The Geobukseon

PREMIUM OPINION: Taiwan is piggy in the middle amidst Sino-US competition

A strategic 'Great Game' is going on between China and the US, with Taiwan unfortunately stuck in the middle and under pressure.

PREMIUM OPINION: How does China’s leadership view its fighter pilots?

There is a trust deficit between the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party and the nation's pilots who would be tasked to go to war.

PREMIUM OPINION: Tough calls lie ahead in As-Pac for new US president

Security challenges abound in Asia-Pacific for the incoming US president - so will he be up to them?

PREMIUM OPINION: More of the same for Malaysian maritime forces during COVID-19?

The after-effects of COVID-19 could raise questions over the long-term sustainability of Malaysian maritime forces; even before the pandemic began, the government was struggling to recapitalise ageing assets and introduce more modern capabilities.

Author

Cracking open the hard shell of defence and security policy within the Asia Pacific , The Geobukseon is the place to come and get Shephard Media's opinions on the issues concerning policy makers, militaries and industry in the region.

Defence Notes

PREMIUM OPINION: Eccentricity reigns in Indonesian defence procurements

20th September 2020

On more than one occasion, the Geobukseon has ridiculed India for its defence procurement morass, its inability to make decisions and failure to introduce equipment ...
Defence Notes

PREMIUM OPINION: China, computer chips and supply chains

20th August 2020

On 14 September 2019, the Islamic Republic of Iran launched an audacious unconventional military attack on critical infrastructure facilities in Saudi Arabia, at Abqaiq and ...
Naval Warfare

PREMIUM OPINION: US slam dunks Chinese claims in troubled waters

15th July 2020

Last week two USN aircraft carriers (USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan) began exercises in the South China Sea. This week the US government issued ...
Defence Notes

PREMIUM OPINION: USMC Commandant takes on China (and the Marine Corps)

16th June 2020

Some USMC commandants set their sights higher than others. One’s recent crowning achievement was to antagonise marines by forcing them to unroll their uniform sleeves ...
Defence Notes

PREMIUM OPINION: USMC must transform to compete with China

14th May 2020

The US Marine Corps has a long and storied history in the Pacific, but the rise of China’s military is forcing the corps to either react ...
Defence Notes

PREMIUM OPINION: Chinese policy seeks to weaponise the COVID-19 pandemic

15th April 2020

This Geobukseon writer, as a young graduate student, was fortunate to be attending a US university that was visited by the then recently retired former ...
Defence Notes

PREMIUM OPINION: Taiwan, an island nation under siege

20th March 2020

Few countries are more bullied or ostracised than Taiwan. Whether it is militarily, diplomatically or internationally, China has successfully forced Taiwan into the far-flung outer ...
Naval Warfare

PREMIUM OPINION: Is the Philippine Navy’s modernisation rudderless?

27th February 2020

Amidst the controversy surrounding Manila’s termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement with the US, the Philippine Navy (PN) finds itself in a peculiar position as ...
Defence Notes

Opinion: Can India escape the morass of bungled procurements?

23rd January 2020

With India hosting its biennial DefExpo exhibition early next month, in yet another new and inconvenient location, it is a timely reminder to consider the ...
Digital Battlespace

Opinion: BeiDou – Friend or foe in space, sea, air and land?

18th December 2019

At 01:43 on 5 November, China launched a Long March-3B carrier rocket with the 49th satellite aboard of the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) from ...
Defence Notes

Opinion: The PLA is full of contradictions

15th November 2019

If anyone was watching television or YouTube footage of the 70th anniversary parade by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in Beijing on 1 October, it ...
Defence Notes

Opinion: USMC commandant’s guidance turns from sandbox to Asia

16th October 2019

It took a while, but the USMC officially woke up to China a few months ago. The new Marine Corps Commandant Gen David Berger’s formal ...
Land Warfare

Opinion: Japan’s enduring jointness jumble

24th September 2019

On paper the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) is a formidable force. For example, the national army is replete with the latest-generation main battle tank, ...
Defence Notes

Comment: Mysterious ship offloads military cargo in Hong Kong

3rd September 2019

In the hours of darkness of 28 August, a large Chinese cargo ship disgorged unknown amounts of troops and military equipment at Stonecutters Island Naval ...
Defence Notes

Opinion: Who becomes the world’s supplier of affordable fighters now?

23rd August 2019

Over the past few decades, Asian nations that were either friendly to or aligned with the US were some of the biggest customers for lightweight ...
Defence Notes

Opinion: How China’s fingerprints are all over Talisman Sabre

25th July 2019

This month more than 34,000 troops completed Exercise Talisman Sabre. Apart from its sheer scale, what is remarkable about the biennial exercise is the degree ...
Naval Warfare

Opinion: Taiwan has a naval dilemma

19th June 2019

New users can access this article and all our other Premium News by signing up for a free 24 hour trial HereExercise Han Kuang recently concluded ...
Naval Warfare

Opinion: China preposterously lays claim to Taiwan Strait

15th May 2019

Last month China grossly overstepped the mark by acerbically criticising a foreign warship passing through the Taiwan Strait, an international right of way that separates ...
Defence Notes

Opinion: China, Latin America and the Monroe Doctrine

17th April 2019

The Congressional Research Service released a report titled ‘China’s Engagement with Latin America and the Caribbean’ on 11 April, and it raised serious concerns over ...
Defence Notes

Opinion: Australia remains ‘regionally superior’

13th March 2019

Despite a revolving door at the prime ministerial and political levels – punctuated by the latest news that Defence Minister Christopher Pyne is retiring this ...