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By Hervé Auffret Ships can deter a competitor, compel a rival, and escort a convoy. What they cannot do is build the institutions, relationships, information systems, and rules that keep maritime order running when the guns are silent. China has worked this out. Washington and most of its partners treat governance as a
By Meng Kit Tang A Myth Before the Launch In June 2026, the chairman of Taiwan’s China Shipbuilding Corporation’s (CSBC), announced that the Hai Kun submarine was “on track” for delivery in 2026, but something else he said was even more telling. He added that pressure from the People’s Republic of China “has always exi
By Admiral Massimo Vianello, Italian Navy (Ret.) and Master Chief Petty Officer Giovanni Giorguli, Italian Navy (Ret.) Introduction Throughout naval history, few weapons have demonstrated the strategic endurance of the naval mine. Despite successive advances in military technology, it remains a highly effective instrum
by Tatum Delaney The countdown ticks forward, each second marching the Arctic ice closer to its liquid form. Some see opportunity in what will be left behind: new sea lanes, access to resources, and expanded commercial activity. Others see danger in a region where governance structures and territorial claims are outpac
By Josh Richards and Joseph Hanacek The Elemental Weapon When China threatens to close its fist, the world listens. In August 2025, Li Chenggang, Beijing’s chief trade negotiator, didn’t bother with euphemism. If the United States continued tightening controls on advanced technologies, he warned, China would answer by
Stories Due: November 10, 2026 Week Dates: December 7-11, 2026 Story Length: 1,500-3,000 Words Submit to: Content@cimsec.org By Brian Kerg In annual tradition, CIMSEC will be featuring a series of short stories that explore the nature of conflict and competition through fiction. Fiction has long served as a powerful me
By James J. Wirtz No one disagrees that the Navy has not had much luck constructing warships this century. It also continues to face significant challenges when building the next small surface combatant, the Future Frigate (FFX). It is becoming increasingly difficult to pack meaningful warfighting capability into a shi
By Adam Lockyer Between June 24 to July 31, Exercise Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2026 took place on and around the Hawaiian Islands. RIMPAC is the world’s largest international exercise. In this, its 30th iteration, RIMPAC boasted 25,000 personnel, 40 surface ships, 5 submarines, and 140 aircraft. Beyond the impressive
By Ebunoluwa George Ojo-Ami and Dr. Ian Ralby The recent discovery of covert methamphetamine laboratories in southwestern Nigeria should not be viewed simply as another successful drug raid. Instead, these operations provide a glimpse into an emerging reality, revealing a fundamental shift in how transnational criminal
By Eric Lies The United States Navy has set a course that will see it morph into an army on the sea. The differentiating factors between the sea services and its landbound compatriots are fast eroding, diminishing the value of the fleet as its capabilities are more constrained. Traditionally, the utility and strength o
By Burhan Adam In December 2025, a journalist asked President Donald Trump whether the United States would recognize Somaliland, as Israel had just done. He answered with a single word: “No.” Then, as he often does, he tossed off a question of his own: “Does anyone even know what Somaliland is?” The jab landed partly …
By Jonathan Robinson Introduction In January 1974, in the tail end of the Vietnam War, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and Republic of Vietnam Navy briefly clashed over control of the Paracel Islands in what became known in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the Battle of the Paracels (Figure 1). Despite
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