With major wars, sanctions, tribal militias, and pirate gangs each disrupting the world’s waterways, global maritime trade is becoming more complicated, more expensive, and more dangerous. Many of these conflicts show signs of intensifying, raising important questions about the future of global maritime trade. Straight Arrow News contributor Peter Zeihan says it is only a…

On Monday, Jan. 16, former President Donald Trump solidified his frontrunner status by decisively defeating his GOP rivals, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, at the Iowa caucus. As the possibility of another Trump-Biden rematch looms, some voters are not clear about which candidate is better suited to guide the…

The United States Air Force is rebuilding the airfield used to launch the nuclear attacks on Japan during World War II, reclaiming Tinian Island’s north field from the jungle — just in case it’s needed in a war with China. Diplomatic efforts to prevent a conflict notwithstanding, the U.S. and China are on a path…

As tensions continue to rise in the South China Sea between China and the Philippines, a look at newly-released satellite images allegedly shows Chinese militia ships massing around a contested reef. Beijing claims it has rights over the Whitsun Reef, which is about 750 nautical miles from China’s nearest province. The reef is considered to…

The Chinese military is nothing if not consistent. Vessels from the Chinese coast guard are harassing Filipino fishermen and marines in disputed waters in the South China Sea at a rate of about twice a month since August. The Chinese ships are working to stop Filipino vessels from reaching destinations in the Scarborough Shoal and…

The Chinese navy, the world’s largest by number of ships, is expanding its reach. For the first time, Chinese warships were seen docking at the Ream Naval Base in Cambodia. We and countries in the region have expressed concerns about the lack of transparency on the intent, the nature, the scope of this project. Ned…

The Philippines has constructed a new coast guard station on the contested island of Thitu in the South China Sea. The move aims to enhance the coast guard’s ability to monitor movements of Chinese vessels and aircraft in the busy, disputed waterway. Thitu Island, also referred to as Zhongye Island by the People’s Republic of…

The United States Air Force flew its newest stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, for the first time in early November. A few weeks later, a Chinese scientist claimed China’s own stealth fighters can shoot down the B-21. The claim comes from Chen Jun, an associate professor at China’s Northwestern Polytechnical University in Xian. South China…

Despite climate change worries, sea turtles are breaking records as biologists in the U.S. report discovering the most nests since 2016. On beaches in Florida, preliminary reports recorded more than 133,840 loggerhead turtle nests and 76,500 green turtle nests. So particularly with climate change, reproductive output of all of these nests is actually quite low…

U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping recently met in San Francisco, marking their first in-person meeting in more than a year. After years of rising U.S.-China tensions, expectations for the meeting were understandably low. Straight Arrow News contributor Larry Lindsey examined Chinese domestic media coverage of the meeting to identify the hopes,…