May 29,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (May 2017)

Park Geun-hye was removed from office on March 10 as the Constitutional Court endorsed the parliament's impeachment, a first in its history. While there was only an acting president in the country, concerns over “Korea Passing” mounted. There were fears that the five-month-long vacancy in top-level diplomacy in South Korea would accelerate its diplomatic isolation. Finally, on May..

Editorial Staff
comfort women , Economic sanctions , Korea Passing , KORUS FTA , Moon Jae-in , THAAD , Trump-Xi Summit
May 02,2017 Open Forum

Alliance Trilateralism at a Crossroads

South Korea is facing a nightmarish international environment, wholly unexpected as recently as 2015. Then the country was riding high in its foreign policy agenda: trustpolitik leading to a bonanza, “honeymoon” with Xi Jinping, best relations ever with the United States, a “comfort women” agreement with Japan, and, ahead, the Northeast Asian Peace and Cooperation init..

Editorial Staff
comfort women , Kaesong Industrial Complex , KORUS FTA , Moon Jae-in , Park Geun-hye , Sunshine Policy , THAAD , Trustpolitik
May 01,2017 Open Forum

Washington Insights (Vol. 5, No. 2)

This has been a busy time in Washington with little clarity about US policies, as the Trump administration takes shape, Sino-US relations take center stage, and North Korea’s threat to the United States galvanizes responses reflecting views in many countries. In late April—after the Trump-Xi summit, Pence’s trip to the region, and the Tillerson visit to Moscow—views on Northea..

Editorial Staff
100-day plan , Economic sanctions , Eurasian Initiative , G2 , nuclear proliferation , One Belt One Road , Silk Road Economic Belt , South China Sea , Trump , Trump-Xi Summit
May 01,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (April 2017)

The period February-April has witnessed an outpouring of Japanese articles on ties with the United States (as Trump sets his Asia policies and meets with Abe before meeting with Xi Jinping), China (as Japan toughened its stance toward North Korea and South Korea, while readying for the Trump challenge), Russia (as Abe prepared for a late April follow-up summit with Putin amid uncertain fluct..

Editorial Staff
Abe-Trump summit , comfort women , Economic sanctions , Kim Jong-nam , Moon Jae-in , Senkaku Islands , Strategic Triangle , Takeshima , THAAD , TPP
April 24,2017 Special Forum

Introduction

The unpopularity of the United States is rising around the world, not excluding Northeast Asia. Donald Trump is seen as a loose cannon, arousing distrust in allies and anxiety among potential adversaries that are uncertain of his intentions. Yet, his impact is not a total departure from earlier skepticism and even animosity against the US role in Asia. To grasp it, we need to delve into criti..

Editorial Staff
alliance system , Anti-Americanism , Asianism , authoritarianism , Cold War , democratization , Donald Trump , Internationalism , missile defense , nuclear proliferation
April 24,2017 Special Forum

The Case of China

In the shadow of the recent summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, onlookers are eager for clues to the future of Sino–US relations and US policy in the Asia–Pacific. In the past context of a fairly stable US policy approach, China has developed entrenched perceptions of US policy, grounded in China’s assessment of its own national interests. Even when Sino–US relations are a..

Danielle F. S. Cohen (assisted by Dong Jiaxin)
AIIB , cultural diplomacy , Dalai Lama , Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands , OBOR , RCEP , Scarborough Shoal , separatism , Six-Party Talks , South China Sea
April 24,2017 Special Forum

The Case of South Korea

US and Korean attitudes towards one another are largely based on their understanding of the past relationship between the two countries. Far from being a "forgotten war," most Americans have an understanding that US forces fought and died on the Korean Peninsula in the 1950s. Their basic attitude towards Korea still has elements of protectiveness. They also know that Korea is an eco..

Mark Tokola
Anti-Americanism , authoritarianism , democratization , Gwangju massacre , military coup
April 13,2017 Open Forum

Limits of Chinese Patience Toward North Korea and Prospects of Chinese Cooperation with South Korea

The Korean Peninsula is in a state of deep, growing insecurity. To the north, the Kim regime continues to launch ballistic missiles into the East Sea and prepare for what many expect will be further nuclear tests. Alarming too is the regime’s continued purge of the disgruntled elite, which signals heightened internal instability. The use of VX nerve agent in Kim Jung-nam’s assassi..

Eun A Jo
Ahn Cheol-soo , Balance of power , core interests , Economic sanctions , Kim Jong-nam , Moon Jae-in , nuclear proliferation , presidential election , Six-Party Talks , THAAD
March 27,2017 Open Forum

Recent Views in Japan Concerning Sino-Russian Relations

How Japanese officials, media, and academics interpret the state of the relationship between China and Russia matters for Japan’s diplomacy with both countries and its foreign policy more generally, including with the United States. If they see a strong bond verging on an alliance with little chance of weakening, then Tokyo must accept that it has few options other than to draw closer t..

Yoko Hirose
8-point economic cooperation plan , Abe Shinzo , Arms sales , Balance of power , BRICS , energy , G7 , India , Kuril Islands , media
March 27,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (March 2017)

On February 10, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs carried an Interfax interview with Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov on Russian Asia policies in the past year. He cited as the biggest event the May Sochi summit with the members of ASEAN. A second important event was carrying the entry of India and Pakistan into the SCO to the “finish line,” with possible entry in 2017. The thi..

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)
Abe Shinzo , APEC , ASEAN , Cold War , Denuclearization , Eastern Economic Forum , globalization , Greater Eurasia , India , Kuril Islands