April 28,2016 National Commentaries

A View from the United States

Inadvertent escalation or Chinese expansion? Two very different fears compete for attention in the proliferating discourse on the risk-rich imbroglio  of the South China Sea. Some fear an inadvertent escalation that may unnecessarily trigger war. Others fear Chinese expansion that prepares for its hegemony. Only Xi’s China cultivates a priority fear of American expansion. Many of China..

Donald K. Emmerson
Nine-dash line , Pax Sinica , South China Sea , sovereignty , UNCLOS
February 23,2016 Open Forum

US-Japan Relations, 2015-2017

One year has passed since (in The Asan Forum 3, no. 1) I analyzed US-Japan relations during the first two years (December 2012-January 2015) of Abe Shinzo’s second term as prime minister. This article assesses developments in the bilateral relationship since then, examining what can be expected in 2016 and assessing prospects for 2017 under a new US administration, taking into account d..

Glen S. Fukushima
Abe Shinzo , Abenomics , Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) , US Presidential Primaries , US-Japan Joint Vision Statement , US-Japan Relations , US-Japan Security Treaty
February 11,2016 National Commentaries

A US Perspective

"US-ROK-Japanese Trilateral Security Cooperation"   When President Barack Obama announced his much-touted "rebalance" to Asia in a speech in Australia in November 2011, his administration believed that its new stance toward the Asia-Pacific policy would be his foreign policy legacy. Having ended, so they hoped, America's military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, their emph..

Michael Auslin
Democracy , Hub-and-Spokes , National security , Regionalism
December 18,2015 National Commentaries

The United States POV: Southeast Asian Reactions to the Firmer US Posture in the South China Sea

"The November Summits in Retrospect" Summitry is often seen as a way for national leaders to directly hash out disagreements and reach some accommodation. That was not the case at this year’s East Asia Summit (EAS), where leaders seemed more interested in underlining their differences than reconciling them. Not surprisingly, the South China Sea dispute was the summit’s most cont..

Felix K. Chang
National security , Regionalism , South China Sea Initiative
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
October 20,2015 Open Forum

A Theoretical Explanation of the Evolving Northeast Asian Architecture: The “Incompleteness” of Sovereignty

Current literature on international relations theory is helpful in explaining Northeast Asian regional politics, but falls short. We witness the rising tension between the United States and China and wonder whether this will lead to power transition and to an “inevitable” clash. We want to explain why two advanced market democracies, South Korea and Japan, began to have quite tense relations d..

Chun Chaesung*
Incomplete Sovereignty , International relations theory , Power-maximizer , US-China rivalry
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
October 12,2015 National Commentaries

The Japanese Perspective

"The Challenge for Park's Summit with Obama after Abe's Summit."   The most important factor we need to consider in directing our attention in East Asia to developments since Prime Minister Abe visited Washington is the change in relations between China, the rising superpower in the region, and the United States, the leading superpower defending and strengthening the status quo ..

Kazuhiko Togo
Article 9 , CJK summit , National security , normal state , US security
October 12,2015 National Commentaries

The US Perspective

"The Challenge for Park's Summit with Obama after Abe's Summit."   Positive US responses to Abe’s defense and history initiatives leave South Korea’s Japan policy in limbo. The Abe statement in early August and the legislation that the Diet passed in late September (after the Abe cabinet’s approval in early July) have given new impetus to Tokyo’s foreign policy and rel..

Larry A. Niksch
Balancing China , Japan-US alliance , Japanese SDF , National security
August 18,2015 Open Forum

Striking the Twenty-first Century Trade Agreement: The Case of Intellectual Property in the Trans-Pacific Partnership and US-Northeast Asian Economic Relations

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations are reaching their final stage. There is a good chance that they will be concluded within a month or two. While this economic pact presents new directions toward solidifying US linkages to the Asia-Pacific region, the contents of the negotiations—particularly on intellectual property (IP) and investment—present future challenges to US economic relat..

June Park
Economic Relations , Intellectual property , Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights agreement , Trans-Pacific Partnership