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Lessons from the Mediterranean in the Second World War

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 1d

What can 🇮🇹 attacks on the RoyalNavy in WWII, and 🇺🇦 use of aerial and surface drones against 🇷🇺 ships in the Black Sea, teach us about asymmetric advantage today?

👉 Read Elio Calcagno in the #Broadside

Asymmetric naval warfare

www.thebroadside.org.uk

3 10

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 1d

Find the #DefenceTalks podcast on YouTube now 👇

🚨Watch the latest episode on emerging technologies in defence now

#AI #QuantumComputing #Autonomy #Drones #EngineeringBiology

@baesystems.com

FULL EPISODE | Emerging technologies: Transforming the future of defence

YouTube video by Council on Geostrategy

youtu.be

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 2d

🚨New episode of #DefenceTalks

👉 Dr Paul Hollinshead, DSTL, sets out the defence applications of engineering biology
👉 Finbar O’Keeffe, baesystems.com, argues that progress in different #em#emergingtechnologies interlinked

▶️ https://www.britainsworld.org.uk/p/emerging-technologies-transforming

Engineering biology in defence | Defence Talks

YouTube video by Council on Geostrategy

youtu.be

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 2d

🇬🇧 silence on 🇹🇼 status allows 🇨🇳 to legitimise its expansionist territorial claims, argues Gray Sergeant, our Research Fellow (Indo-Pacific Geopolitics)

🔗 Read the full #Investigator on #ObservingChina

Raining on Xi’s parade: Clarifying Taiwan’s status

Why does Britain remain silent on Taiwan's legal status?

www.observingchina.org.uk

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 5d

‘Since 2012, 🇬🇧 and 🇯🇵 have eased quietly into a de facto defence alliance, based on an aligned strategic outlook, co-dependency in critical areas of the defence industry, and converging interests in economic security’, says @shelter-jones.bsky.social, @rusi.bsky.social

#BigAsk #BritainsWorld

Should Britain and Japan move towards a formal defence alliance?

Should Britain and Japan move towards a formal defence alliance?

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 5d

‘To signal resolve credibly across the #IndoPacific, and to bolster deterrence against coercive revisionism, deepening 🇬🇧-🇯🇵 security ties is indispensable,’ argues Rena Sasaki, @johnshopkinssais.bsky.social

#BigAsk #BritainsWorld

Should Britain and Japan move towards a formal defence alliance?

2 5

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 5d

‘Geography, threat perception and strategic culture all ensure that a “formal” alliance remains a distant ideal,’ writes Dr William Reynolds, @DSD_Kings

#BigAsk #BritainsWorld

Should Britain and Japan move towards a formal defence alliance?

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 5d

‘The idea of forging a formal defence alliance between 🇬🇧 and 🇯🇵, in which the 2 countries commit to defend each other against aggression, cannot be credible, not least because they lack necessary military capabilities,’ says @michitotsuruoka.bsky.social, Keio University

#BigAsk #BritainsWorld

Should Britain and Japan move towards a formal defence alliance?

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 5d

‘Both countries’ challenges are increasingly common and obscure, such as addressing sub-threshold conflict,’ argues Takeshi Ishikawa, former Commissioner, ATLA, 🇯🇵 Ministry of Defence

#BigAsk #BritainsWorld

Should Britain and Japan move towards a formal defence alliance?

2

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 5d

‘Rather than engaging in lengthy treaty negotiations, 🇬🇧 and 🇯🇵 should focus on tangible outcomes, such as delivering #GCAP on time,’ says @wdjames.bsky.social, NTU Singapore

#BigAsk #BritainsWorld

Should Britain and Japan move towards a formal defence alliance?

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 5d

‘There is a growing perception among policymakers in both 🇬🇧 and 🇯🇵 that 🇷🇺 and 🇨🇳 are ever more aligned, that what occurs in one theatre affects the other, and that deterrence opportunism is a joint activity,’ writes Dr John Hemmings, our Deputy Director

#BigAsk #BritainsWorld

Should Britain and Japan move towards a formal defence alliance?

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 5d

Should 🇬🇧 and 🇯🇵 move towards a formal defence alliance?

We asked 7 experts in today’s #BigAsk

✍️ Dr John Hemmings, Takeshi Ishikawa, @wdjames.bsky.social, Dr William Reynolds, Rena Sasaki, @shelter-jones.bsky.social, @michitotsuruoka.bsky.social

#BritainsWorld

Beijing issues contorted interpretation of UN Resolution 2758

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 6d

Top 🇨🇳 news you might have missed...

⚓ PLA conducts dummy attack on HMS Richmond during #CSG2025
🇫🇷 to join 🇺🇸 satellite manoeuvres to counter 🇨🇳 space presence
🇨🇳 reinterprets 🇺🇳 resolution to assert claim on 🇹🇼

#Tracker #ObservingChina

Royal Navy gets a reaction out of China Coast Guard; PRC tech talent visa goes live

www.observingchina.org.uk

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 6d

NATO should develop a logistics air defence unit to protect supply lines in any potential conflict with 🇷🇺, argues @willfreer.bsky.social, our Research Fellow

#Memorandum #BritainsWorld

The case for a NATO logistics air defence unit

The Memorandum | No. 39.2025

What are emerging and disruptive technologies?

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 6d

New #DefenceTalks episode! 👇

💡 Dr Paul Hollinshead OBE, DSTL, outlines how #emergingtech is reshaping #defence

🚨 Finbar O'keeffe, baesystems.com, argues that industry must embrace disruptive tech

Watch now: https://www.britainsworld.org.uk/p/emerging-technologies-transforming

YouTube video by Council on Geostrategy

youtu.be

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 7d

🚨 New episode of #DefenceTalks

🗣️ Dr Paul Hollinshead OBE, DSTL
🗣️ Finbar O’Keeffe, Head of Future Software Capability, @baesystems.com
With hosts @paulmason.bsky.social and @starychsam.bsky.social

They unpack:
🧠 #AI
🖥️ #Quantum computing
✈️ Autonomous drone tech
🧬 Engineering biology

Emerging technologies: Transforming the future of defence

Season 2 | Episode 10

Moldova mutes Moscow while Russia needles NATO

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 8d

In today’s #Cable 👇

This week’s biggest story:
👉 🇲🇩 votes pro-🇪🇺 in elections

How do adversaries frame 🇬🇧?
👉 🇷🇺 Press Sec criticises 🇬🇧 and 🇫🇷 nuclear deterrence

Behind the headlines
👉 @willfreer.bsky.social explores Kremlin-NATO air incursions

#BritainsWorld

The Cable | No. 39.2025

China’s unique industrial policy: Purposes, prospects and pushback

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 8d

@george17.bsky.social, Advisory Council member, #ChinaObservatory, explores the impact of 🇨🇳 overcapacity and export surge

🌏 ‘The price tag for 🇨🇳 industrial policy is eye-popping...The implications for global trade and the world economy are concerning.’

#ObservingChina #Investigator

Why China’s overcapacity and export surge is a greater threat to the global economy than Trump’s tariffs

www.observingchina.org.uk

Defense companies feel the love at Labour conference

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 8d

✍️ ‘The whole party should be united’ behind the defence agenda

Read @paulmason.bsky.social, our Adjunct Fellow, quoted in @politico.eu's review of the #LabourPartyConference

There’s been a vibe shift in the center left, and development organizations aren’t happy about it.

www.politico.eu

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 9d

The Council on Geostrategy is happy to announce that @mannvirdee.bsky.social is joining us as an Adjunct Fellow!

🔗 Read the full announcement here: www.geostrategy.org....

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 9d

🌍 ‘Achieving success in the #NorthAtlantic requires a physical reorientation of the Royal Navy’s fleet to face the 🇷🇺 threat, and the recovery of meaningful shipbuilding and repair capacity to the defence industrial base,’ writes Joe Reilly

#Broadside

Move on up?

The Navy, the North, and the new Russian threat

www.thebroadside.org.uk

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 9d

Read Gray Sergeant, our Research Fellow, quoted in the Domino Theory magazine, on planned 🇨🇳 ‘Mega Embassy’ 👇

✍️ ‘The government has conducted its 🇨🇳 audit. It is unlikely that the arrival of a new foreign secretary will alter the fundamentals established by this review.’

The Political Minefield of China’s Planned ‘Mega Embassy’ in London - Domino Theory

China’s five-acre property at the old Royal Mint site in London could become the largest embassy in Europe. And a potential political powder keg for Prime Minister Keir Starmer. British intelligence experts previously told Domino Theory that while the proposed Chinese embassy would pose risks to national security, those risks can be mitigated. But the […]

dominotheory.com

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 12d

‘The Foreign Secretary’s objectives should be...focused on containing 🇷🇺 expansionism in Europe, mitigating the direct effects of Middle Eastern conflicts and keeping the Balkans peaceful,’ says Dr Marc De Vore, @uniofstandrews.bsky.social

#BigAsk #BritainsWorld

What should be the top priorities for Britain’s new Foreign Secretary?

The Big Ask | No. 39.2025

What should be the top priorities for Britain’s new Foreign Secretary?

Council on Geostrategy @congeostrategy.bsky.social · 12d

‘Weaving together a caucus of states supportive of a free and open international order should be Cooper’s priority beyond Europe, especially in the #IndoPacific,’ argues @james-rogers.bsky.social, our Co-founder (Research)

#BigAsk #BritainsWorld

The Big Ask | No. 39.2025