Interview

In this episode of the Asia Chessboard podcast, host Mike Green speaks with Randall Schriver, chairman of the board at the Institute for Indo-Pacific Security and former assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, about the state of America’s strategy in Asia. They discuss the forces shaping Washington’s approach, the challenges of Asia’s shifting strategic landscape, and how U.S. allies and partners affect the U.S. strategic calculus. Schriver also recounts his career, including service in the first Trump administration and earlier roles in the State Department and Pentagon.

Sources: CSIS (YouTube)

CSIS Economics Program Director Philip Luck and Non-resident Senior Adviser Mark Sobel discuss what is driving long-term interest rates, why the July yen operation broke with four decades of G7 practice, and where the line between fiscal and monetary authority now sits.

Sobel says the US is pursuing damaging, reckless fiscal policies, with deficits around 6% of GDP. He also notes the Treasury’s unscheduled buybacks and the use of the FEMA account reflect concern about rising long-term rates.

Sources: CSIS (YouTube)

The Pentagon has released an unclassified guide explaining how U.S. troops are expected to detect, identify, defeat, and survive small drones. Published by Joint Interagency Task Force 401, the 89-page guide covers everything from human air guards and battlefield camouflage to jammers, interceptor drones, AI-assisted guns, high-powered microwaves, and lasers. It also introduces the SCAN immediate-action drill—and makes clear that counter-drone defense is now everybody’s responsibility.

Sources: Task & Purpose (YouTube)

Scott Kennedy speaks with Eric Zheng, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, about China’s evolving business climate. Zheng discusses the challenges facing American companies, why China remains an important market and manufacturing base, and how U.S. firms are adapting their global strategies. He also explains the value of greater predictability in U.S.-China relations.

Sources: CSIS (YouTube)

In a CSIS discussion, Jon Alterman and Nancy discuss how the U.S.-Iran war is felt beyond the battlefield, drawing on Nancy’s travels through the UAE and India. They explore how rising powers are re-evaluating their relationships with the United States, seeing overreliance as a risk and seeking to diversify partnerships.

The conversation covers how cheap drones and missiles are eroding the U.S. military advantage, and the challenges of resupplying sophisticated systems. It also touches on the lack of a clear end to the war, with Washington focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and the possibility that the war may give the U.S. military an opening to rethink how it trains, buys, and supplies itself for a new era of conflict.

Sources: CSIS (YouTube)

The U.S. Air Force is exploring a ground-based, medium-caliber cannon to defend its overseas bases against threats ranging from small drones to Group 5 unmanned aircraft and subsonic cruise missiles. This ground-based air defense mission has typically been handled by the Army.

The service issued a request for information outlining 15 baseline requirements, including salvo probability of kill, effective slant range, elevation coverage, magazine depth, raid handling, integrated sensor capability, C2 system integration, system interoperability, cost per engagement, manpower, built-in test, transportability, weapon safety, and multi-domain engagement capability. The goal is to let a cheaper, deeper magazine weapon handle drones and cruise missiles, freeing expensive interceptors like Patriots for other targets.

The Air Force has not selected a gun, caliber, or committed to buying any system yet. The RFI is only market research, but it signals how the airbase defense problem has changed.

Sources: Task & Purpose (YouTube)

The War Department marked the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks with a sunrise ceremony at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2026. During the observance, an American flag was unfurled at the site.

Sources: DoD News (YouTube)

This week’s Freedom250 segment marks the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, revisits the amphibious landing at Incheon, South Korea, and reflects on the Battle of Antietam and its impact on the Civil War.

Sources: DoD News (YouTube)

U.S. Marines with Lima Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/5, part of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, conducted a live-fire range on the flight deck of the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Portland (LPD 27).

The training took place in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility on August 31, 2026.

Sources: Defense News (YouTube)

The Trade Guys follow up on President Trump’s executive orders on beef imports, which came amid pushback from ranchers and some allies in Congress over a temporary increase in foreign ground beef imports. The first order directs the agriculture secretary to examine country-of-origin labeling, and the second part is to look for ways to reform the ability of small producers to process their own meat and potentially sell state-approved processed meat across state lines.

The episode also covers the Russia sanctions bill that passed the Senate but has stalled in the House, and the push for closer Canada-Europe ties. It closes with what Italian pasta can reveal about the administration’s approach to trade enforcement.

Sources: CSIS (YouTube)