ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

By Peter Lee A think tank called CNA recently issued a 140-page report titled "China versus Vietnam: An Analysis of the Competing Claims in the South China Sea" authored by Raul (Pete) Pedrozo. [1] It provides a further legal rationale for growing US efforts to inject itself into South China Sea exclusive economic zone (EEZ) disputes on behalf of Vietnam and against the People's Republic of China. A few reasons why attention should be paid. First, the institution. CNA is described as a non-profit corporation. A fuller description would be a "US Navy analytic division dating to 1942 that worksexclusively for and is funded exclusively by the US government but was corporatized in the 1990s so it could dip its beak into non-DoD government work through a division called the Institute for Public Research". You could say that "CNA" stands for "Center for Naval Analyses", the name of its antecedent organization. But you'd be wrong, according to C...

A screengrab taken on August 24, 2014 from a video released by the Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram and obtained by AFP shows alleged members of the Nigerian Islamist extremist group Boko Haram at an undisclosed location (AFP Photo / Boko Haram) The leader of Boko Haram, Abubaker Shekau, has proclaimed an Islamic caliphate in the north eastern Nigerian town of Gwoza, which was seized by the Islamic militants earlier this month. The United Nations humanitarian office (OCHA) confirmed reports earlier this month that Gwoza was under Boko Harem control. In a 52-minute video obtained by AFP Shekau said: “Thanks be to Allah who gave victory to our brethren in Gwoza and made it part of the Islamic caliphate, by the grace of Allah we will not leave the town. We have come to stay.” Boko Haram is also believed to be in control of other areas of north eastern Nigeria including the southern part of Borno state as well as much of the territory of northern Borno and one town in neighbo...

Hacker collective Anonymous has taken down key Israeli government websites in a “retaliatory” attack against Israel and in solidarity with the people of Gaza. Israel Defense Forces, Bank of Israel, and the Israeli PM’s Office were among the targets. Others hit by the attack included Israeli’s ministry of Finance, the Embassy of Israel to the United States, the Central Bureau of Statistics and Israeli Immigration. Tango Down - http://t.co/4OJcmGJese - http://t.co/XWnSJJqPei - http://t.co/qM6juqwL2h - http://t.co/WCjX6vI875 #Anonymous #AntiSec — Anonymous (@AnonymousGlobo) August 21, 2014 Many of the websites were still down at the time of writing. The latest attack reportedly comes in retaliation for shutting down various Anonymous social media accounts, which focused on the atrocities of Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip. Anonymous has been targeting the Israeli government with cyber-attacks since it began its latest military offensive in Gaza on July 8. Tango Dow...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (Reuters / Tobias Schwarz) German foreign intelligence agency has been tapping Turkey for almost four decades, reports Focus amid the ongoing spy scandal between Berlin and Ankara. Some German officials defend the practice, saying that not all NATO allies can be treated as friends. The German Federal Intelligence Service, BND, has been eavesdropping on Turkey since 1976 following the Social Democrat Chancellor Helmut Schmidt’s government approval, Focus magazine wrote on Saturday. Passions over previous spying allegations revealed in the media are still running high, but a new report may add fuel to the fire triggering further tensions between the two long-time North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies. As for the current BND’s mandate to keep their eye on Turkish political and social institutions, it had also been given a green light by a government working group, which brought together representatives o...