East Asia

For more than seventy years, East Asia has been the nexus of US presence and engagement in Asia. Today, the region is becoming a hotbed for the return of great power competition, with long-term US allies and partners like Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan next door to competitors and challengers including China, Russia, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. While East Asia continues to navigate a number of longstanding traditional security issues, it must also address the rise of online disinformation, competition to pioneer emerging technologies, and more.

Explore
Deterrence in a two-peer world requires prudence

New Atlanticist Mar 31, 2025

Dispatch from Hong Kong: How the ‘geoeconomic city’ is weathering global headwinds

By Josh Lipsky, Ananya Kumar

From Chinese and US economic growth to stablecoin regulations, a recent visit to Hong Kong offered important insights for two Atlantic Council GeoEconomics Center experts.
China Digital Currencies
Deterrence in a two-peer world requires prudence

New Atlanticist Mar 25, 2025

Reading between the lines of Taiwan’s new Quadrennial Defense Review

By Kitsch Liao

The recently released Quadrennial Defense Review offers a window into the Taiwanese military’s issues with prioritization, operational readiness, and manpower retention.
China East Asia
Deterrence in a two-peer world requires prudence

Report Mar 24, 2025

How Beijing uses inducements as a tool of economic statecraft

By William Piekos

As strategic competition between the United States and China intensifies, Washington and Beijing seek every possible advantage to gain an edge. In this environment, both countries are increasingly turning to economic statecraft—the use of economic coercion or inducement to pursue strategic goals—to advance their interests.
China Economy & Business

Programs

The Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security’s Indo-Pacific Security Initiative equips the transatlantic community to “pivot” to the Asia-Pacific and to position the Atlantic Council to serve as the essential link between high-level transatlantic and Asian leaders and thinkers

EXPLORE THE Initiative

Content

Issue Brief

Mar 27, 2026

Deterrence in a two-peer world requires prudence

By Kingston Reif

Washington faces the challenge of preserving credible deterrence and reassuring allies against two potential nuclear peers—possibly acting together—without fueling dangerous instability or draining resources from other defense priorities. This will require a balanced approach that avoids counterproductive arsenal growth.

China Nuclear Deterrence

Issue Brief

Mar 27, 2026

Why US strategic nuclear forces must expand after New START

By Paul Amato

With the New START treaty's caps on the US nuclear force expired, the United States has an opportunity to increase and adapt its nuclear force to deter both Russia and China. Policymakers should seize it.

China Defense Policy

Issue Brief

Mar 26, 2026

After Maduro: Latin America’s policy community reassesses the US-China balance

By Santiago Villa, Thayz Guimarães, Parsifal D’Sola

The US capture of Maduro has significant implications for China’s position in the region. Although Venezuela has been a frustrating partner for China, Beijing has repeatedly stressed its commitment to the bilateral relationship.

China Latin America

Dispatches

Mar 25, 2026

From drones to rocket fuel, China and Russia are helping Iran through supply chains

By Kimberly Donovan and Emily Ezratty

The US will need to confront China and Russia about their support for the Iranian regime and their schemes to evade sanctions and export controls.

China Conflict

EnergySource

Mar 23, 2026

The Strait of Hormuz crisis will ripple across plastics and food supply chains, helping Beijing and Moscow, hurting Americans

By Joseph Webster and Kate Burnett

The oil and gas blockade in the Strait of Hormuz will tighten petrochemical and fertilizer markets, with geopolitical and economic implications for the United States.

China Energy & Environment

Issue Brief

Mar 20, 2026

Aquatic Tiger: How long-range submarine drones could play a role in a Taiwan conflict

By Markus Garlauskas with contributions from Drew Holliday, Adam Kozloski, Nicholas Takeuchi, and Paul Vebber

Could submarine drones help the United States deter or counter a Chinese attack on Taiwan? The Aquatic Tiger wargame was designed to find out. The Atlantic Council's Indo-Pacific Security Initiative reports on the wargame's findings, with implications for the US government, the defense industry, and more. 

Conflict Defense Technologies

Trackers and Data Visualizations

Mar 20, 2026

Tracking US military assets in the Iran war

By Joe Costa, Theresa Luetkefend, and Moss Gillespie,

What is the US military committing to the war in Iran? How will that affect the US presence in other theaters around the world—including the Pacific, where the United States faces its most consequential challenge? We’re tracking the aircraft carriers, bombers, and missile defense systems deployed to Operation Epic Fury.

China Defense Industry

EnergySource

Mar 19, 2026

The Iran war tests Taiwan’s energy resilience

By Kevin Li

Taiwan's energy vulnerabilities are being sharply tested by supply disruptions from the conflict in Iran. Mitigating these risks will require both short-term crisis management and longer-term diversification of its energy mix.

Energy & Environment Geopolitics & Energy Security

In the News

Mar 16, 2026

Costa in the Washington Post on military readiness in Iran

By Atlantic Council

On March 16, Forward Defense Director Joe Costa published an article in the Washington Post on the impacts of the war in Iran on US military readiness. Writing alongside Ely Ratner of the Marathon Initiative, Costa argues that the threat to readiness runs deeper than depleted stockpiles—deferred maintenance, equipment cannibalization, and broken dwell-to-deploy thresholds threaten […]

China Defense Policy

Dispatches

Mar 13, 2026

Chinese narratives around Anthropic highlight contradictions for the US

By Kenton Thibaut

Commentators in Chinese state media outlets have seized on the dispute between Anthropic and the Pentagon to make larger critiques of US tech governance.

China Defense Technologies
Load More

Experts

Fellow

Dakota Cary

Nonresident Fellow

Global China Hub

China Cybersecurity

Fellow

Sungmin Cho

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Indo-Pacific Security Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

China Defense Policy

Fellow

Julie Chon

Nonresident Senior Fellow

GeoEconomics Center

Americas China

Fellow

Victoria Chonn-Ching

Nonresident Fellow

Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center

Americas China

Fellow

Chung-Yu Chou

Former Visiting Military Fellow

Indo-Pacific Security Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

China Conflict

Fellow

Claire Chu

Nonresident Fellow

Global China Hub

China Chinese
Load More