April 27,2021 Open Forum

Washington Insights, Vol. 9, No. 2

The months of March and April saw a revival of energetic exchanges on international affairs after the dulling effect of the past year of pandemic and the dark shadow of Trumpism. Biden reenergized bilateral and multilateral diplomacy with the Quad as one of the key themes in the quest for understanding new dynamism in the Indo-Pacific. India drew attention as critical to the prospects for the..

Editorial Staff
Quad , US-China rivalry , US-DPRK diplomacy , US-Japan alliance , US-ROK alliance
April 20,2021 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (April 2021)

In the first quarter of 2021, Japanese coverages turned from assessing 2020 to anticipating Biden’s impact to taking satisfaction in Biden’s initial moves toward Japan and China. With diplomatic travel on hold, for the most part, its resumption in March and early April showcased Japan-US relations. A virtual Quad summit, followed by the 2+2 US-Japan meeting in Tokyo, the Alaska ..

Editorial Staff
Economic national security , Quad , Strategic Triangle , US-China rivalry , US-Japan alliance , Yachi Shotaro
April 01,2021 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (March 2021)

Two themes gained prominence in Russian coverage of the Indo-Pacific region in the first part of 2021: the Russo-China-US triangle and the geopolitics of the Korean Peninsula. There was little on the hallmarks of multipolarity, especially India. The mood was upbeat for three main reasons: 1) Sino-Russian relations are strong and growing stronger; 2) the Biden administration is viewed as hav..

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)
alliances , Strategic Triangle , US-China rivalry , US-North Korea nuclear talks
March 02,2021 Country Reports

Country Report: China (February 2021)

In the winter of 2020–2021, Chinese analysts contemplated a world in flux, with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to devastate the United States and the arrival of new leadership in both Japan (in September 2020) and the United States (in January 2021). They assessed how Sino–US competition will impact the future world order and explored how Russia and Japan are developing their foreign po..

Danielle F. S. Cohen (assisted by Dong Jiaxin)
"Belt and Road" Initiative , Cold War , COVID-19 , Joe Biden , Quad , US-China rivalry
February 15,2021 National Commentaries

A Russian Perspective on the Tensions on the Korean Peninsula

An authoritative Russian book makes clear how Moscow views the situation on the Korean Peninsula and what it would like the new US administration to do. The starting point is sharp criticism that the West ignored equal dialogue, respect for Russia’s sovereignty, and consideration for its core interests. While the Korean Peninsula is not a core interest, it has become a testing ground fo..

Editorial Staff
Eastern Economic Forum , Eurasia , Joe Biden , Khasan-Rajin transit , Sinocentrism , Six-Party Talks , Vladimir Putin
February 02,2021 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (January 2021)

Russian analysis at the end of 2020 and start of 2021 made clear Russia’s reality of becoming a junior partner to China, which was starting to eclipse the obsession with not being respected by the United States. On the one hand, two assumptions were widely acknowledged: that with Joe Biden in charge, Russo-US relations would further deteriorate, and that after Vladimir Putin broached th..

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)
COVID-19 , free and open Indo-Pacific , Greater Eurasia , Joe Biden , Kurile Islands , Quad , RCEP
December 28,2020 Country Reports

Country Report: China (December 2020)

In the fall of 2020, Chinese analysts assessed US and Japanese policies in light of recent anti-globalization trends and made predictions about the United States’ near-term relations with its allies. They also examined the Japan–Russia bilateral relationship by considering the legacy of the Abe administration and the likely future under Suga. They continued to evaluate the implicat..

Danielle F. S. Cohen (assisted by Dong Jiaxin)
ASEAN , COVID-19 , CPTPP , RCEP , trilateralism , US-China rivalry
December 10,2020 Open Forum

Washington Insights, Vol. 8, No. 6

The late fall of 2020 saw attention turn to Joe Biden, including his nominees for policy posts in national security and their thinking on the Indo-Pacific region. He prioritizes rebuilding alliances and partnerships, but some asked what would he seek from these countries. If Biden would not follow Trump’s lead in top-down diplomacy with Kim Jong-un, few expected that the staggered pac..

Editorial Staff
BRI , free and open Indo-Pacific , Korean War , SCO , strategic patience , the Quad , US-China rivalry
December 02,2020 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (November 2020)

Sino-US relations were foremost on Russian observers’ minds in the autumn of 2020, both before and after Joe Biden’s election victory. Anti-Chinese sentiments in the post-Soviet space drew attention, as did China’s troubling discourse about the Arctic and talk of the Arctic-Pacific as a construct—a new way of showcasing Russia’s centrality. India was another focus ..

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)
Arctic Council , free and open Indo-Pacific , Hindu nationalism , Joe Biden , Sinophobia , Tibet , turn to the East , US-China rivalry , Xinjiang
October 19,2020 Open Forum

Kazakhstan in Sino-Russian Relations: Cooperation and Competition between the EEU and BRI

On the sidelines of the recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting in Moscow on September 12, 2020, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, issued a joint statement hailing the Sino-Russian “comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.”1 While containing a boilerplate restatement of the two parties’..

Michael Clarke , Dana Rice
"Belt and Road" Initiative , Commonwealth of Independent States , Eurasian Economic Community , Eurasian Economic Union , Shanghai Cooperation Organization , Xinjiang