Special Forum

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Nov 22,2013 Special Forum

Sino-Russian Competition in Mongolia

In recent years China and Russia have presented a solid façade of “strategic partnership,” with leaders emphasizing complementarity of national interests and common approaches to many international problems as reasons they work hand-in-hand. Beijing and Moscow have dismissed suggestions that their relationship is, in fact, plagued by hidden tensions as Western fabrications. Yet, there must be..

Sergey Radchenko

Commercial competition , Elbegdorj , Enkhbayar , indirect undercutting , mining , third neighbor policy , trans-Mongolian railroad

Nov 22,2013 Special Forum

China-Russia Relations in Central Asia

China-Russia relations in Central Asia are attracting increasing attention from scholars and policymakers. Most analysis thus far, however, has employed the competition framework in examining this relationship. In contrast to these studies, this article argues that since the independence of Central Asia, the relationship between the two great powers in the region has been predominantly that of coo..

Zhao Huasheng*

economic integration , limited competition , mutual strategic interests , natural resources , rules of the game , SCO , Silk Route Economic Zone , the US factor

Nov 22,2013 Special Forum

Russia’s China Challenge in a Changing Asia: An American Perspective

Russia’s relations with China have steadily improved for about twenty years after a brief, strong, pro-Western tilt in Russian foreign policy right after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992.1 The weakening political position of the Gaidar government by late 1992 and the defeat of pro-Western liberal parties Russia’s Choice and Yabloko in the 1993 parliamentary elections were correlated wi..

Andrew Kuchins

Axis of necessity , complementarity , distrust , natural gas politics , oil politics , Russia’s pivot to Asia , Russian diversification in Asia , swing state

Open Forum

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Dec 06,2013 Open Forum

The Indo-Japanese Strategic Partnership: Asia’s Response to China’s Rise

For all the focus on China’s ascendancy, the developing strategic and economic entente between Japan and India may eventually prove to be as important in shaping Asia’s future. In many respects, India and Japan could not be more different: one has more poor people than any other nation on Earth; the other was the first non-Western society to fully modernize. The order and discipline of Japanes..

Daniel Twining

Act East Policy , Confluence of the two seas , freedom of the seas , India , ODA , Republic Day celebrations , trilateral groupings

Dec 06,2013 Open Forum

Japan’s “Smart” Strategic Engagement in Southeast Asia

After his recent visits to Cambodia and Laos, Abe Shinzo has become the first Japanese prime minister to visit the ten ASEAN countries within the first year of his mandate. This achievement highlights two developments; Japan’s “return” to the region and a new appraisal of Southeast Asia in Japan’s strategic calculations. In a previous policy paper, published in January 2013,1 I showed that..

Céline Pajon

liberal partner , maritime capacity building , multilateral security , security-oriented ODA , South China Sea , strategic comeback

Dec 09,2013 Open Forum

Washington Insights: Issue 3

With this issue we begin an addition to the Open Forum, reflecting on recent conferences and talks in Washington, DC and by high US officials on the themes covered in The Asan Forum. Our objective is not to report specifically on who said what, apart from speeches by top officials, but to give a sense of the tenor of remarks by those knowledgeable about US policies. There is no place comparable fo..

Editorial Staff

No. 1 ally , North Korea’s priority , principled realism , Trustpolitik , what is rebalancing , Who is No. 1

National Commentaries

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Nov 22,2013 National Commentaries

US Perspective

"China and International Law/Norms: A US Perspective" China’s territorial disputes with its maritime neighbors have become the most contentious and high-profile elements in Beijing’s regional foreign policy—so much so that they overshadow and complicate other dimensions of its relations with the region. These quarrels have deep historical roots and have produced periodic crises ..

Jacques deLisle

Diaoyu/Senkaku , East China Sea , EEZ’s , PLA navy , Rebalancing , South China Sea , Southeast Asia , sovereignty , Taiwan , UNCLOS

Nov 22,2013 National Commentaries

Japanese Perspective

"China and International Law/Norms: A Japanese Perspective" Signs of China respecting and complying with international law and norms are mixed at best. Assuming that international law and norms are the foundation of the postwar liberal international order, established and sustained by the United States and other advanced democracies including European states and Japan, I use the conce..

Soeya Yoshihide*

Abe Shinzo , East China Sea , International relations theory , National Security Liberal international order , proactive pacifism , South China Sea , unilateralism , value diplomacy

Topics of the Month

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Nov 06,2013 Topics of the Month

The ROK-US Alliance – 5

The US-ROK Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement: Overcoming the Impasse The United States and Republic of Korea have enjoyed a strong partnership for over 60 years, which has contributed to peace, security, and prosperity in the southern half of the peninsula. It is an impressive success story of which Koreans and Americans can be proud. A significant part of that success is cooperation in the c..

Robert J. Einhorn

123 Civil Nuclear Agreement , enrichment , non-proliferation , Nuclear Technology Transfer Agreement , reprocessing

Nov 22,2013 Topics of the Month

The China Dream – 5

The highly anticipated Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee was held in Beijing on November 9-12. The Chinese leadership had sent strong signals that this Third Plenum would be comparable to the famed Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee in December 1978, which adopted reform and opening and profoundly changed China. Liberals wished for but knew they would not get any..

Ming Wan

civil society , soft power , State Security Committee , Third Plenum , Xi Jinping

Nov 22,2013 Topics of the Month

Japan-Russia Relations – 5

Japan-Russia relations in November saw a certain degree of activation. At the October 7 meeting between Abe and Putin in Bali, an agreement was reached to hold the “2+2” meetings in November. They did take place on November 2 in Tokyo, and as the rejoinder by the Editorial Staff to my previous “Topics of the Month” showed, they attracted considerable attention internationally. The Japan..

Kazuhiko Togo

2+2 Meetings , Article 9 , Korean self-righteousness , new national security offices , Yachi Shotaro

Country Reports

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Nov 08,2013 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (November 2013)

Japan and the ROK-US-Japan triangle preoccupied the Korean media through the early autumn. Criticism of the Abe administration only intensified, but it came amid growing concern about whether further deterioration in ROK-Japan relations was advisable and, even more, how to respond to increasing military ties between Japan and the United States. There was no sign that Korean criticisms were alterin..

Editorial Staff (prepared by Han Minjeong)

collective defense , forced labor , missile defense , sex slaves , TPP , Trustpolitik , US triangularity , Yasukuni Shrine

Nov 22,2013 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (November 2013)

The Russian media kept its eye on areas around China’s borders, cautiously raising questions about clashing Russian and Chinese interests. In September the spotlight turned to Central Asia. In November with Lavrov and Shoigu going to Japan for the first 2+2 meetings and then Putin traveling to Vietnam and South Korea, areas on two other sides of China drew attention. In between, in October, Puti..

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

Anti-Americanism , Balanced diplomacy , economic regionalism , Iron Silk Road , Moscow-Beijing axis , Multipolarity , natural gas price , Southeast Asia , Vietnam

Dec 06,2013 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (December 2013)

In 2013 attitudes toward other countries did not substantially change in contrast to the tectonic changes of 2012, when Japanese awakened to a dangerous region. In the annual survey, Yoron chosa, issued in November, one reads of further improvement in relations with and friendly feelings toward the United States, already at record high levels, and slight improvement in these measures with Russia, ..

Editorial Staff

2+2 Meetings , Active pacifism , cultural arrogance , feeling friendly , historical honor , schools toward South Korea , spheres of influence , status quo power

Review Article

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Nov 22,2013 Review Article

New South Korean Academic Writings on Contemporary Japan and Japanese-Korean Relations

South Korean academic writings of 2013 provide a useful window through which students of Japan worldwide can observe Japan and Japanese-Korean relations. So far this year, I found that six books have been published on Japan and Japanese-Korean relations, as well as six articles in the two most prestigious journals of political science (The Korean Journal of International Relations and Korean Polit..

Kim Jiyoung*

Abe Shinzo , comfort women , lack of common goals , military power , threat perceptions