January 25,2016 Alternative Scenarios

Positive Scenario I

The Russian Far East (RFE) constitutes both an asset and a liability for Russia. Stretching from east of Lake Baikal to the shores of the Pacific Ocean, this huge expanse of northeastern Eurasia contains all kinds of natural resources—oil and natural gas, coal, iron ore and copper, gold, diamonds, uranium, pristine freshwater, timber, and fish stocks. The RFE boasts 15,000 miles of Pacific coast..

Artyom Lukin
Economic Relations , Russian Far East
January 25,2016 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (January 2016)

The message in Russian media of late 2015 was pessimism about economic ties to China, but reluctance to blame the Chinese. Little is said about Russia’s relations in East Asia apart from China. Debate continues on the “turn to the East,” some seeing it as ongoing and inevitable, and others calling it an economic failure now ended.   Relations with China On November 24 in lenta.ru, I..

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)
Chinese diaspora , Geopolitics , National identity , Regionalism , Yellow Peril
December 23,2015 Special Forum

Sino-Russian Relations and the Failure of Russo-Japanese Relations

As Sino-Russian relations drew closer after Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency in 2012, Russo-Japanese relations also seemed to be poised for an upward trajectory. Given the troubled state of Sino-Japanese relations over this period and the far-reaching impact of the Ukraine crisis from March 2014, the upbeat mood of Russo-Japanese relations or, more specifically, the “Vladimir-Shinzo”..

Stephen Blank
Kuril Island dispute , National security , PLAN , Sino-Russian arms trade
December 23,2015 Special Forum

North Korea’s Place in Sino-Russian Relations and Identities

Sino-Russian relations and the attitudes of each toward the Korean Peninsula have drawn close scrutiny of late, including recent writings by me.1 The Asan Forum has carried relevant articles.2 On China’s attitudes toward reunification, Bonnie Glaser and Yun Sun and Cheng Xiaohe have written in detail.3 Yet, as we take a fresh look at Sino-Russian relations in triangular context, the theme of ..

Gilbert Rozman
3 vs. 3 regionalism , 5 vs. 1 , National security , Six-Party Talks
December 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 thus far cooperated considerably more than they have ..

Richard Weitz
Arab Spring , EEU , Regionalism , Silk Road Economic Belt , Uighur militancy
December 07,2015 Open Forum

Washington Insights (Vol. 3, No. 6)

Park Geun-hye’s visit to Washington, the aftermath of Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington, the state of Japan’s military, Russia’s assertive policy toward Japan, and the state of Central Asia were among the topics that drew scrutiny in autumn discussions in DC. In light of an upsurge in terrorism and great uncertainty over Syria, the pessimistic mood about East Asia was obviously of secondar..

Editorial Staff
Central Asia , East Asian security , National security , Sino-US Relations
November 17,2015 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (November 2015)

Iurii Belobrov in the November Mezhdunarodnaya zhizn’ argued that Russia and China each on its own cannot match the US strategy to strengthen its presence in the Asia-Pacific region; so the two must draw closer together. In an article strikingly reminiscent of Soviet-era writings, he insists that the United States is bent on total control of the region as vital to its geopolitical ambitions to d..

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)
China , Eurasia , National security , One Belt One Road , Regionalism
October 20,2015 Open Forum

Asia’s Southern Tier and Northern Tier

This article is in three parts: 1) an overview with comparisons; 2) an introduction to analysis of the Southern Tier centered on ASEAN, Australia, and India; and 3) an introduction to analysis directed at the Northern Tier centered on Russia, China, and North Korea. In a rapidly changing Asian landscape, focus on the core of East Asia has the effect of leaving on the margins developments to the so..

Gilbert Rozman
ASEAN , Regionalism , Sino-Russian Relations , triangularity
October 12,2015 National Commentaries

The South Korean Perspective

"The Challenge for Park's Summit with Obama after Abe's Summit."   As President Park Geun-hye prepares for her meeting with President Barack Obama on October 16, her visit will bring to a close a year of intensive summitry between the US president and his key counterparts in Asia.1 On April 26-May 3, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo had what many regard as one of the most successful US..

Lee Chung Min*
China's military parade , Japan-US alliance , Japanese SDF , National security , North Korea , Sino-ROK Relations