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Explainers: Military

Explainers: Military
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Explainers: Military. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
The PLA’s QBZ-191 assault rifle reflects China’s commitment to boosting combat effectiveness to meet the demands of future conflicts. Photo: Weibo/深海猎人Enterprise-CVN80
China's military weapons

QBZ-191 assault rifle allows Chinese small arms to gain tactical and export edge

191 series shows PLA is catching up with global trends to match world-class combat rifles like the US M4, Belgian SCAR and the German HK416.

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US-China relations

Opinion | As China’s military closes gap on US, economic security becomes the new frontier

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China’s military drills

PLA runs amphibious landing drill in strait as Taiwanese leader marks first year

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US-China relations

Pentagon urges faster militarisation of space, citing China’s advances

In separate hearings, generals say Washington should regard space less as a strategic resource and more as a potential battlefield.

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Artist’s representation of a spacecraft in a near-Earth orbit. On Thursday, Pentagon officials discussed accelerating the militarisation of space. Image: Shutterstock
US-China relations

China sees Russia partnership as crucial to its great-power ambitions: Pentagon

US Defence Department calls out Beijing for ‘providing material support’ to Moscow in Ukraine war and heaping military pressure on Taiwan.

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Taiwan

Explainer | What PLA spy drone flights around Taiwan could mean for cross-strait conflict

Military analysts say Beijing’s long-range UAVs could play crucial role in surveillance, blockades, strikes and assassinations.

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China’s 20th Party Congress

Explainer | What is China’s Central Military Commission and why is it so powerful?

During the 20th party congress in Beijing this week, all eyes will be on who CMC chairman Xi Jinping chooses to join the top brass.

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China’s Central Military Commission chairman and members are elected by the Communist Party’s National Congress every five years. Photo: AFP
US-China relations

Explainer | What defence dialogues did Beijing cancel after Pelosi’s Taiwan trip?

Three important meetings between the People’s Liberation Army and the US military were cancelled as part of Beijing’s retaliation measures.

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Indonesia

Indonesian colonel sentenced to life for killing teens

After knocking them over with his car, Colonel Priyanto and two of his subordinates tossed their bodies into the river – but one of the victims was still alive.

Japan

US naval officer in Japan faces prison over deadly crash – family say he had mountain sickness

Ridge Alkonis’ car veered into cars and pedestrians striking an elderly woman and her son-in-law, both of whom died. His parents say it was a terrible accident but prosecutors claim deadly negligence.

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Derek and Suzi Alkonis with a photo of their son Lieutenant Ridge Alkonis who faces a potential three-year prison sentence for a car crash that killed two people. Photo: AP
Iran

Mystery accident at Iran military site kills engineer

Iran’s defence ministry said the incident occurred at a research centre in the Parchin military complex, scene of a giant unexplained blast in 2020, and where Iran is suspected of conducting tests on nuclear weapons’ triggers.

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Photo of a military exercise in Iran, where there has been an accident at a weapons base. Photo: AFP
Russia

Russia ramps up military moves around Japan as Tokyo faces energy dilemma

Japan is holding back from reacting to Moscow’s ‘sabre-rattling’ around the disputed Northern Territories, as Tokyo grapples with protecting its energy security while pressuring Russia to end its Ukraine invasion.

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Ukraine

Explainer | Russia is accused of using ‘vacuum bombs’ in Ukraine. Why are they so feared?

Thermobaric weapons suck up oxygen, then create a blast wave that ‘obliterates’ victims and is especially destructive in enclosed spaces.

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Russia

How big is the gap between the forces of Ukraine and Russia?

With one of the largest and strongest armies in the world, Russian power dwarfs neighbouring Ukraine on every measure.

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A damaged residential building in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, allegedly hit by a Russian military shell on Friday. Photo: AFP
Ukraine

Ukrainian soldier kills 4 fellow servicemen, 1 civilian

Artemiy Ryabchuk, aged 20, was on guard duty at a military factory in the city of Dnipro when he opened fire on his colleagues killing five people and wounding five more.

Arrest of Artemy Ryabchuk in Dnipro. Photo: AFP Photo/Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs
China's military weapons

Explainer | What are hypersonic weapons, and why is there a race to develop them?

Security experts have warned that the escalating competition between China, the US and others could end in military conflict.

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Taiwan

China’s army conducts drill near Taiwan Strait after US lawmakers’ visit

American lawmakers arrived in Taiwan on Thursday offering support for the island’s authorities, who Beijing accuses of seeking independence.

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Aukus alliance

Explainer | What is the Aukus alliance, and what does it have to do with China?

The Aukus alliance, a three-party security pact between Australia, the UK and the US, will equip Australian forces with the know-how to build nuclear-powered submarines.

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A deal giving Australia access to American nuclear expertise has antagonised several countries, including the US’ own allies. Photo: AFP
China’s military

Explainer | What are China’s theatre commands and service branches?

The People’s Liberation Army has been reshaped since major reforms began in 2015 to modernise the world’s largest military.

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Cybersecurity

Explainer | What are the hacking accusations against China?

Several countries accuse ‘cyber actors’ backed by Beijing of hacking the Microsoft Exchange email server, as allegations of Chinese cyberattacks mount.

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US-China relations

Explainer | US vs China: who has the stronger military?

China has the weight of numbers on its side, but America has various technological and financial advantages.

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China has the world’s largest military by active personnel. Photo: STR/AFP
China's military weapons

Explainer | How China grew from buyer to major arms trade player

China’s inventory consists of weapons from several countries, primarily Russia.

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A JF-17 Thunder fighter jet sold by China to the Pakistan Air Force. Photo: Reuters
China’s Communist Party turns 100

Explainer | Why China’s Communist Party maintains a tight grip on the military

The party and the PLA are entwined and in the early years of its rule, all Communist Party leaders had military experience.

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China-India border dispute

Explainer | India-China border: is peace really on the horizon?

Beijing and New Delhi may have agreed to ease tensions but with political relations still sour and troops remaining eyeball-to-eyeball at the border, are the nuclear-armed neighbours really on the road to resolution?

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Donald Trump

What war powers does Trump have?

Democratic lawmakers have questioned the legality of killing top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and warned Donald Trump does not have authority to march the United States into a war.

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US President Donald Trump’s confrontation with Iran is brazenly testing whether the House and Senate will exert their own authority over US military strategy or cede more war powers to the White House. File photo: AFP
North Korea

Explainer | How Kim built North Korea’s nuclear arsenal while appearing to seek peace

Of North Korea’s six atomic tests, Kim was responsible for four. Experts estimate North Korea has assembled 20-30 nuclear warheads.

US President Donald Trump with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: AP
Syrian conflict

Explainer | Why are Syria’s Kurds accusing the US of betrayal?

Earlier this year, Kurdish-led forces, with backing from a coalition made up of the US and dozens of other countries, took Isis’s last territory in Syria and eliminated its caliphate.

The Philippines

Explainer | Philippines’ communist rebellion is Asia’s longest-running insurgency

The rebels have never politically controlled any province or even a single city. However, from bases in the forests and mountains across the country, guerillas have waged Asia’s longest-running insurgency.

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