Vandenberg Flash Focus

Chinese entities have infiltrated American industry across the country by masquerading as Western companies. A new report from America First Policy Institute dissects the case of Syngenta, a seed and crop protection company which claims Swiss ownership despite deep ties to Beijing. Joining us to delve into it all is the report’s author, Adam Savit, AFPI’s Director of China Policy. We discuss how S...

A death in a Siberian anti-plague laboratory and the ensuing quarantine of two hundred people have sparked widespread concern over Russia’s biological weapons program. In typical Russian fashion, the Kremlin has not been particularly forthcoming with details despite calls for transparency, leaving many wondering what they may be trying to cover up. Marshall Billingslea, a Hudson Institute senior f...

The current rise in antisemitism in the United States is extremely alarming and revealing. Beyond historical animus and general stereotypes, contemporary antisemitism is connected to the broader threats facing the United States, including the skepticism about American institutions, U.S. power abroad, and Western Civilization itself. With U.S. adversaries playing an important role stoking the flame...

The United Nations General Assembly High Level Week came and went, leaving in its wake no shortage of fiery speeches, secretive bilateral meetings, and clogged New York streets. But did the scores of diplomats and officials who descended on New York City achieve any substantive outcomes? Most importantly, how should the United States be engaging with the UN moving forward in order to safeguard Ame...

America is not confronting its adversaries one at a time: the United States faces a group of nations working collectively to weaken American power at home and abroad. In their new book Axis of Aggressors: Countering the Cooperation of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea , authors Bradley Bowman, Elaine Dezenski, and Mark Montgomery outline exactly how America’s foremost adversaries cooperate acro...

Last week, President Trump welcomed Chairman Xi Jinping to Washington for their second of four meetings this calendar year. It was heavy on pageantry but low on substance, leaving significant questions about the future of the U.S.-China rivalry, especially regarding technological competition, China’s malign influence operations, and Americans currently being detained by the Chinese Communist Party...

China’s activities in Latin America have evolved from just economic engagements dating back to the late 2000s to encompass larger strategic goals across various sectors today. In a new book, Dragon in the Americas: China’s Power, Presence, and Regional Influence , Leland Lazarus provides a comprehensive overview on how exactly China is deploying economic coercion against the region, why Beijing is...

The U.S. alliance system has been a frequent topic of debate over the years- who our allies should be, what they should bring to the table, and whether they are actually helping advance American security, economic, and ideological interests. But in recent years, the intensity of this debate has ratcheted up significantly, as has the consequences of what happens if we get it wrong. To help us analy...

Before launching Operation Epic Fury against Iran, the focus of many within the national security world was whether President Trump would take action against the regime in Cuba. Months later, Cuba remains a dictatorship 90 miles from our shores that partners with our adversaries to harm Americans. John Suarez, Executive Director of the Center for a Free Cuba, joins Vandenberg Executive Director Ca...

While it is critical that the United States maintains our advantage over China in the development and deployment of critical technologies—including and especially artificial intelligence—there are fears that many in the national security establishment have not yet grappled with the risks and consequences of going full speed ahead. Hamza Chaudhry, AI and National Security Lead at the Future of Life...

Lately, most conversations within the conservative national security circles regarding Europe have focused on whether our European allies and partners are adequately fulfilling their defense obligations. However, we cannot forget that Ukraine is still fighting desperately for its own survival against Russia, which remains the most significant direct threat to Europe. Meaghan Mobbs, President of th...

Last week, the whole world watched President Donald Trump travel to Beijing to meet with Chairman Xi Jinping for a high stakes summit. With conflict in the Middle East and simmering trade tensions, the backdrop for the meeting was intense. Underscoring those stressors is China’s increasing hostility toward religious leaders and advocates for free societies, support for America’s adversaries, and m...

Many Americans are thinking about U.S. action against Iran at least in part based on how it is affecting prices at the gas pump, especially after threats by the Islamic Republic have effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz. Our campaign against Iran has revealed a critical lesson for U.S. grand strategy: that the United States must achieve energy dominance to ensure affordable, reliable energy at...

While conversations surrounding the Venezuelan economy understandably center around oil, another critical resource is often overlooked: gold. For years, Venezuelan terrorist groups and regime insiders have exploited the country’s vast gold deposits to finance their illicit activities and evade sanctions. As the American appetite to engage with Venezuela’s oil and gold sectors grows, understanding...

April 28, 2026, marks the fifth anniversary of The Vandenberg Coalition’s founding. Over the last five years, conservative foreign policy has seen meaningful successes, faced notable setbacks, and confronted new challenges and opportunities that will shape its future direction. Elliott Abrams, Chairman of The Vandenberg Coalition and Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Forei...

Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri is the founder of Zion Church, one of the largest independent churches in China. Frightened by his influence and belief in something greater than the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the CCP imprisoned Pastor Jin on October 10, 2025, as part of one of the largest crackdowns on Christian churches in the history of the People’s Republic of China. Grace Jin Drexel—Pastor Jin’s da...

For the first time since 1972, the United States left Earth’s orbit en route to the Moon as part of the Artemis II Mission. While the astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft did not step foot on the Moon during this mission, the astronauts set a record by venturing farther from Earth than any human in history. In this episode, Vandenberg Coalition Advisory Board member Kari Bingen joins to discuss...

In recent years, China has increasingly used economic bullying in attempts to obtain concessions from other governments and the private sector. In a new book, China’s Weaponization of Trade: Resistance Through Collective Resilience , Vandenberg Advisory Board member Victor Cha, along with his coauthors Ellen Kim and Andy Lim, discusses China’s economic coercion and outlines a strategy for how coun...

Iran is in the headlines once again, for two important reasons. First, large numbers of brave Iranians continue to take to the streets in the face of significant repression by the brutal regime. And second, the United States is slowly but steadily amassing an impressive amount of firepower and pointing it straight at the Islamic Republic. Zineb Riboua, Research Fellow at the Center for Peace and S...

Last Sunday, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party secured a sweeping two-thirds majority in Japan’s Lower House following snap elections. The decisive win comes at a critical juncture for Japan as it redefines its role in the Indo-Pacific amid rising tensions with China, a deepening partnership with the United States, and growing domestic support for strengthening the...

Last week, Chinese leader Xi Jinping placed his most senior general, Zhang Youxia, under investigation, deepening what has become one of the most sweeping purges in the history of the People’s Liberation Army. Xi has now removed nearly the entire top tier of PLA leadership, raising important questions about the message he is sending to domestic and international audiences, what it means for a pote...

According to The Great Heist: China’s Epic Campaign to Steal America’s Secrets —a new book by David Shedd and Andrew Badger—one critical but often overlooked explanation for China’s meteoric rise has been the scale, scope, and pace of its unprecedented state-sponsored espionage campaign. This effort has been specifically designed to strip the United States of our economic, technological, and milit...

In the last year, China’s defense industrial base produced fighter jets faster than the United States, doubled its inventory of ballistic and cruise missiles, doubled its nuclear warhead inventory, and became five to six times faster than the United States at acquiring weapons systems. While we rest comfortably on peacetime footing, China has positioned its defense industrial base to be on wartime...

The United States has continued to pressure the Maduro regime with F-18 flyovers, the seizure of oil tankers, and new sanctions on Venezuelan entities associated with the Maduro regime, alongside continued strikes on drug boats. Simultaneously, the Venezuelan opposition has continued gaining momentum. Notably, Maria Carina Machado, the head of the Venezuelan opposition, had a miraculous exit from...

The United States faces serious cyber vulnerabilities from its principal adversaries—China, Russia, and Iran. In her report “ A Playbook for Winning the Cyber War ,” Emily Harding, a Vandenberg Advisory Board member and Director of the Intelligence, National Security, and Technology Program as well as Vice President of the Defense and Security Department at the Center for Strategic and Internation...