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The document invokes the legacy of the Monroe Doctrine, but pushes it further. It states that the US will block “non-Hemispheric competitors” from owning or controlling “strategically vital assets” in the Americas, including ports, energy facilities, and telecommunications networks. It describes the Western Hemisphere as the top regional priority, above Europe, the Middle East and Indo-Pacific, and ties that status to controlling migration, drug flows, and foreign influence before they can reach US territory.

This comes as the US has sent thousands of troops, an aircraft carrier, and additional warships to the southern Caribbean, in a campaign US officials frame as a push against drug trafficking. US aircraft have carried out multiple strikes on small boats that the administration labels cartel or “narco-terrorist” assets, sinking vessels, and killing dozens of people. Officials present these actions as security operations tied to a broader national strategy, not as traditional law-enforcement interdictions.

The Trump administration is framing these operations in the language of armed conflict. Officials routinely describe cartels as “narco-terrorist” organizations and suggest the president can use military force as necessary to defend the US from cartel-related threats. If operations against cartels are treated as part of a non-international armed conflict, then the law of armed conflict governs questions of targeting, detention, and accountability. If they remain below that threshold, international human rights law and peacetime law-enforcement standards apply, including stricter limits on the use of lethal force, especially against persons at sea who are not resisting.

The “Trump Corollary” also revives long-standing regional concerns about spheres of influence. Many Latin American governments and scholars have viewed the Monroe Doctrine as a policy that has historically served to justify US intervention, not a neutral principle of regional security. A strategy that openly promises to “reassert” US pre-eminence, condition aid and investment on unwinding Chinese-backed infrastructure projects, and “push out” foreign companies from key sectors, will likely rekindle debates over sovereignty and unequal power relations in the inter-American system.

There is also a broader tension concerning international law. The US formally supports the UN Charter’s ban on the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, and the principle of sovereign equality. A doctrine that treats the Western Hemisphere as a US security zone sits uneasily with those commitments. It also risks weakening US objections to similar arguments by others. If Washington insists that major powers keep their hands off Latin American ports and telecoms on strategic grounds, it may face hard questions when it opposes Russian claims over Ukraine or Chinese claims over Taiwan and nearby waters, similarly framed in “regional security” terms.

The National Security Strategy also signals a shift in how Washington views its traditional allies. The same document that elevates the Western Hemisphere warns that parts of Europe face “civilizational erasure,” and calls for “cultivating resistance” to some European policies on migration and speech. European officials have criticized that language as echoing far-right narratives. They have also linked it to concerns that US attention and resources are moving away from the Euro-Atlantic theater, even amid demands that Europe shoulder more of NATO’s conventional defense burden.

From JURIST, Dec. 7. Used with permission. Internal links added.

Photo: USS Gerald R. Ford. Credit: US Navy via Wikimedia Commons

Human Rights Watch (HRW) expressed deep concern April 7 over the continued detention of Taiwanese publisher Li Yanhe in China since 2023, citing violations of freedom of expression, access to information, and the right to a fair trial. For nearly two years, no official information was released about his case until Chinese authorities revealed in March that he had been secretly sentenced to an unspecified term.

HRW emphasized that Li’s detention is part of a broader pattern of transnational repression and intimidation by the Chinese government. The organization has called on China to immediately release Li Yanhe, grant him access to legal counsel and family, and uphold its obligations under international human rights law.

Li, who writes under the pen name Fu Cha, is the editor-in-chief of Gusa Publishing, a Taiwan-based company known for producing books that critically examine the Chinese Communist Party (CPP) and cover politically sensitive topics, such as the Tiananmen Square massacre and human rights abuses in Xinjiang, subjects effectively censored in mainland China.

Although Li was born in China, he moved to Taiwan in 2009 to establish Gusa Publishing. In 2023, he obtained Taiwanese citizenship, a process that required him to return to mainland China to formally cancel his household registration. During his visit to Shanghai, he was detained by Chinese police on allegations of “engaging in criminal activities to incite secession.”

In March 2025, authorities confirmed that Li was secretly sentenced in February, following what they described as an “open trial.” However, no court documents or evidence that due process was followed have been made public, not at the time of his arrest nor since. Chinese authorities have refused to provide further details about his case, citing “respect for the family’s wishes.”

Reports suggest that Li’s family was threatened to prevent them from revealing the length of his sentence; they were allegedly warned that if they released any information, he could face a harsher punishment or even be “eliminated.” In response, the Taiwanese government condemned the lack of transparency, but because China does not recognize dual nationality, Taiwanese authorities have been denied consular access to him.

Li’s secret sentencing has drawn comparisons to the 2015 disappearances of five Hong Kong booksellers, who were abducted and secretly charged for distributing banned political literature. Lam Wing-kee, one of the five, who was given temporary leave to return to Hong Kong and fled from there to Taiwan where he resettled, commented on Li’s situation: “From the perspective of mainland China, they believe you’re from where you were born. Li published books in Taiwan that violated the laws of his own country.”

According to Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, at least 15 Taiwanese citizens have been detained or put on trial in China since July 2024, and another 51 have been interrogated by border officials. Analysts warn that China’s recent expansion of its Anti-Espionage Law and Law on Guarding State Secrets show a wider effort to punish people who speak out, suppress freedom of speech in Taiwan, and stop Chinese-speaking writers globally from expressing critical views.

From JURIST, April 9. Used with permission.

Image: Gusa Publishing 

The guidelines categorize and outline specific actions that constitute crimes of secession and incitement to secession, including:

• Initiating or establishing organizations, plans, or programs aimed at promoting Taiwanese independence.
• Attempting to alter Taiwan’s status through legislative means or referendums.
• Seeking international recognition of Taiwan as an independent entity.
• Using one’s job or influence, such as in government, education, or media, to misrepresent or falsify the history of Taiwan’s status as part of China.
• Consistently taking part in or playing a major role in activities that support Taiwanese independence.

The new standards stipulate severe punishments for those identified as leaders or significant participants in secessionist activities, and classify actions causing “significant harm to the state and its people” as offenses that may result in the death penalty. Other punishments range from life imprisonment to fixed-term imprisonment, similarly depending on the severity and role in the activities.

In response to the new guidelines, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council issued a statement emphasizing the democratic freedoms enjoyed by Taiwan’s citizens. The council asserted that Beijing has no jurisdiction over Taiwan and that the new laws are therefore not binding on the people of Taiwan. The council further criticized the Chinese Communist Party’s actions as detrimental to cross-strait relations.

The guidelines officially came into force on the date of their release, just three days after the sighting of a Chinese nuclear submarine surfacing near Taiwan. National Defense Minister of Taiwan Wellington Koo stated on June 16 that the Taiwanese government was vigilantly monitoring the situation.

Fom Jurist, June 22. Used with pernission.

Photo: shutterbean/Pixabay via Jurist

Map via IDSA

The DPP, while winning the presidency, failed to maintain a legislative majority in the January election. Opposing parties, the Kuomintang and the Taiwan People’s Party formed a majority coalition in the legislature. The Kuomintang favors closer ties with China, while the DPP upholds Taiwan’s de facto independence. The protest at the Legislative Yuan evokes memories of the 2014 Sunflower Movement, when activists occupied the parliament chamber for 24 days to oppose a free trade agreement with China being pushed by the then-Kuomintang government. (Jurist, Jurist)

All this comes as Beijing has launched major new military exercises, clearly simulating preparations for an invasion of Taiwan. China surrounded Taiwan with navy vessels and aircraft on May 23 as part of the two-day military procedures, according to state media. Beijing stated that the military action is a warning against any moves toward formal Taiwan independence.

A representative for the Eastern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army said that the drills, code-named Joint Sword-2024A, center on “sea-air combat-readiness”  and precision strikes on strategic targets. (Jurist)

China’s Ministry of Commerce on May 20 announced sanctions against three US defense companies for selling arms to Taiwan, placing the companies on the “unreliable entities list.” According to a statement published by China’s State Council Information Office, the sanctioned companies are General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, General Dynamics Land Systems and Boeing Defense, Space & Security. (Jurist)

Photo: Kanshui0943 via WikimediaCommons

Australia and Tuvalu released a joint statement May 9 announcing new commitments to improve security relations, and remove the veto power Australia previously had over the small island nation’s security relations with other countries. The announcement concerned implementation and interpretation of the Falepili Union, a bilateral treaty entered into on Nov. 9, 2023, which expands upon the Australia-Tuvalu Security Partnership Memorandum of Understanding of 2017. “Falepili” is a Tuvaluan term for neighbors, which the treaty says “embodies the values underpinning the deeper partnership, including care and mutual respect.”

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo announced in their joint media release that more than $110 million will be invested for the immediate priorities of Tuvalu. This includes $50 million to help Tuvalu secure its first undersea telecommunication cables, $19 million for the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project (TCAP), and $15 million for a new National Security Coordination Center in Tuvalu

The TCAP, developed with the United Nations Development Program in 2017, is focused on adapting to the challenges from climate change and sea-level rise, already affecting the islands of Tuvalu. The Australia-Pacific Climate Partnership (APCP) finds that sea-level rise due to climate change will increase the impact of tropical cyclones, and will have an adverse effect on Tuvalu. In 2015, Category 5 tropical cyclone Pam caused a state of emergency in Tuvalu, damaging homes, contaminating water, and killing livestock.

According to the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, “Australia shares the belief, as set out in the Boe Declaration of 2018, that climate change is the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific.” The Boe Declaration builds on the 2000 Biketawa Declaration on regional security in the Pacific.

The new agreement also confirms the “security guarantee” between the two nations. The Explanatory Memorandum of the Falepili Union Between Tuvalu & Australia calls for Australia to provide assistance in the face of military aggression, humanitarian disaster, or pandemic. Australia is working with Tuvalu to develop a special pathway that will allow Tuvaluan citizens to reside and work in Australia, whether permanently or temporarily. According to ABC News, this is conceived as a “lifeline to escape rising seas and increased storm[s] that threaten their country.”

The previous 2017 treaty gave Australia veto power over any security or defense agreement that Tuvalu sought to enter into with other countries. This raised critical questions over Tuvalu’s sovereignty, and led to an amendment under Article 4(4) of the Falepili Union.

The Explanatory Memorandum notes the Falepili Union will not limit Tuvalu’s sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence.

Tuvalu does not need permission from Australia before it starts to talk with other partners. Unlike some integrated partnership models, Australia does not have unqualified rights of access to Tuvalu’s territory or airspace, nor the right to establish military areas in Tuvalu. Article 4(4) does not diminish Tuval’s standing in global fora.

Tuvalu will be able to enter into diplomatic relations with other states and countries, implicitly including China. In January of this year during the national election, Tuvalu was contemplating switching its diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, according to ABC News.

From Jurist, May 10. Used with permission.

See our last post on the mega-storm phenomenon.

Image via Pixabay

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Map via IDSA

But now Mogadishu is asserting its right to grant oil contracts to foreign companies within Somaliland’s territory. Local media note that the new conflict erupted just after Mogadishu announced the issuing of an exploration lease to Genel Energy in Somaliland. The move was protested as “illegal” by the Somaliland government, based in the city of Hargeisa.

Somaliland has meanwhile opened talks with the government of Taiwan over possible oil contracts, with a delegation of Taipei officials visiting Hargeisa earlier this month. Both the prospective rival sets of contracts are slated for Aynaba, one of the three contested regions. Aynaba—also rendered Ainabo, Ainaba, Aynabo, Caynaba, Cayn or Saraar—appears to be recognized by the Hargeisa government as a district of Sool region, adding to the confusion. (Garowe Online, Shabelle Media Network, MENAFN, Ethiopia Insight, Puntland Post, Jurist, Taipei Times)

Genel Energy, a Turkish company, has been invovled in similar controversies over its contracts in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Map: Siirski via Ethiopia Insight

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen on Dec. 27 announced a plan to strengthen and restructure the nation’s military defense strategies, including extending the mandatory conscription period from four months to one year. Beginning in 2024, all males born after Jan. 1, 2005, will need to undergo a year-long period of military service. In light of China’s expansionist military activities in the South China Sea and the firing of ballistic missiles into waters off Taiwan this year, Tsai stressed the need for Taiwan to be well-prepared for war as a means to avoid confrontation. “The decision is a difficult one, but as the head of the military and for the continued survival of Taiwan, this is an inevitable responsibility,” Tsai said.

The new program will also update training methods, and instate a salary hike for conscripts.

From Jurist, Dec. 27. Used with permission.

Notes: President Tsai’s announcement comes two days after China sent over 70 aircraft, including fighter jets and drones, into the Taiwan Strait, its largest incursion into Taiwan’s air defense zone (ADIZ) in recent months. Of these, over 40 crossed the Strait’s median line. The median line—also known as the center line or Davis Line, for US Gen. Benjamin Oliver Davis—serves as an unofficial buffer between the two sides, lying within the overlapping air defense zones of Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China. Although formally in international waters, it was only first breached by China in 1999, and but rarely since then. (CNN, The Guardian, Politico)

Two days before the new incursion, on Dec. 23, US President Joe Biden signed the $858 billion defense bill into law, authorizing up to $10 billion in security assistance and fast-tracked weapons procurement for Taiwan. The move was of course protested by Beijing. (Taipei Times)

For decades after 1949, when the Republic of China government retreated to Taiwan, the island’s young men were required to serve two to three years in the military. Starting in 2000, the period of mandatory service was gradually shortened, reduced to one year by 2008. It was further shortened to four months in 2013. (Taipei Times)

Photo: Wikimedia Commons