First Island Chain  

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Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung poses with visiting Japanese senators and other guests at the Taiwan-Japan Diplomatic and Defense Forum held at The Grand Hotel Taipei on September 9. (Photo courtesy of the Storm Media Foreign Desk)

Could Japan Pass a Taiwan Relations Act? Kitamura And Seki Hei Visit Taiwan To Push For It

Taiwan's national security agencies say Beijing and Moscow have recently reached an understanding to cooperate across the First Island Chain.

Beijing and Moscow Coordinate Cognitive Warfare Operations Along First Island Chain

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense released its 2026 PLA Military Power Report on August 31, assessing China's military capabilities across multiple domains. (File photo)

China Is Getting Closer to Invading Taiwan. It's Not There Yet.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (left) meets with Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae in Tokyo. The two countries have deepened defense ties as China expands its presence around Taiwan and the South China Sea. (Associated Press)

As Japan-Philippines Defense Pact Activates, Beijing Increases Presence in Contested Waters

A Philippine Navy vessel takes part in a routine exercise. Analysts say the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea function as linked but distinct flashpoints in the same regional theater. (Associated Press)

Opinion | Taiwan and the South China Sea Are One Theater With Different Fuses

Amid the ongoing U.S. war against Iran, President Donald Trump publicly ordered the Pentagon to significantly scale back joint military exercises with South Korea, criticizing President Lee Jae-myung for refusing to provide support in the Middle East conf

Trump Guts US-Korea Drills, and Taiwan Has Every Reason to Worry

United States Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, right, shakes hands with Philippine Ambassador to the U.S., Jose Manuel Romualdez during a forum in Manila, Philippines on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026. (AP)

Colby in Southeast Asia: Partners, Not Vassals, and Quiet Deterrence

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. (File photo, AP)

Beijing Watch | Japan Upgrades China From Threat to Generational Rival

The Reiwa 8 Edition of the Defense White Paper has been released, with Japan continuing to monitor the cross-strait military balance and related issues. (File photo, courtesy of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Facebook)

Japans White Paper: China Now Outguns Taiwan on Every Front

Taiwan's Defense Minister  Wellington Koo speaks to what he is able to disclose about what the United States has contributed to the island's defense operations. (Photo by Chang Yao-lin)

Exclusive | Taiwan Defense Chief Says US Aid More Than Publicly Known

Taiwan Coast Guard patrol boats shadow Chinese Coast Guard vessels near Kinmen's restricted waters on July 21. All four Chinese ships withdrew by around 5 p.m. in what authorities described as the third such incident this month. (Photo: CGA Kinmen-Matsu-P

Opinion | How China's Coast Guard Is Reshaping the First Island Chain

Cloud computing with a brain in America and limbs in Taiwan. (AI-generated image)

Opinion | Silicon's Split Personality: From Kill Chains to Concert Halls

China's gray-zone harassment has intensified in recent years. AIT released a rare photograph showing Taiwan's Coast Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard sailing in formation. (Source: AIT Facebook)

China's Gray-Zone Squeeze on Taiwan Isn't Cause for Celebration

The American Institute in Taiwan posted on Facebook a photo of Taiwan's Chiayi-class patrol frigate Taipei (CG5005) sailing alongside the US Coast Guard Legend-class cutter USCGC Midgett (WMSL-757). (Source: AIT Facebook)

No Longer a Secret: US Acknowledges Joint Taiwan Coast Guard Drills

The Taiwan Strait situation shapes defense dynamics and great-power competition along the First Island Chain — with geopolitical developments remaining fluid and unpredictable. (File photo, AP)

China Eases Military Pressure on Taiwan, Shifts Forces Toward Japan

China's Xuelong 2 research icebreaker, operated by the Chinese Polar Research Center under the Ministry of Natural Resources. (Chinese Polar Research Center)

Behind China's Merchant Fleet, a Taiwan War Playbook

Vladivostok, Russia's premier Far East naval port (Photo / Raita Futo. CC BY 2.0)

ASPI Warns China Could Use Russian Decline to Outflank Island Chain

In March 2026, Japan's Air Self-Defense Force expanded its dedicated space warfare unit, the Space Operations Squadron, into a full Space Operations Group. (Japan Air Self-Defense Force official website)

Japan Renames Air Force for Space as Ex-General Urges Taiwan to Prepare

Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) delivers a speech at a ceremony marking the 105th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on July 1, 2026. (AP)

China Says Batanes 'Belong to China' — Experts Warn Its Gray Zone Has Turned Darker

At noon on July 6, China's PLA Navy successfully launched a submarine-launched strategic missile carrying a training dummy warhead from a nuclear-powered submarine into international waters of the Pacific. Pictured: the moment the missile breaks the surfa

China's Missile Breaks the Island Chain. Trump Stays Silent.

PLA missile test launch. File photo. (Archive photo, Weibo)

Opinion | China's JL-3 Missile Test Caps a Week of Pressure on Taiwan

During a PLA "joint combat readiness patrol," Taiwan's Navy destroyer Kunming monitors the PLA Navy vessel Yinchuan. (Photo: Ministry of National Defense)

Opinion | The Warships Nobody Noticed Behind China-Russia's Air Patrol

In June 2026, China's Coast Guard advanced into Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) east of Taiwan, escorting Chinese research vessels and other government ships. (Photo: Coast Guard Administration)

Trump's Retreat Is Handing Beijing the Taiwan Strait

Communications systems relay intelligence and commands, directly affecting combat effectiveness. Taiwan's military has in recent years actively strengthened communications resilience — and has quietly spent a significant sum establishing a backup data cen

Exclusive | Taiwan's Military Data Has a Secret Backup — And It's Not in the United States

File photo of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier from the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet on patrol in the Philippine Sea. (U.S. Navy)

Exclusive | Sink the Seventh Fleet or Lose Taiwan: A U.S. Scholar's Uncomfortable Math

President Lai Ching-te delivered a video address on the morning of the 9th at the First International Forum on Shinzo Abe and Modern Japan Studies. (Photo by Huang Hsin-wei)

Lai Ching-te Honors Abe’s Legacy: Taiwan-Japan Security Ties Vital for Indo-Pacific Stability

Japan's Coast Guard has deployed 14 medium and large vessels at Ishigaki Island — the highest number of any base in Japan — to counter China's growing assertiveness in the East China Sea. (Wikipedia)

In Depth | From Tourism to Defense: The 270km Strategic Axis Between Taiwan and Ishigaki

As a Trump-Xi summit approaches, concerns that "Taiwan could be used as a bargaining chip" have emerged, but national security officials say such fears represent a classic case of overgeneralization. (File photo, AP)

Taiwan Is Not the Sashimi: What the Trump-Xi Summit Really Means for Taipei

President Lai Ching-te and his national security team hold a video conference during his visit to Eswatini. (Photo: Office of the President)

Opinion | Eyes on the Horizon: Will Paraguay's Visit Trigger Another PLA Drill?

U.S. Marines move equipment at Laoag Airport in Ilocos Norte during the 'Balikatan' joint military exercises held in northern Philippines on May 6, 2024. (AP)

First Time Since WWII: Japan to Fire Missiles on Philippine Soil

Rocky Uriankhai (烏凌翔), CEO of the Techforce think tank, appeared on "Fly to the World" on the 18th Mar.. (Photo by Ke Cheng-hui)

Taiwan's Drone Count Falls Far Short of What It Takes to Stop a PLA Invasion

On January 26, 2026, U.S. Under Secretary of War Elbridge Colby delivered a public speech at the Sejong Institute in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo courtesy of the Sejong Institute website)

From “Rules” to Reality: Elbridge Colby Presses Asia Allies on Power, Geography, and Paying Their Share

January 22, 2026 - American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene speaks at the 'Strengthening Defense Investment and National Development' symposium held by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research at the NTU Meeting Center. (

AIT’s Greene: Allied Cooperation Bolsters Deterrence Against Seizure of Taiwan

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te (center) announced via social media that he held a video conference with the Ministry of National Defense about Chinese military drills around the island. (Photo / Provided by the Presidential Office)

Taiwanese President Criticizes Chinese Military Drills