Today, Les, Martha, and Morgan discuss last week’s assault by the Chinese Coast Guard assault on 10 Vietnamese fishermen near the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea. Three of the fishermen suffered broken limbs and the rest sustained other injuries, their fishing gear was damaged, and about 4 tons of their catch were sized by the Chinese.

How does this incident impact the United States’ role in the region? What are the economic ramifications of Chinese aggression? Will China change its behavior in the face of growing ties between Indo-Pacific nations in response to its aggressive actions?

Check out the answers to these questions and more in this episode of Fault Lines.

Check out the sources that helped shape our expert's discussion!

https://apnews.com/article/china-vietnam-paracel-south-china-sea-d86889dd2fda73499602951ef3056d32

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/02/asia/vietnam-protest-china-attack-fishermen-intl-hnk/index.html

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/philippines-accuses-china-assaulting-vietnamese-fishermen-south-china-sea-2024-10-04/

https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3926061/allies-partners-conduct-operations-in-south-china-sea/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/10/03/south-china-sea-underwater-cables/

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Today, Jess, Martha, Morgan, and Les discuss Japan’s new Prime Minister, Shigeru Ishiba, a 67-year-old Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) backbencher, who has grand ideas for Japanese foreign policy including establishing an Asian NATO to deter China, joint management of U.S. bases in Japan, and the United States sharing their nuclear deterrence with Japan.

What does Ishiba and his foreign policy ideas mean for U.S.-Japan relations? Are any of Ishiba’s security ideas achievable? How do U.S. partners and allies in the Indo-Pacific perceive our security assurances?

Check out the answers to these questions and more in this episode of Fault Lines.

Check out the sources that helped shape our expert's discussion!

https://www.hudson.org/politics-government/shigeru-ishiba-japans-new-security-era-future-japans-foreign-policy

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/09/29/japans-prime-minister-ishiba-00181546

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/japans-newly-elected-prime-minister-shigeru-ishiba-forms-cabinet-with-emphasis-on-defense

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/incoming-japan-pm-ishibas-asian-nato-idea-test-us-diplomacy-2024-09-27/

https://apnews.com/article/japan-ishiba-us-south-korea-australia-china-73a66e7b2fce8c3847622acf314357e1

https://www.usip.org/publications/2024/08/how-fumio-kishida-shaped-japans-foreign-policy

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@lestermunson

@NotTVJessJones

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Today, Les, Morgan, Jeffrey, and Bishop discuss Tuesday’s missile strikes by Iran against Israel where at least 180 missiles were fired into Israel in what is said to be a retaliation for a series of devastating blows Israel has landed in recent weeks against Hezbollah and other Iranian proxy forces in the Middle East.

What happens next? What is the Biden administration’s policy in this conflict? Is Iran an effective actor?

Check out the answers to these questions and more in this episode of Fault Lines.

Check out the sources that helped shape our expert's discussion!

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2024-10-01/israel-s-devastation-of-hezbollah-puts-iran-in-a-corner

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4909053-iran-preparing-missile-attack/

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cg4qx62kkxxt?post=asset%3A4edfbeb0-ff7e-4b9c-a412-4f16fb69d23d#post

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3923320/statement-by-secretary-of-defense-lloyd-j-austin-iii-on-irans-missile-strikes-a/

https://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-lebanon-hezbollah-gaza-news-10-02-2024-7d93f71b7894177b4f9c303671ee55de

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@lestermunson

@BishopGarrison

@morganlroach

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Today, Martha, Jess, Les, and Morgan discuss the Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, which killed Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah, leaving behind a weakened leadership structure dismantled by successive Israeli attacks. Hezbollah’s acting leader, Naim Kassem, has vowed to continue fighting Israel, asserting that these strikes have not diminished their military capabilities.

What impact have these strikes had on Hezbollah’s ability to operate effectively? Has Iranian influence waned as a result? How might the upcoming U.S. election affect its influence on key actors in the region?

Check out the answers to these questions and more in this episode of Fault Lines.

Check out the sources that helped shape our expert's discussion!

https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-hezbollah-beirut-nasrallah-israel-airstrike-dahiyeh-7ebf675d75e4d49c7b307864cdbc7dc1

https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-hezbollah-gaza-news-09-30-2024-83ea5f243688f309754ec74850de4238

https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/hezbollah-misjudged-israels-weakness-and-irans-might-b169e552?mod=world_lead_pos2

https://newlinesmag.com/argument/end-of-an-era-what-hassan-nasrallahs-assassination-spells-for-the-middle-east/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/09/29/israel-lebanon-hezbollah-hamas-war-news-gaza/

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@lestermunson

@marthamillerdc

@morganlroach

@NotTVJessJones

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We are also on YouTube, and watch today's episode here: https://youtu.be/yQNMe_GaKfw

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Today, Morgan, Martha, Les, and Jeffrey discuss the UN General Assembly (UNGA) and High Level Week, where world leaders come together to debate global challenges.

As intractable conflict persists, including Russia’s war on Ukraine to the conflict in the Middle East is the UN equipped to handle today's issues? With despots committing atrocities with impunity, is the UN morally hollow? How can the United States improve the UN to help tackle the larger security issues we face today?

Check out the answers to these questions and more in this episode of Fault Lines.

Check out the sources that helped shape our expert's discussion!

https://www.reuters.com/world/what-is-unga-what-will-world-leaders-talk-about-2024-09-11/

https://www.un.org/en/high-level-week-2024

https://apnews.com/article/un-guterres-summit-future-global-challenges-climate-a7aff1ff5176aafa3cc562021bbf5004

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/24/us/politics/biden-unga-speech.html

https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/netanyahu-address-israel-bogged-war-barrels-114067999

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@lestermunson

@marthamillerdc

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Today, Les, Jess, Matt, and John discuss recent Israeli military strikes against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon following up on their recent operation that included exploding pagers, radios, and some solar panels. These strikes aim to ensure the safety and return of over 60,000 Israelis to their homes in northern Israel which were forced to evacuate due to Hezbollah rocket attacks - but others speculate this might lead to a wider conflict.

Does the United States have a strategy to respond to Iranian provocations? Are there differing visions between the U.S. and Israel in the conflict's aims? Will Iran intervene and expand the conflict into a regional war? What does this pivot mean for the hostages in Gaza?

Check out the answers to these questions and more in this episode of Fault Lines.

Check out the sources that helped shape our expert's discussion!

https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/the-vast-hezbollah-arsenal-awaiting-israel-in-lebanon-99ce396c

https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-gaza-war-lebanonrefugees-displaced-9d4d53e808ce5f67e234789f65d1ad71

https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-hezbollah-gaza-news-09-24-2024-640a0046aceea1b5cfb395a54ff36bce

https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-violence-war-hezbollah-63a15fa390a94acf46ef886cc5fb88db

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/09/24/israel-lebanon-war-border-hezbollah/

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/09/24/world/gaza-israel-hamas-hezbollah

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@lestermunson

@NotTVJessJones

@WMattHayden

@JohnCLipsey

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Episode 363: Ayatollah's Algorithm for U.S. Elections

Today, Jess, Martha, Les, and Morgan discuss Iranian efforts to influence the upcoming presidential election, including Iran’s hack of the Trump campaign and its attempts to share these documents with individuals tied to the Biden campaign. The Biden Administration has moved aggressively in recent weeks to call out this and other operations in hopes of alerting Americans to foreign efforts to influence their views amidst a presidential election.

What is Iran’s level of sophistication when it comes to cyber-attacks? With the deepening ties between Russia and Iran, has Russia shared its best practices on election interference with Iran? Is the U.S. government’s transparency regarding election-related attacks beneficial?

Check out the answers to these questions and more in this episode of Fault Lines.

Check out the sources that helped shape our expert's discussion!

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/18/fbi-says-iran-sent-hacked-trump-info-to-biden-campaign-00179951

https://apnews.com/article/iran-fbi-hacking-trump-election-interference-2020-3631e1832a8edb549d53126585503f32

https://www.npr.org/2024/08/23/g-s1-19350/meta-iran-hacking-election-trump-harris-biden

https://apnews.com/article/iran-trump-harris-election-russia-hack-ad5886379e67710e79d83938e52360cc

https://apnews.com/article/iran-russia-china-election-disinformation-hacking-ee65e29b866852b146e75c9f3312a1ae

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@lestermunson

@NotTVJessJones

@marthamillerdc

@morganlroach

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We are also on YouTube, and watch today's episode here: https://youtu.be/3qn3biqYdC0

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Today, Martha, Jess, Les, and Jeffrey discuss this week's detonations of pagers, handheld radios, and solar panels alongside military strikes by Israel against Hezbollah that have rocked Lebanon and thrown ongoing ceasefire talks into disarray. Hezbollah has vowed retribution for these attacks and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed frustration that these attacks threaten to derail efforts to broker a cease-fire deal in Gaza.

What are the implications of these attacks on wider supply chain security? How did these attacks impact Hezbollah psychologically, and will it have any impact on the ground? Will Iran retaliate against Israel due to these attacks?

Check out the answers to these questions and more in this episode of Fault Lines.

Check out the sources that helped shape our expert's discussion!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/09/19/hezbollah-pager-attack-supply-chain/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/09/19/israel-lebanon-attack-explosions-hezbollah/

https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-exploding-devices-hezbollah-mideast-ab2436cf5bae5e2fe2dddb293671a0ac

https://www.foxnews.com/world/israel-strikes-hezbollah-targets-lebanon-after-two-rounds-device-explosions

https://apnews.com/article/gaza-blinken-middle-east-pagers-israel-4d4234bfdac2e49d3bc7c70cfb82a585

https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-war-iran-yemen-houthis-lebanon-hezbollah-2bf649b0127edfdc65d08e6b68aa3695

Follow our experts on Twitter:

@lestermunson

@NotTVJessJones

@marthamillerdc

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We are also on YouTube, and watch today's episode here: https://youtu.be/UqWKXVtDDJY

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.