Elizabeth Freund Larus, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, offered a National Security Lecture on China’s New Silk Road to JWACS engineers at the UMW Dahlgren campus on October 23. Dr. Larus claimed that China is building the New Silk Road to expand its commercial and political influence and to have a more prominent status and role in global affairs. Some observers of the project see it as an effort to remake the global balance of power, and as the costs of many of the proposed projects have skyrocketed, opposition has grown in some participant countries.