In 2021, Russia sold around 33 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas to Asia, compared to a European market that typically imports 160 to 200 bcm from Russia. However, Europe’s desire to diversify from Russian natural gas is pushing the Kremlin to look for ways to eventually build a sizable business geared toward Asian markets.

SOURCE: "Can Russia Execute a Gas Pivot to Asia?" by CSIS's Nikos Tsafos.

DOD has broad capabilities that have consistently proven their high value in addressing the current Covid-19 pandemic and other historical disease outbreaks. At home, active-duty military, reserve, and guard forces are playing a key role in shoring up a fragile U.S. domestic health system. As of January 2022, over 15,600 National Guard members were responding for Covid-19 support missions across the United States.

SOURCE: "The Department of Defense Contributions to Pandemic Response" by CSIS's Thomas Cullison and J. Stephen Morrison.

The United States and NATO have recently ramped up support to Ukraine by providing major weapon systems—such as artillery, anti-aircraft weapons, and tracked vehicles. However, the maintenance and training demands of these systems, which the Ukrainian military has never used before, will require battlefield contractors in Ukraine. Battlefield contractors have a long history providing this sort of support, for example, roughly 7,500 personnel provided maintenance and training services in Iraq in 2013.

SOURCE: "The Next Step in U.S. Aid to Ukraine: Operational Contractors" by CSIS's Mark Cancian.

The Department of Commerce’s investigation of Vietnam, along with Cambodia, Malaysia, and Thailand, for allegedly exporting Chinese-made solar components to avoid U.S. anti-dumping tariffs on China is currently underway. As these four ASEAN countries provide 82 percent of the most popular solar components used in the United States, U.S. solar installation firms are now scrambling for supplies, shutting down construction sites, and considering mass layoffs.

SOURCE: "The U.S.-Vietnam Partnership in a Complex World" by CSIS's Gregory Poling and Simon Tran Hudes.