the intersection of energy security, intrastate violence, and Southeast Asian proxy interests.  Two months into its military coup, what lies next for this geopolitically critical nation? In this post, I take a look at the Sino-Burmese relationship and the coup’s implications for this complex relationship going forward. Most of my writings thusContinue reading “Myanmar: Crossroads at a Crossroads”

Followers of this blog may note that it has been several months since I have published a new essay or book review—I published my last article in mid-July 2020, to be exact.  During the time that has passed since then, I have kept busy with my job and with various readings, as well as byContinue reading “Blog Update: April 2021”

Only if we defeat the technological path dependence paralyzing the military, argues analyst Chris Brose Chinese military honor guard marching in 2012 to mark JCOS Staff Marine General Peter Pace’s visit to Beijing (Wikimedia Commons). Have thirty years of unipolar hegemony lulled the American military-industrial complex into complacency? According to Aspen Institute defense policy analystContinue reading “Could the US Defeat China in a Great-Power War?”

Conflict in the India-China border region holds a magnifying glass to geopolitical tensions CIA map of the Sino-Indian border, 1963 (Wikimedia Commons) What’s Happening on the Border? May 9th saw Chinese and Indian soldiers come to blows along the Sikkim border, after a separate fight had taken place May 5th near the lake Pangong TsoContinue reading “Contextualizing India and China’s Border Skirmish”

This article was originally published for International Policy Digest. It was co-written with Eleanor Shiori Otsuka Hughes. It is republished with permission of International Policy Digest. Tsai Ing-wen in 2019 (Wikimedia Commons) Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan’s Tsai Ing-wen commenced her second term in office on May 20th by delivering a 25-minute inauguration speech at the Taipei Guest House.Continue reading “Tsai’s Inauguration Potentially Sets the Stage for Cross-Strait Diplomacy”

Djibouti and the Southern Red Sea from Above (NASA) There has been a lot of talk recently, both within the IR community and the broader media, about China’s Djibouti support base.  Open-source satellite analyst @detresfa_ tweeted on May 9 that “development work has carried on at the site through #Covid19,” and Forbes published an articleContinue reading “Inside China’s Base in Djibouti”

Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen (Wikimedia Commons) This article was originally published for International Policy Digest. It was co-written with Eleanor Shiori Otsuka Hughes. It is republished with permission of International Policy Digest. In recent months, the world has applauded Taiwan for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday, May 8th at a Center forContinue reading “Taiwan is a Victim of Global COVID-19 Politics”

An Analysis of Terrorism, Geography, Diplomacy, and Economics Chinese trucks along Pakistan’s Karakoram Highway (Wikimedia Commons) My last two articles focused more intently on China’s naval strategy. Today I’ll be taking a look at overland strategy—specifically, the Belt and Road Initiative in Pakistan. The Belt and Road Initiative, a series of overland and maritime routesContinue reading “What Factors Influence CPEC Completion Rate Across Pakistan?”

China’s grand strategy through American eyes The Chinese J-20 fighter at an airshow in Zhuhai My last article focused on Chinese aims in the South China Sea, which fit in with a broader grand strategy focused on energy security and the cultivation of a naval “string of pearls.”  This article will “zoom out” on ChineseContinue reading “Leading for the Dream”