Christopher Woody

They made a new Matlock? And how many people watch it?!

"'Engagement at Pasni would counterbalance Gwadar ...,' according to the blueprint. 'China’s Gwadar investments under the Belt and Road Initiative raise dual-use concerns,' it added, in an apparent allusion to US concerns Gwadar could serve as a Chinese naval base...denied by Islamabad and Beijing."

Pakistan courts US with pitch for new Arabian Sea port Audacious plan would give Washington a mineral gateway near China’s flank

"Advisers to Pakistan’s military strongman Asim Munir have approached US officials with an offer to build and run a port on the Arabian Sea that could give Washington a foothold in one of the world’s most sensitive regions." www.ft.com/content/9f7c...

a few small beers

中国、クリミア半島の記述を削除　外務省サイト、ロシアに配慮か：北海道新聞デジタル 【北京共同】香港紙の星島日報などは3日までに、中国外務省公式サイトのウクライナの国家概況を紹介するページから、ロシアが2014年に併合したウクライナ南部クリミア半島に関する記述が削除されたと伝えた。...

China is reported to have removed mentions of Crimea & Sevastopol from its Foreign Ministry page about Ukraine. Beijing has not formally recognised Russia’s annexation of Crimea, though this move suggests it is leaning ever more towards Russia’s side. www.hokkaido-np.co.jp/article/1219...

It's the US military's 'priority theater,' but what's it called? The Pentagon's renewed use of the term "Asia-Pacific" raises questions about how defense officials define US interests there.

The Pentagon has used “Indo-Pacific” ubiquitously since 2018, when Pacific Command was renamed Indo-Pacific Command, but in July, “Asia-Pacific” started appearing in official statements. I wrote about what that might say about the Trump admin’s view of the region: open.substack.com/pub/thedatel...

It's the US military's 'priority theater,' but what's it called? The Pentagon's renewed use of the term "Asia-Pacific" raises questions about how defense officials define US interests there.

The Pentagon has used “Indo-Pacific” ubiquitously since 2018, when Pacific Command was renamed Indo-Pacific Command, but in July, “Asia-Pacific” started appearing in official statements. I wrote about what that might say about the Trump admin’s view of the region: open.substack.com/pub/thedatel...

Hegseth's big generals meeting is just about "esprit de corps," Trump said Sunday. "You know the expression ‘esprit de corps’? That’s all it’s about. We’re talking about what we’re doing, what they’re doing, and how we’re doing.” www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...

Summoned U.S. Military Officers Are Expected to Hear a ‘Rally the Troops’ Message

“The reason is that Mr. Hegseth and other top officials like the idea of ‘this bonkers meeting,’ the senior administration official said.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/u...

An India-China tango is unlikely at present There are legitimate questions about the assessment that there are far more convergences than differences between the two countries

"... after a week-long visit to Washington ... I came away with a strong sense that there are dramatically divergent views in New Delhi and DC on the state of the bilateral relationship, and that the strategic partnership is perhaps more fragile than ever." www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/an-i...

Cambodian Defense Minister Tea Seiha met with a US congressional delegation led by Congressman Adam Smith, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, following their visit to China and during their stop in Cambodia, a close ally of Beijing

China's KJ-600 early-warning plane launching from its new carrier: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxkg...

"The success showed that China's first domestically built catapult-equipped aircraft carrier has obtained electromagnetic catapult launch and recovery capabilities" eng.chinamil.com.cn/2025xb/H_251...

After the Oct 7 attack, Thailand scrambled to get thousands of its citizens out of Israel. That led the Thai military to do more planning for evacuations from other potential war zones, Thailand’s chief of defense forces told me last month. New story in The Diplomat: thediplomat.com/2025/09/thai...

After the Oct 7 attack, Thailand scrambled to get thousands of its citizens out of Israel. That led the Thai military to do more planning for evacuations from other potential war zones, Thailand’s chief of defense forces told me last month. New story in The Diplomat: thediplomat.com/2025/09/thai...

While in Papua New Guinea from Sept. 15-16, the head of US Indo-Pacific Command, Adm. Sam Paparo, joined a groundbreaking ceremony for a "landmark fuel storage facility" being funded by the US military, which "marked a significant step forward in the US-PNG partnership" www.pacom.mil/Media/NEWS/N...

"Demonstrators led by youth leaders from Anwar's ruling coalition submitted a memorandum of protest to the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur asking for Trump to reconsider" Adams' nomination & "called on Malaysia's govt to exercise its right under international norms to reject Adams' proposed appointment"

"The low-hanging fruit of increased aid ... sports diplomacy, and more labour mobility has been harvested. The thing that Australia needs now from Pacific countries in order to build strategic trust is also the thing that’s hardest for them to give: alignment." www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpre...

YouTube video by International School History Watergate - Dahlberg scene

RIP to a real one youtu.be/Qeemjaosp-E?...

Trump’s D.C. Show of Force Diverts Agents and Prosecutors From Casework

“At the FBI, many agents focused on financial fraud and public corruption now spend two or three nights a week patrolling, significantly slowing the progress of their regular work ... Similar delays are also affecting counterintelligence work, these people said.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/u...

China says it and Thailand will hold this year's Falcon Strike air force exercise (the 9th since it began in 2015) in Thailand in mid-to-late September. The exercise "is conducive to ... deepening mutual trust and practical cooperation between the two militaries." eng.chinamil.com.cn/2025xb/H_251...

India to deliver third batch of BrahMos cruise missiles to the Philippines on time Under the $375 million contract that was inked by Manila and India in January 2022, the Philippines received the first match of missiles from India in April 2024 and the seond batch in April 2025

BrahMos' CEO told Russian media last week that the next batch of cruise missiles for the Philippines is "ready" and "we will deliver them on time." BrahMos is a joint venture and "a symbol of the Russia-India strategic partnership," Tass says, citing India's defense minister tass.com/world/2015201

China’s Newest Aircraft Carrier Is on the Move Strategic observations on the deployment of the Fujian aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait to the South China Sea.

"The most relevant system for carrier operations is the newly unveiled KJ-600 AEW aircraft, which, in combination with the Fujian’s catapults, could potentially enable systematized air combat alongside the J-15T." thediplomat.com/2025/09/chin...

Pentagon plan envisions 1,000 troops for Louisiana policing mission Documents reviewed by The Post illustrate the Trump administration’s evolving strategy for sending the military into cities with Democratic majorities.

What’s the Pentagon’s policy chief spending time on? “The Louisiana plan, which appears to have originated with Elbridge Colby, a Trump political appointee overseeing Pentagon policy, does not specify whether those Guard troops would have arrest authority.” www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Brazil Keeps Telling Trump to Get Lost

“Lula has spoken with [Xi Jinping] at least twice since the US tariffs took effect—but not once with Trump…China bought 31% more from Brazil in August, when the tariffs kicked in, compared with a year before. At the same time, Brazil’s sales to the [US] dropped 18.5%” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/13/w...

South Korea says detained Korean workers released from Georgia facility before flight home South Korea’s president says Korean companies will likely hesitate to make further investments in the United States unless Washington improves its visa system for their employees, as U.S. authorities ...

“In South Korea, we see Americans coming on tourist visas to teach English at private cram schools — they do it all the time, and we don’t think much of it, it’s just something you accept,” Lee said. “But the United States clearly doesn’t see things that way." apnews.com/article/sout...

Pentagon readout of Hegseth's call with China's defense minister uses "Asia-Pacific" rather than "Indo-Pacific," which has been the name of the regional command since 2018 and is ubiquitous in official comms. Readout of meeting with Singapore's defense minister still uses "Indo-Pacific," however

Hegseth and Singapore Def. Minister Chan Chun Sing met at the Pentagon on Sept 9 and discussed, among other things, "expand[ing] US asset rotations in Singapore in line with the 1990 Memorandum of Understanding Regarding United States Use of Facilities in Singapore" www.defense.gov/News/Release...

Trump reportedly halts Koreans' repatriation to suggest they could help train U.S. workforce The Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that U.S. President Donald Trump asked American authorities to delay the repatriation of over 300 detained Korean nationals in Georgia so they could remain and help...

Rubio told S. Korean foreign minister on Wed. that Trump "directed US authorities to halt the deportation” of Koreans detained in Georgia raid and "suggested they either remain...to contribute to training the American workforce or be returned to Korea." koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-09...

High-tech U.S. missile systems come to Japan amid policy shifts and China concerns Long wary of such a move, Tokyo’s acquiescence — and its own planned missile deployments — highlights a gradual but monumental shift in defense policy.

The US Army Typhon mid-range missile system deployed to the Philippines in spring last year and the US Marine Corps NMESIS anti-ship missile system deployed there this spring "are still in place, meaning that those deployed to southern Japan are additional units" www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09...

Christopher Woody (@christopherwoody) Singapore plans to buy US-built sub-hunting planes Singapore plans to buy four P-8A maritime patrol aircraft from Boeing, the city-state’s minister of defense said while meeting with the US defense s...

Singapore plans to buy US-made P-8 maritime patrol planes, joining India and Australia, among others, as operators in the region. Using the same plane will help them share info about activity around the South China Sea and straits linking the Indian and Pacific oceans: substack.com/@christopher...