The Iran War Echoes the Anglo-Persian Conflict

As the Iran war drags on for over two months, attention is once again being drawn to a war from the 19th century: the Anglo-Persian War. This conflict broke out in 1856, immediately after the end of the Crimean War, between Britain and the Qajar dynasty of Persia, which ruled Iran at the time. The war lasted for four months, with battles taking place in the Strait of Hormuz and along the Iranian coastline—areas that now serve as the main theaters of the current Iran war. This confrontation began when Russia, having been blocked by Britain and France from advancing southward in the Crimean War, supported Persia in attacking Afghanistan. Britain, wary of Russia using Persia as a proxy to expand its influence into Afghanistan and western China, responded by blockading the entire Iranian coastline and occupying cities along Iran’s southern coast for four months. During the four months of clashes, the situation across Asia changed dramatically. In India, the Sepoy regiments—Indian mercenary

2026.05.11 11:12

Iran’s Mosaic Defense System Baffles the United States

The F-15 fighter jet, once hailed as the “king of the skies” during the Gulf War and renowned for its effectiveness in ground attacks, has been shot down over Iranian airspace. Since the outbreak of the war, U.S. President Donald Trump has boasted at every press conference about the success in neutralizing Iran’s air defense systems, frequently declaring that “Iran has nothing left.” However, this incident, in which a mainstay fighter was lost, seems to mock those claims. The U.S. military initially assessed that Iran’s command structure had effectively collapsed after Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, was killed in an explosion and dozens of senior leaders died at the outset of the conflict. In fact, the number of ballistic missiles launched by Iran, which reached up to 3,500 rounds per day immediately after the war began, has recently dropped to below 500, making it appear as if Iran’s air defense capability had been diminished. However, it was only the number of

2026.04.06 11:10

The Era of Surrendering to Combat Robots

Recently, Ukrainian defense company Devdroid drew attention by releasing a video showing its combat robot capturing three Russian soldiers on the frontlines. The image of terrified Russian troops lying flat on the ground in front of a robot aiming a machine gun resembled a scene straight out of a science fiction movie. Although the robot appears crude, resembling a small tracked vehicle with a light machine gun mounted on top, it is a formidable weapon capable of autonomous movement and attack using artificial intelligence (AI), and can detect and eliminate enemies up to 1 kilometer away. Initially, Russian forces dismissed these robots as insignificant, but after experiencing their deadly firepower, they reportedly surrendered without even attempting to fight back. On some Ukrainian frontlines, a single combat robot reportedly held off relentless Russian assaults for 45 days. The robot fought continuously against Russian troops for 48-hour stretches before returning to the rear for am

2026.02.02 08:40

Why 'Somaliland', Unknown Even to Trump, Is Shaking the International Community

Somaliland, a small unrecognized country in Africa that cannot be found on any world map, has emerged as a major international issue at the very beginning of the new year. Israel’s sudden announcement that it would recognize Somaliland as a country has sparked strong backlash from African and Middle Eastern nations. Given the already severe civil wars and divisions in Africa, it is difficult to predict what kind of ripple effects the recognition of Somaliland as a country will bring. Somaliland was originally one of the autonomous regions located in western Somalia, Africa. Its entire northern coastline faces the Gulf of Aden, making it a strategic point along the Red Sea trade route. In 1960, Somaliland gained independence from Britain, and Somalia from Italy; the two immediately merged into a single federal state. However, when the Somali civil war broke out in 1991, Somaliland declared independence from Somalia and, for more than 30 years, has operated as a de facto separate country

2026.01.05 10:17

The Hidden Force Behind Cambodian Crime: The "Phnom Penh TECO" Canal

Despite the global shock caused by the recent crime wave in Cambodia, the Cambodian government itself has shown little reaction. Even after evidence emerged that Chinese criminal organizations were leading the Cambodian crime complex known as "Wenchi," the Cambodian government did not lodge any protest with China. Only recently did the Chinese and Cambodian governments announce that they would begin cracking down on Wenchi in cooperation with neighboring countries such as Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. In the meantime, all members of the organization, including Chen Zhi, chairman of Prince Group and alleged leader of the criminal group, have fled and their whereabouts remain unknown. Given the scale of the crimes, the damage to Cambodian citizens, and the blow to Cambodia's international image, one might expect the Cambodian government to protest strongly to China. However, the two countries have instead appeared to strengthen their cooperation. The Cambodian government has emph

2025.11.24 06:30

Europe's Defense Plan Stuck in Place Four Years After the Ukraine War

The European Commission recently announced the "Defense Readiness Roadmap 2030," a European defense plan. Discussions began in 2023, the year after Russia invaded Ukraine, but it took nearly three years for the defense plan to be established. The main points are to build a continent-wide drone barrier across Europe and to raise the current joint weapons procurement rate, which is under 20 percent, to 40 percent by 2027. However, the actual feasibility of these plans is very low. First, the announcement of this defense plan failed to secure an agreement on new funding. The only agreement reached was to maintain the European Security Action (SAFE) loan program, which was established right after the war in Ukraine, at 150 billion euros (about 249 trillion won). No additional budget was allocated for the drone barrier or joint weapons procurement. The rest is planned to be covered by increases in individual member states' defense budgets, but there is no agreement on which countries will b

2025.10.20 10:27

The 'Alliance Modernization' Challenge Posed by Trump

One of the main topics at the US-ROK summit was "alliance modernization" between South Korea and the United States. While the term itself suggests updating the alliance system to fit current circumstances, in reality, it encompasses far more complex issues. For the United States' allies, the word "modernization" often functions as pressure to update everything from treaty systems to overall defense postures in line with American standards. The Donald Trump administration has consistently demanded this modernization not only from South Korea, but also from other US allies such as Japan and European countries. The tasks involved can largely be divided into military buildup and changes in defense strategy. Accordingly, all NATO member states, as well as South Korea, have been tasked with raising their defense budgets to about 5% of their respective GDPs. The modernization of national defense strategies varies by region. In Europe, for example, the US military presence in Germany, which ha

2025.09.01 06:30

Lessons from the Thailand?Cambodia Border Dispute

Recently, due to a border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia?two of the most popular summer tourist destinations?countless travelers around the world had to change their plans and avoid Southeast Asia. With 175 casualties and 260,000 refugees, both countries suffered severe damage to their tourism industries, which are pillars of their economies. Although a ceasefire agreement was reached four days after the fighting began, thanks to U.S. mediation, small-scale artillery exchanges in the border region have not yet stopped, and civilian casualties continue to occur. The cause of this fierce conflict is, surprisingly, a mistake made by a French map surveyor in 1904. At that time, Thailand and France signed a border demarcation treaty, and the French side was responsible for mapping. However, an area that was originally agreed to be under Thai sovereignty was marked as Cambodian territory on the map. An even bigger problem was that the Thai government only discovered this error in 1934

2025.07.30 09:40

Iran's Drone Air Defense Network Crumbled by US Stealth Bombers

On June 21 (local time), when the U.S. B-2 stealth bomber struck Iran's nuclear facilities, Iran's air defense network was rendered ineffective. In fact, the greatest concern for the U.S. military during the operation was not Iran's air defenses, but rather a potential counterattack using drones and ballistic missiles. Unlike a simple bombing run at high altitude, which would be out of reach of drones, this mission required precision strikes at low altitude to destroy underground nuclear facilities. Even though the B-2 bomber is undetectable by radar, if Iran had launched tens of thousands of drones simultaneously to disrupt the operation, it would have been extremely difficult for the U.S. to carry out its mission. The absence of an anticipated counterattack was due to the fact that, prior to the operation, the U.S. Air Force, together with the Israeli Air Force, used F-35 stealth fighters to destroy all of Iran's drone and ballistic missile production and storage facilities in advanc

2025.06.30 09:48

Lessons from the Rafale Fighter Jet Crash That Shook the Southeast Asian Defense Market

The most widely reported news from the border conflict between India and Pakistan that broke out on May 7 was the downing of a French-made Rafale fighter jet. The report stated that the latest Rafale jet operated by the Indian military was shot down by a Chinese-made J-10C fighter jet belonging to the Pakistani military. Many Southeast Asian countries that were considering the acquisition of Rafale jets were reportedly shocked by this news. After the aerial skirmish between the two countries, at "LIMA 2025," the largest defense exhibition in Southeast Asia held in Malaysia, military officials from Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian nations flocked to the booth of China’s Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group (CAC), the manufacturer of the J-10C. The Indonesian military, which had previously decided to purchase an additional 42 Rafale jets, announced that it would also include the Chinese-made J-10C in its list of potential bidders. Chinese state media launched a pu

2025.06.04 08:46