December 20,2016 Country Reports

Country Report: China (December 2016)

During the fall of 2016, Chinese experts continued to evaluate Sino-Russian and Sino-US relations. They drew attention to Japan’s “Taiwan faction,” assessed strengthening Japanese-Australian relations, and analyzed South Korea’s foreign relations strategy. They also considered the negative impact of local NGOs on China’s ability to complete various One Belt, One Road (OBOR) projects. Wri..

Danielle F. S. Cohen (assisted by Dong Jiaxin)
Abe Shinzo , ASEAN , Asia pivot , Australia , Balance of power , BRICS , color revolutions , Diaoyu islands , East China Sea , energy
December 16,2016 Special Forum

Introduction

The Trump campaign and transition have aroused anxiety unlike anything seen in the recent history of US presidential leadership changes. This is visible in virtually every region in the world: Mexico, Russia, and Iran have stood in the forefront for very different reasons. Yet, while the drama of the “wall,” the “hacks,” and the “deal” have no ready paralle..

Editorial Staff
ASEAN , Asia pivot , burden-sharing , cross-Strait relations , Denuclearization , Duterte , energy , nuclear proliferation , Putin , rebalance
December 16,2016 Special Forum

Running into a Long Brick Wall? Trump and the Future of US-China Relations

The surprise election of Donald Trump as the United States’ 45th president triggered alarm bells in capitals across the world including Beijing, given Trump’s haphazard foreign policy remarks throughout the campaign and his propensity to trust his gut judgment on a range of critical issues. Hence, just how Trump is going to move on key foreign policy arenas, including the all-impo..

Lee Chung Min*
APEC , Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank , Balance of power , burden-sharing , climate change , Duterte , FTAAP , Iran , ISIS , NATO
December 16,2016 Special Forum

Japanese Media on the Impact of Donald Trump’s Election on Japan and China

Japanese awakened to Donald Trump’s victory in disbelief, coining the label “Trump shock” to go with other “shocks” memorable in their history with the United States.1 A failure had occurred: of the US media, of the US role as the beacon of democracy, and of both a model of capitalism2 that was supposed to forestall angry backlashes and the international system,3..

Gilbert Rozman
Abe Shinzo , Abenomics , ASEAN , Asia pivot , Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank , Balance of power , burden-sharing , containment , cross-Strait relations , Duterte
December 16,2016 Open Forum

Caught Between Two Big Powers? Central Asia Under the Weight of Russian and Chinese Influence

In 1991, the Soviet Union’s collapse reshaped the East/West problematic as it had emerged after World War II. Inside Soviet space, a number of cultural elements distinguished the five states of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) from the rest of the former Russian empire, namely their shared cultural, linguistic, and religious traits with the..

Sebastien Peyrouse
Afghanistan , Arab Spring , Armenia , authoritarianism , banking , Belarus , Central Asia , Collective Security Treaty Organization , colonialism , colored revolutions
December 13,2016 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (November)

Two themes dominated the news in November: the “shock” of the election of Donald Trump, which is covered separately in a Special Forum article, and the “anticipation” of Vladimir Putin’s visit to Japan on December 15. Already in the first part of the fall there was a sharp increase in Japanese articles on Japan-Russia relations, and such attention accelerated in ..

Editorial Staff
AIIB , ASEAN , comfort women , East China Sea , energy , G20 , GSOMIA , Hikiwake , Kaesong Industrial Complex , Northern Territories
December 12,2016 National Commentaries

A View from Vietnam

President Duterte sparked a media frenzy on his recent visit to China when he declared that the Philippines would "separate" from the United States and align itself with two of America's top rivals. At a moment when the United States is locked in a power contest with China, losing a critical ally like the Philippines would be nothing short of a disaster. Some have argued that the U..

Vu Truong-Minh* , Ngo Di Lan
accommodation , ASEAN , Balance of power , Duterte , France , freedom of navigation , hedging , Hollande , India , Modi
December 07,2016 Open Forum

Russia’s Far East Transborder Pains: China Threat Syndrome and the Tragedy of the Anticommons

The Russian Far East (RFE) has come a long way in the last fifteen years. The signature image of the region’s largest city of Vladivostok is no longer that of a quaint, late-nineteenth century railway station, but that of a daringly aerodynamic, cable-stayed bridge built over a mile long and two hundred feet tall to the nearby Russky Island for the 2012 APEC summit. The buildings erecte..

Mikhail Alexseev
anticommons , China threat , migration , Russian Far East , Transborder Trade and Economic Complex
December 05,2016 Open Forum

Washington Insights(Vol. 4, No. 6)

The autumn of 2016 has been tumultuous in Washington, DC. Whereas in October the old agenda was still under discussion, after Donald Trump won the presidential election the struggle began to decipher the new agenda. This overview of meetings before and after the elections reflects the two-sided nature of a transitional period. KoreaThe agenda did not shift much on Korea given the continued c..

Editorial Staff
Asia pivot , Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank , Eastern Economic Forum , energy , Korean 2017 elections , Middle Power Diplomacy , Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative , One Belt One Road , Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership , sanctions
November 24,2016 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (November 2016)

Noteworthy in the fall of 2016 has been the increase in articles about the Russo-Japanese relationship. They accompanied the Eastern Economic Forum meeting of Putin and Abe and anticipated the planned visit of Putin to Yamaguchi in December. Further attention was also given to Sino-Russian relations, especially as questions kept being raised about how linking the Eurasian Economic Union and ..

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)
Crimea , Eurasian Economic Commission , Eurasian Economic Union , European Union , G7 , Kuril Islands , NATO , Northern Territories , Russian Far East , Shanghai Cooperation Organization