China’s Taiwan strategy is already in motion. While the U.S. focuses on the Middle East, Beijing is testing limits, shaping narratives, and applying steady gray-zone pressure across the Strait. This brief breaks down what that looks like in practice, what the Iran war is teaching China, and the indicators that matter before a crisis turns kinetic.
The U.S. clings to moral restraint in autonomous warfare while China and Russia build kill chains that don’t wait for permission. In a fight measured in milliseconds, ethics have become our speed bump.
China and Russia are syncing doctrine while NATO’s still drawing Cold War maps. What happens when Russian fires in Kaliningrad sync with Chinese A2/AD in the Taiwan Strait? Are we training to fight the last war while a new one is forming on the horizon?
Are we treating near-peer joint drills like the real war before the war? This piece breaks down what China and Russia’s joint exercises are truly signaling, how they’re merging doctrine and shaping the battlefield, and what U.S. and NATO forces must do doctrinally, operationally, and in training to stay ahead of their synchronized moves.
