Despite Mattis’ harsh criticism of China at the Shangri-La Dialogue, he was careful enough to strike a balance. He said that the U.S. would continue to pursue a constructive results-oriented relationship with China and to cooperate wherever possible. He even recognized the “Indo-Pacific” order which, widely taken as a thinly-veiled strategy against China, has a role for China.

A denuclearized North Korea? Don’t hold your breath.

How will disarmament and peace on the Korean peninsula be facilitated?

The new missiles China has reportedly deployed to three islands in the Spratly chain could target nearly any ship and most aircraft in the southern half of the South China Sea. This radically changes the strategic environment. These missiles mean that China’s bases in the Spratlys are no longer theoretical military threats but real ones.

At the recent Shangri-La Dialogue, three competing narratives of the Indo-Pacific came to light. Which will become the governing paradigm of this increasingly important region?

The U.S. military has renamed its Pacific Command, introducing the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) to the world. But is this a simple name change or a more significant gesture that could signal changes in the Indian-Pacific alliance structure?

Despite decades of strategic arms-control agreements and unilateral disarmament, the international community has no standardized way to guarantee that a country claiming to disarm is actually doing so.

The US must address the root causes of the North Korean problem – its security paranoia – to make a successful nuclear deal.

Ahead of the Trump-Kim summit, there is disagreement between the two parties on how denuclearization should be carried out — in progressive phases, or in a complete and irreversible dismantling of the program. The Center for International Security and Cooperation released a proposal for a three-phase “roadmap” to denuclearization, advocating for a risk management approach to the denuclearization process.

As the Trump administration seeks to boost arms sales in Asia, the Shangri-La Dialogue is morphing into a marketing arm of Western arms exporters in Asia.