Taiwan’s Defense Ministry announced on Twitter that 18 aircraft from China’s People’s Liberation Army flew into its air defense zone. The ministry said aircraft included six Chinese J-11 fighters, six J-16 fighters and two H-6 bombers. The bombers, accompanied by a Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft, flew to the south of Taiwan through the Bashi Channel. The…

Taiwan Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng announced the country is studying the tactics Ukraine has used in its fight against Russia’s invasion. Chiu said the defense ministry has set up a working group that includes academics from the National Defense University. The group is following topics such as Russia’s poor military performance and Ukraine’s resistance. Chiu…

A ban on Russian oil is growing. The U.S. has already already taken that step, and the Europeans are seriously discussing cutting off not just oil, but also the country’s natural gas and refined product exports. What in the world is it going to take to make that happen? And would China benefit? It requires…

In an exclusive interview with the Associated Press, U.S. Indo-Pacific commander John Aquilino said China has fully militarized at least three of the islands it built in the South China Sea. The Navy admiral’s comments over the weekend come despite past promises from Chinese President Xi Jinping saying China would not turn islands in contested…

Taiwan’s defense ministry confirmed on Twitter that China flew nine planes into Taiwan’s air defense zone. None of the planes made it to Taiwan itself. China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, has flown into the air defense zone regularly over the last couple years. Thursday’s flight of nine planes pales in comparison to…

The U.S. Navy is working to recover an F-35C warplane after it fell into the South China Sea during a landing mishap this week. The military has launched an effort to reclaim the valuable aircraft. “An F-35C Lightning II, assigned to Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2, had a landing mishap on deck while USS Carl…

Update (Jan. 25, 2022): The U.S. Navy reported a “landing mishap” while a combat jet conducted exercises in the South China Sea Monday. According to the Navy, the jet crashed while trying to land on the deck of an aircraft carrier. Seven sailors were injured in the mishap. Three were evacuated for medical treatment in the Philippines.…

Political profiles. Geopolitical deep dives. Economic hiccups. The Straight Arrow News team broke down stories that made a difference to Americans and the world in 2021, all while a global pandemic continued to disrupt international supply chains and your everyday activities. Our newsroom came together and chose its nine favorite projects since launching in the…

As we head into 2022, Americans should pay close to some extraordinary dangers worldwide. Tension is mounting on multiple fronts. For starters, Russia is building up its troops at the Ukraine border, yet it denies it has any plans to attack. At the same time, Russia has submitted a list of security requests to the…

As U.S. lawmakers visited Taiwan this month, Chinese officials criticized the move, believing it meant the U.S. backed the island’s independence. And the tension under these circumstances is nothing new. It began when Republic of China leaders fled the mainland during the communist takeover in 1949. Taiwan became an independently-governed democracy, while China viewed it as…