Instead of waging a bloody battle that could ignite a clash between nuclear-armed states, China may be betting it can conquer Taiwan without firing a shot — by choking off the island’s fuel and electricity until its government capitulates.

China’s campaign wouldn’t start with missiles but with paperwork and patrol boats — ‘routine’ inspections, new customs rules and cyber intrusions designed to quietly strangle Taiwan’s imports while giving Beijing plausible deniability, according to a new report by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). 

The report warns that a successful Chinese squeeze on Taiwan’s fuel would ripple far beyond Asia. With the island producing most of the world’s advanced semiconductors, any prolonged power outage could halt global electronics and defense manufacturing — hitting U.S. supply chains and markets almost immediately.

‘Beijing’s goal isn’t to invade today, but to make Taiwan believe resistance is futile tomorrow. Its gray-zone campaign is a strategy of slow-motion strangulation — one that risks a sudden shock as Chinese ships and aircraft surge around the island,’ report author Craig Singleton said.

The findings stem from a tabletop exercise conducted this summer by FDD and Taiwan’s Centre for Innovative Democracy and Sustainability at National Chengchi University. The simulation, called ‘Energy Siege,’ tested how the Chinese Communist Party might escalate from bureaucratic interference to a full-blown energy quarantine.

Teams representing China, Taiwan, the United States, Japan and other allies wargamed a monthslong campaign in which Beijing throttled Taiwan’s fuel imports through ‘gray-zone’ tactics — administrative slowdowns, cyberattacks and disinformation — all while maintaining plausible deniability. The exercise found that a prolonged squeeze on Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) could cripple its electrical grid within weeks and trigger a global chip shock.

The report warns that cyber operations and propaganda would be central to Beijing’s playbook. Chinese hackers have already doubled successful intrusions into Taiwan’s energy grid over the past year, and the exercise envisioned them embedding malware in LNG terminals and power-plant control systems to disrupt shipments and distribution.

At the same time, Beijing would unleash a barrage of false narratives — rumors of blackouts, fuel hoarding and government incompetence — to erode public trust and fracture morale. ‘For Beijing, disinformation is not a sideshow but its primary weapon,’ the report notes, describing a campaign designed to ‘control the narrative and sap its adversaries’ will.’

Taiwan imports nearly all of its energy — half from natural gas and about 30% from coal — and holds only ‘a few weeks’ worth’ of reserves. ‘Taiwan’s three main LNG terminals and the Taichung coal offloading port are clustered along the island’s west coast, within range of the CCP’s missiles as shipments are funneled through narrow Taiwan Strait lanes,’ the report adds.

That dependency makes Taiwan one of the world’s most energy-insecure economies. A blockade or ‘energy quarantine’ could cut the island’s power generation in half within weeks — forcing leaders to decide whether to keep the lights on for hospitals or for chipmakers like TSMC and UMC, Singleton and co-author Mark Montgomery write.

‘Coercion, not combat, is Beijing’s preferred weapon,’ Singleton said, adding that such a blockade would have ‘ripple effects that would reshape global markets and stability alike.’

The report also calls for the United States to expand its own LNG export capacity — particularly through new projects in Alaska — to ensure it can supply Taiwan directly and make U.S. energy a core element of the island’s resilience.

Taiwan produces around 60% of global semiconductor chips and 90% of the world’s most advanced chips, though TSMC is building a facility in Arizona to help offset that imbalance. ‘The choice to slowly shutter industrial capacity would eventually make Taiwan’s conundrum a global catastrophe when a plurality of the world’s supply of legacy chips and a supermajority of its advanced chips cease flowing,’ the report says.

The authors argue that Taiwan should build up its LNG reserves through greater U.S. supply and for the U.S. Navy to be ready to escort vessels delivering it. ‘Beijing believes pressure plus patience equals political collapse,’ Montgomery said. ‘What unnerves China isn’t Taiwan’s defiance, but its people’s ability to withstand coercion.’

Beijing’s information strategy, the report adds, would aim to quietly turn Taiwan’s population against its own government and allies — amplifying stories questioning President Lai Ching-te’s competence, spreading rumors of military fuel hoarding and blackouts, and circulating claims that the U.S., Japan and Australia would hesitate to intervene.

China’s propaganda campaign could also reach the American public, the authors warn, through efforts to ‘seed questions across U.S. online ecosystems designed to wear down the American public’s commitment to continued convoy operations.’

For now, the contest remains theoretical. But as China builds the tools to choke Taiwan’s energy supply and shape its narrative abroad, the line between peace and pressure is narrowing. The exercise suggests the first shot in the next Taiwan crisis may not be fired at all.

The War Department is narrowing its research and development strategy to six ‘Critical Technology Areas’ officials say will speed up innovation and strengthen America’s military edge.

Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael said the plan will deliver faster, more focused results to the warfighter by merging overlapping programs and steering funding toward technologies that will shape future conflicts.

‘As the Department of War’s Chief Technology Officer, I am statutorily charged with the mission of advancing technology and innovation for the armed forces,’ Michael wrote in a Nov. 13 memorandum to senior Pentagon and combatant command leadership. ‘The previous list of fourteen CTAs did not provide the focus that the threat environment of today requires.’

The six areas — Applied Artificial Intelligence, Biomanufacturing, Contested Logistics Technologies, Quantum and Battlefield Information Dominance, Scaled Directed Energy and Scaled Hypersonics — will be advanced through rapid ‘sprints’ designed to move emerging technologies from prototype to production.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the streamlined approach will keep the United States ahead of its rivals.

‘Our nation’s military has always been the tip of the spear,’ Hegseth said. ‘Under Secretary Emil Michael’s six Critical Technology Areas will ensure that our warriors never enter a fair fight and have the best systems in their hands for maximum lethality.’

The initiative also aligns with President Donald Trump’s Artificial Intelligence Action Plan, which directs the War Department to become an ‘AI-First’ organization.

Officials say the shift will reshape how intelligence is processed, how logistics are managed and how weapons systems are deployed.

‘In alignment with President Trump’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Plan, the Department of War must become an ‘AI-First’ organization,’ Michael wrote. ‘When adopted rapidly, AI will fundamentally transform the Department from the enterprise-level, to intelligence synthesis and to warfighting.’

Michael’s plan emphasizes resilience and self-sufficiency on the battlefield. Biomanufacturing will create bio-based materials to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers, while Contested Logistics Technologies will help U.S. forces sustain operations in contested or denied environments.

The goal, he said, is to ensure troops can fight and resupply even when traditional lines are cut. Each new technology area is meant to reinforce that capability.

‘Future warfare will likely be characterized by contested environments in which the Joint Force is challenged to surge, operate into and within the operational theater, and resupply, reconstitute, and recover forces,’ Michael wrote. ‘This CTA will enable the demonstration, validation, and scaling of novel approaches and technologies.’

Other priorities include quantum computing for secure battlefield communications, scaled directed energy systems such as high-energy lasers and high-power microwave weapons, and the expansion of hypersonic capabilities for both offensive and defensive missions.

Each effort depends on close coordination between the Pentagon, private industry and allied militaries to ensure the technologies reach the field quickly.

‘Executing these sprints will require unprecedented coordination between the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, military departments, combatant commands and other Office of the Secretary of War components,’ Michael said. ‘I am committed to working with you and our partners inside and outside of the Department on these efforts.’

Oversight Committee Republicans are accusing their Democratic counterparts of using the House’s ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein to attack President Donald Trump rather than find closure for the late pedophile’s victims.

Fox News Digital obtained a 10-page internal memo written by GOP committee staff for lawmakers on the panel that argued Democrats intentionally misrepresented information obtained by Republicans to create a narrative that was not there.

‘Unfortunately, during this investigation, Oversight Committee Democrats, led by Ranking Member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), have intentionally mischaracterized witness testimony and selectively released information with targeted redactions in an effort to create another hoax involving President Trump,’ the memo said.

‘When the Majority released the full set of documents, Democrats claimed that this transparency was meant to ‘disorient’ and ‘distract’ from the false narrative they had been attempting to construct about President Trump.’

The committee’s months-long investigation was launched by a bipartisan push for transparency but has since devolved into partisan fighting as both sides blame the other for focusing on the wrong things.

Democrats have accused Republicans of using the probe to cover for Trump, who was known to have been an associate of Epstein’s but never tied to any wrongdoing.

But the committee’s GOP majority, which has released thousands of pages of documents obtained from both the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Epstein’s own estate, has contended that it is dedicated to transparency for the victims and has accused Democrats of politicizing the probe.

‘The Democrats have uncovered nothing new, have released no document not provided at the request of Republicans, and have only succeeded in reinforcing what the American people already knew: President Trump knew Jeffrey Epstein decades ago, President Trump ended the relationship with Epstein, and President Trump did not participate or know about the nature of Epstein’s evil,’ the memo said.

‘Committee Democrats have overpromised and underdelivered, and now they paw through every new document production looking for a single term: Trump.’

Documents released by the committee so far appear to neither concretely prove nor disprove that Trump was aware of Epstein’s crimes, but the president himself has consistently denied any improper links.

In their memo, Republicans pointed to former Attorney General Bill Barr’s deposition where he appeared to clear Trump of wrongdoing, at least in his knowledge of the probe.

But they accuse Garcia of intentionally twisting the facts by claiming Barr had ‘limited knowledge’ of the case.

The memo also accused Democrats of having ‘selectively leaked’ three emails earlier this month out of roughly 23,000 documents handed over by the Epstein estate in a bid to portray Trump in a negative light.

The GOP memo accused Democrats of having ‘made their own redactions to deceive the media and American people,’ including the name of late Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre, ‘who stated that she never witnessed wrongdoing by President Trump,’ the memo said.

‘Democrats also redacted ‘she was the one that accused prince andrew’ [sic] in another Epstein email. By making this redaction, Democrats took away important context in the email that named Virginia Guiffre [sic], who worked at Mar-a-Lago, made allegations against Prince Andrew, and was recruited by Ghislaine Maxwell in the parking lot,’ the memo said.

‘This changes the meaning in Epstein’s email where he states, ‘of course he knew about the girls as he asked Ghislaine to stop.’’

The GOP memo also pointed out that Democrats leaked pages of Epstein’s infamous ‘birthday book’ that included Trump but did not publish a message purportedly written by former President Bill Clinton.

It also accused Democrats of failing to help the committee bring in the Clintons for questioning, despite both being issued subpoenas earlier this year. The only figures who have testified so far have been tied to Trump.

‘Democrats are not concerned with transparency or justice,’ the memo said. ‘The evidence the Oversight Committee has gathered does not implicate President Trump in any way. Democrats must stop playing games in this investigation.’

The memo is dated Sunday, two days before the House is expected to vote on a bipartisan bill demanding the DOJ release all of its files related to Epstein.

House GOP leaders had previously been against the effort, arguing the bill as written could lead to the release of information that could harm Epstein’s victims, while also claiming it was unnecessary given the Oversight Committee’s investigation.

But a mechanism known as a discharge petition, led by Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., is allowing the majority of House lawmakers to override leadership’s wishes and force a vote on the bill.

Trump encouraged Republicans to vote in favor of it in a Truth Social post Sunday night, telling the GOP, ‘We have nothing to hide, and it’s time to move on from this Democrat Hoax.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the committee’s Democratic minority for a response.

A majority of Democrats, Independents and Republicans agree that ‘extremist political rhetoric’ contributed to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, according to a new poll.

The survey from NBC News found that 54% of Democrats agree that extreme rhetoric from ‘some in the media and by political leaders’ was a major factor in Kirk’s killing. An overwhelming majority of Republicans, 73%, expressed the same sentiment, while 53% of Independents agreed.

Across all respondents, 61% of Americans said they believe rhetoric contributed to Kirk’s death.

Meanwhile, 28% said they believed Kirk’s killing was caused more by the lone actions of a disturbed individual than the broader political climate. Another 4% said it was a combination of the two.

The poll marks the first time in 15 years of NBC News polling that majorities of all major American political groups agree that extreme rhetoric was a major factor in causing a violent incident.

Polls going back to the 2011 shooting of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., show a steady rise in Americans blaming political rhetoric for violence, rather than just a lone individual.

In Giffords’ case, 71% of respondents blamed the lone attacker, while 24% blamed rhetoric. By the time of President Donald Trump’s second assassination attempt, however, 37% blamed the attacker and 54% blamed rhetoric.

Kirk’s alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, faces a capital punishment trial in Utah. Members of his family say he became politically extreme and moved further and further to the left in the year leading up to Kirk’s assassination.

Robinson faces a slew of charges, including aggravated murder, which carries the potential the death penalty. He has not yet entered a plea.

Judge Tony Graf granted a defense motion to allow Robinson to wear civilian clothes in court, citing his constitutional presumption of innocence, but denied a motion to allow him to appear without shackles.

Robinson’s next hearing is scheduled for Jan. 16, 2026, when he is expected to make his first in-person appearance.

Fox News’ Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.