Oct 31,2019 Open Forum

Asian Missiles on the March

In his Asian tour in August, US defense secretary Mark Esper said that he would like to deploy new ground-launched, intermediate-range missiles in Asia as soon as possible. That same month, the Pentagon conducted its first test of such a missile since the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, banning such weapons, expired in August. […]

Richard Weitz

anti-access/area denial , GSOMIA , INF Treaty , New START Treaty , No First Use policy , THAAD

Nov 10,2017 Alternative Scenarios

Positive Scenario II

In his negative scenario 1, Ivan Zuenko reviewed several possible factors that could substantially worsen Sino-Russian relations in general, including activation of latent Chinese claims to Russian territory and bilateral competition over the Arctic. However, neither development looks likely to occur anytime soon. With regard to Central Asia, Zuenko offers several reasons why Beijing and […]

Richard Weitz

"Belt and Road" Initiative , Collective Security Treaty Organization , Shanghai Cooperation Organization , Shavkat Mirziyoyev

Sep 15,2017 Alternative Scenarios

Positive Scenario I

Setting aside the ongoing debate in The Asan Forum and other platforms about the extent and durability of the Sino-Russian alignment, it is hard to gainsay that Central Asia is the region where China and Russia cooperate most. The Soviet Union’s demise removed a major barrier against non-Russian influence in Central Asia. Even so, rather […]

Richard Weitz

"Belt and Road" Initiative , international terrorism , Islamic State , natural resources , social revolutions

Dec 23,2015 Special Forum

Russia, China, and Central Asia: Time for Decision

When the Soviet Union disintegrated, one might have expected Central Asia to become a natural region of rivalry between Moscow, which could no longer exercise formal political control over the region, and Beijing, whose rising power was no longer contained by a sealed Soviet border reinforced by powerful armed forces. But China and Russia have […]

Richard Weitz

Arab Spring , EEU , Regionalism , Silk Road Economic Belt , Uighur militancy

Apr 30,2015 Open Forum

Arms Racing in Strategic Technologies: Asia’s New Frontier

Richard Weitz1 Although China, Russia, and the United States have together experienced numerous crises and tensions since the end of the Cold War, one important reason that each state has refrained from employing military force directly against the others is their robust nuclear deterrents and survivable “second-strike” capabilities—their assured ability to retaliate effectively with their […]

Richard Weitz

Aug 11,2014 Open Forum

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization: A Fading Star?

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) stands at a pivotal point in its history. On the one hand, the growing ties between Russia and China as well as the withdrawal of the Western powers from Central Asia and Afghanistan could provide it with more cohesive leadership and more opportunities to become Eurasia’s dominant security institution. On […]

Richard Weitz

Afghanistan , Central Asia , CICA , CSTO , energy , Eurasian Union , mutual reassurance , security threats , Ukraine

Oct 18,2013 Topics of the Month

The ROK-US Alliance – 4

Progress amidst Problems: Readout of This Month’s ROK-US Annual Security Meeting Thanks to Secretary Chuck Hagel’s important visit to South Korea last week, the ROK-US alliance is on firmer footing, at least in the near-term. Hagel and other senior US defense officials spent an unprecedented four days in South Korea, attending ceremonies commemorating the sixtieth […]

Richard Weitz

Ballistic missile defense , Chuck Hagel , extended deferrence , Kim Kwan-jin , OPCON transfer , preemption , Special Measure Agreement