Regional Issues

China Landpower Studies Center | Dec. 17, 2025

Security Implications of the China-Russia-North Korea Triangle

This article analyzes the evolving strategic dynamics within the China-Russia-North Korea triangle and their implications for global security. It argues that while the strengthened Russia–North Korea relationship poses risks for China’s global

China Landpower Studies Center | Nov. 13, 2025

China’s Foreign Police Training: A Global Footprint

New data reveal how China’s foreign police training programs have become an integral part of Beijing’s strategy to remake global security.

China Landpower Studies Center | Nov. 13, 2025

SSI Live 118 – The China Strategic Competition Seminar

In this episode of SSI Live, Major Brennan Deveraux interviews Colonel Kyle Marcrum and Lieutenant Colonel Paul Milas on the SSI-developed China Strategic Competition Seminar. The conversation explores the origin and relevance of the seminar,

China Landpower Studies Center | Nov. 7, 2025

Forecasting the PRC’s Next Global Initiative

Executive Summary:• Xi Jinping could unveil a “global environmental initiative” as soon as mid-November 2025, at the COP31 summit in Brazil. This would align with previous initiatives that have been announced at international forums.• This new

China Landpower Studies Center | Oct. 27, 2025

The PLA’s Progress toward World-Class Ground Force Capabilities

This essay examines Xi Jinping’s dictum of creating a world-class military by 2049 and assesses the progress of the PLA ground forces toward achieving that notional benchmark.

Category: China Landpower Studies Center

Parameters | Winter 2025–26
December 17, 2025 — Welcome to the Winter 2025–26 issue of Parameters, which consists of an In Focus special commentary, two forums (Indo-Pacific Deterrence and Considerations for Modern Warfare), and the new Strategic Competition Corner... MORE

Security Implications of the China-Russia-North Korea Triangle
December 17, 2025 — This article analyzes the evolving strategic dynamics within the China-Russia-North Korea triangle and their implications for global security. It argues that while the strengthened Russia–North Korea relationship poses risks for China’s global strategy and its major economic partnerships, for now, China also derives some benefits from these close ties and considers the risks to be manageable. Drawing on recent diplomatic developments, military cooperation, and regional responses, the article offers a nuanced assessment of how this alignment affects European and Indo-Pacific theaters. The analysis provides US policymakers with insight into the risks of opportunistic aggression and the strategic calculations driving these partnerships... MORE

Slide for the article Security Implications of the China-Russia-North Korea Triangle

China’s Foreign Police Training: A Global Footprint
November 13, 2025 — New data reveal how China’s foreign police training programs have become an integral part of Beijing’s strategy to remake global security... MORE

SSI Live 118 – The China Strategic Competition Seminar
November 13, 2025 — In this episode of SSI Live, Major Brennan Deveraux interviews Colonel Kyle Marcrum and Lieutenant Colonel Paul Milas on the SSI-developed China Strategic Competition Seminar. The conversation explores the origin and relevance of the seminar, highlighting the initiative to educate Army officers on understanding how the People’s Republic of China implements its instruments of national power, its objectives, and its activities both in the Indo-Pacific and globally... MORE

Forecasting the PRC’s Next Global Initiative
November 7, 2025 — Executive Summary: • Xi Jinping could unveil a “global environmental initiative” as soon as mid-November 2025, at the COP31 summit in Brazil. This would align with previous initiatives that have been announced at international forums. • This new initiative would complete a set of five that matches the five strands in the initial rubric of the “Community of Common Destiny” concept, Beijing’s framework for a new approach to global governance. • The PRC will likely leverage a global environmental initiative and its significant economic advantages in green energy to expand international acceptance of their alternative global governance model... MORE

The PLA’s Progress toward World-Class Ground Force Capabilities
October 27, 2025 — This essay examines Xi Jinping’s dictum of creating a world-class military by 2049 and assesses the progress of the PLA ground forces toward achieving that notional benchmark... MORE

Global Public Security with Chinese Characteristics
September 30, 2025 — A conversation between Dr. Sheena Chestnut Greitens and Bonnie Glaser on China's Global Security Initiative... MORE

Slide for GMF's China Global Podcast episode Global Public Security with Chinese Characteristics

SSI Live 117 – China-Russia Relations and the Central Asian States
September 30, 2025 — In this episode of SSI Live, Major Brennan Deveraux interviews Dr. Brian Carlson, a research professor of Indo-Pacific security studies for the China Landpower Studies Center, on Central Asia. The conversation highlights two drastically different engagements Carlson recently had, one in Kazakhstan and the other at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in southern Germany. The discussion explores the nature of China-Russia relations and the significance of the Central Asian states in the context of great-power competition... MORE

Adapting to Future Wars: The Reorganization of the PLA Army’s Special Operations Forces and the Move toward Professionalization
September 26, 2025 — The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) implemented major changes to the organization, accession, and training of its army’s special operations forces (SOF) beginning in 2017, including the creation of a 12-man SOF team and establishment of a probable national-level army-subordinate counterterrorism unit. Beginning in 2025, the PLA introduced several changes to improve officer accession and noncommissioned officer retention in its special operations community. This article assesses observed changes since 2017 designed to improve the PLA’s command and control of its army’s SOF units and to set the foundation for China’s elite forces becoming world-class by 2049... MORE

Slide for Adapting to Future Wars: The Reorganization of the PLA Army’s Special Operations Forces and the Move toward Professionalization

Parameters | Autumn 2025
September 16, 2025 — Welcome to the Autumn 2025 issue of Parameters. We open with two In Focus commentaries. The first, “A Case for Military Proportionality: Disabling Nuclear Plants” by Henry Sokolski, offers practical ways in which military planners can disable civilian targets, such as nuclear infrastructure, without undermining operational goals, alliance cohesion, or long-term political objectives. Our second commentary, “The Consequences of Declining Patriotism in the United States” by Neil N. Snyder, presents findings from a national survey showing a decline in patriotism, especially among Generation Z nonveterans. His article highlights a growing civil-military values gap with implications for recruitment and national cohesion... MORE