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The Pentagon has been trying to pivot to the Pacific for years now. Under President Donald Trump 2.0, who is focused on China, it just might happen. It’s a complicated body of water with dozens of players and a bloody history. One where Beijing is increasingly asserting itself.

Here to walk us through some of it is Angry Planet producer and Honolulu Star-Advertiser reporter Kevin Knodell. He’s just back from the Philippines where he spent two weeks reporting on a joint exercise between the U.S. and its allies in the Pacific.

• Balikatan
• 
  
• Training exercises as signalling
• How 40 years of Balikatan tells the story of U.S.-Philippines relations
• “There are definitely some places where it is about the fish.”
• The Chinese Maritime Militia
• Duterte vs Marcos in 2025
• Why America doesn’t understand China
• Russia’s imperial history in the Pacific (Kevin misspoke here, it’s Fort Elizabeth not Fort Alexandria)
• Why people like Pete Hegseth
• The Nine-Dash line
• The century of humiliation
• Checking up on Red Hill

Hawaii troops forge alliances in Philippines

Army, allies ponder Pacific role

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Recorded 5/7/25

India and Pakistan have been unhappy neighbors since 1947 and Britain’s decolonization of the subcontinent. They’ve fought four wars and there have been countless skirmishes. As Indian jets streak over Pakistani skies and that Muslim nation threatens retaliation, it’s unclear if this is war or just another blip between nations that plain don’t like each other.

Joining us is Sushant Singh, a man with a background that includes academic, journalist and 20-year veteran in the Indian army. He’s written an article on the situation in Foreign Affairs, and brings us up to date.

• The state of play on the morning of May 7th
• The Pahalgam attack
• ‘The Switzerland of India’
• Matthew almost gets everyone into a lot of trouble
• How Pakistan creates instability in Kashmir
• The entire history of the conflict between India and Pakistan in about five minutes
• China’s looming presence
• ‘These are non-escaltory strikes’
• Comparing the militaries
• Getting into the nuclear options
• Pakistan’s tactical nuclear arsenal
• The incredible monetary cost of uncertain missile defense
• We go out on a happy note for once

More than 20 killed after gunmen open fire on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir

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Great power competition has gotten old for President Donald Trump—never one for a fair fight. He’s looking for a little great power collusion instead, dividing the world with his best buds, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. This kind of thing isn’t new, though, Stacie Goddard, a professor at Wellesley, tells us, in fact it’s the 1800s on repeat. Well, look how that turned out… World War I, anybody?

BTW, check out her terrific article on this in Foreign Affairs magazine.

• Welcome to the Concert of Europe
• The post-Napoleon party
• A taxonomy of aspirational Germans
• Retvrn
• Strong men, weak world
• Government by Mafia
• What becomes of the “middle powers”?
• The era of aging dictators
• The long breakdown
• Empire without ickiness
• Turns out might does, in fact, make right
• 
  

The Rise and Fall of Great-Power Competition

The Concert of Europe

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