Inside the Ring
U.S. public sours on Xi and China, poll shows
U.S. public opinion of China has turned sharply negative since President Xi Jinping came to power, with 82% of Americans now holding unfavorable views of the Chinese communist state and its leader, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center.
Biden officials tried to restrict nuclear arms use
Biden administration officials involved in the recent Nuclear Posture Review of U.S. strategic weapons and forces sought to further restrict the use of nuclear arms during internal discussions on the nuclear review but ultimately backed off, according to Air Force Gen. Anthony J. Cotton, nominee to be the next Strategic Command chief.
Xi arrives in Central Asia, plans talks with Putin
Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to Kazakhstan on Wednesday for his first known post-pandemic foray beyond China's borders and later plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Uzbekistan.
China-Russia war games underway near Japan
Large-scale Russian war games involving some 2,000 Chinese troops kicked off this week and included live-fire naval exercises near Japan.
China's space power to promote communism
China's government is investing billions of dollars in space systems and plans to dominate space to promote its communist system of government, according to a Pentagon study.
Air Force sees 'incredibly' large missile buildup by China
China's military is engaged in a large-scale expansion of both nuclear and conventional missiles described by an Air Force Air University report as "incredibly" large and rapidly increasing.
Chinese navy intel ship spied on RIMPAC
China's military dispatched a spy ship to collect war fighting secrets during the U.S. Navy's major international exercises known as Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) that ended earlier this month, according to defense sources.
Chinese exercises included missile 'bracketing'
China's recently concluded large-scale military exercises near Taiwan included at least a dozen missile firings that landed in areas around the self-ruled island state.
China moving toward nuclear coercion
Beijing's rapid large-scale buildup of nuclear weapons is a sign the Chinese military is moving away from its past defensive strategy toward the use of "nuclear coercion" to achieve Chinese Communist Party aims, such as the takeover of Taiwan, according to a think tank report authored by a Strategic Command analyst.
Space Force leader backs soft Biden agenda
Air Force Gen. John Raymond, chief of the newly created Space Force, says he supports efforts by the Biden administration to reach a U.N.-sponsored agreement on military activity in space, something past administrations has rejected an arms control ploy by China and Russia to limit the American power in space.
Navy warship marks S. China Sea ruling anniversary
A U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer this week helped mark the sixth anniversary of a landmark international tribunal ruling declaring the South China Sea to be international waters and not a Chinese lake.
'ChinaDan' hacks Shanghai police files on 1 billion people
An unidentified computer hacker successfully obtained a massive database from a police network in Shanghai, a database that includes records held by the security organization on an estimated 1 billion Chinese citizens.
U.S. Pacific commander: China targeting military C2
Adm. John Aquilino, commander of the Hawaii-based Indo-Pacific Command, said recently that all U.S. services are strengthening command and control systems to prepare for a future conflict with China.
Congress to restore nuclear cruise missile funds
Biden administration anti-nuclear policymakers suffered a bipartisan rebuke as Congress voted to reverse Pentagon plans to eliminate a nuclear-tipped, sea-launched cruise missile.
China to U.S.: Leave communist system alone
A senior Chinese Communist Party official this week repeated Beijing's demand that the United States not seek to overthrow the communist system.
China conducts two threatening aerial intercepts
Tensions between China's military and two U.S. allies increased recently after People's Liberation Army fighter planes conducted what officials say were dangerous aerial encounters.
Northcom: Threats to U.S. homeland surging
The commander of the Pentagon's Northern Command recently told Congress that the United States faces growing threats of attack from China, Russia and North Korea.
North Korea built up nuclear, missile power during pandemic
North Korea continued to build missiles and nuclear weapons during the pandemic and now has nuclear missiles capable of striking the United States, the commander of U.S. Forces Korea disclosed recently in congressional testimony.
Russia to deploy nuclear-armed drone torpedo
Russia's navy later this year will deploy a drone torpedo armed with a megaton-class nuclear warhead capable of destroying entire cities or ports, according to the commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
DIA: Intel suggests COVID virus was lab-engineered
Army Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, revealed in prepared Senate testimony this week that some U.S. intelligence agencies -- not identified by name -- believe the virus behind the COVID-19 pandemic may have been genetically modified in a laboratory and not transmitted naturally from an animal host in China, where it was first identified.
