Author Posts

The de Havilland Mosquito Quiz

To celebrate the release of Three in Thirteen by Roger Dunsford and Geoff Coughlin, we want to find out how much you know about the de Havilland Mosquito, the plane often referred to as the most versatile warplane ever built.  

China’s Secretive Private Military Contractors

Today, private or state-owned corporations and agencies from China are active in every corner of the globe, from Afghanistan in the east to Zimbabwe in Africa stretching to Colombia and Brazil in South America. The security of Chinese citizens abroad is increasingly a national security issue for China. This was best demonstrated by the evacuation… Read More »China’s Secretive Private Military Contractors

5 Women Who Shaped History

Today is International Women’s Day and here at Casemate we’re celebrating by reminding ourselves of some of the most fascinating women in history who you might not have heard of. There are snipers, spies, distillers, sports pioneers and even somebody committed of treason! Lyudmila Pavlichenko “The Deadly Woman Sniper” Lyudmila Pavlichenko was the most successful woman… Read More »5 Women Who Shaped History

Why Won’t China Stop North Korea?

Benjamin Lai is an expert on modern Chinese military and the author of  The Dragon’s Teeth. Here, he talks about why China continue to tolerate North Korea’s aggression.   On 11th February 2017, just as Donald Trump was entertaining Prime-Minister Abe of Japan with a round of golf, North Korea launched another ballistic missile as a means of… Read More »Why Won’t China Stop North Korea?

Nanking Massacre Denial – How the Far Right in Japan Kept Power

Benjamin Lai is an expert on modern Chinese military and the author of  The Dragon’s Teeth. Here, he talks about the startlingly far-right views of modern Japanese leaders. On 15th January, two New York University students posted a 10-minute homemade video on Weibo, China’s top blogger website highlighting the controversial reading material that they had… Read More »Nanking Massacre Denial – How the Far Right in Japan Kept Power

Abe Shinzo visits Pearl Harbour to pay his respects, but what about Japanese atrocities in China?

Benjamin Lai is an expert on modern Chinese military and the author of  The Dragon’s Teeth. Here, he explains why Abe Shinzo’s visit to Pearl Harbour is more than a remembrance event.   Abe Shinzo, the current Japanese Prime Minister’s visit to Pearl Harbour is much heralded as a giant step towards reconciliation between two… Read More »Abe Shinzo visits Pearl Harbour to pay his respects, but what about Japanese atrocities in China?

Trump and Taiwan, the “forgotten part of” China

Benjamin Lai is an expert on modern Chinese military and the author of  The Dragon’s Teeth. Here, he explains why Taiwan’s phone call with Trump was so controversial.   Even before he took office, President-elect Donald Trump didn’t need to wait to be inaugurated to put his foot in— a 10 minute phone call was… Read More »Trump and Taiwan, the “forgotten part of” China