August 13,2015 Open Forum

Washington Insights (Vol. 3, No. 4)

The Cold War era is looking different from before in hindsight of the 2010s. The key breakthroughs in bilateral relations now seem less transformative, even to a degree fleeting. The 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty seems shakier, given Abe’s revisionism. The 1965 Japan-ROK normalization is under duress, given the rulings by Korean courts on “comfort women” and forced labor as well as public ..

Editorial Staff
Abe-Obama summit , Japan-US relations , Regionalism , Sino-ROK Relations , unification
August 03,2015 National Commentaries

An American Commentary

"The Iran Nuclear Deal and the North Korean Nuclear Issue"   The international nuclear agreement with Iran has generated some speculation about the potential for resurrecting similar negotiations with North Korea. Indeed, the Obama administration’s dramatic shifts in policy toward Burma, Cuba, and now Iran might suggest an analogous gesture toward Pyongyang. But, while a des..

Bruce Klingner
National security , Six-Party Talks , Snap-back clause , Sony hacking
June 22,2015 Open Forum

Washington Insights (Vol. 3, No. 3)

In the shadow of the Abe and Park visits to Washington and Putin and Xi’s first joint observance of the seventieth anniversary of the end of World War II mixed with their joint celebration of the arrival of Eurasianism, there was much to ponder at DC seminars, conferences, and book launches in the late spring of 2015. Tensions over both North Korea and the South China Sea grew more acute, talk o..

Editorial Staff
ASEAN , Eurasianism , ROK-Japanese relations , trilateralism
June 18,2015 Review Article

‘The Japan-South Korea Identity Clash: East Asian Security and the United States’

  Brad Glosserman and Scott A. Snyder, The Japan-South Korea Identity Clash: East Asian Security and the United States, (New York: Columbia University Press, 2015). As we approach August 15, the seventieth anniversary of the end of World War II, when Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s unconditional surrender, the world waits with bated breath as Prime Minister Abe Shinzo carefully cra..

Sharon Yoon
historical revisionism , reconciliation , Shinzo Abe
May 15,2015 National Commentaries

A US Perspective

  "Reading Abe’s Washington Visit"   A View from Washington   Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s visit to Washington produced major developments in Japan-US relations, particularly security relations. A new set of defense guidelines was announced that opens the way for Japan to expand its defense role and capabilities in order to provide more direct military support to t..

Larry A. Niksch
historical revisionism , Korea Fatigue , normal nation , trilateral cooperation
April 30,2015 Open Forum

Synopsis of the Asan Plenum 2015: Is the U.S. Back?

[Agenda] The overall theme, “Is the U.S. Back?" provided the context for discussing in various panels timely issues concerning international relations in East Asia. Given the stress on US policy, this synopsis begins with views regarding Obama’s “rebalance to Asia,” proceeds to discussions of Sino-US relations, and continues with themes where the US role loomed more in the background or..

Editorial Staff
AIIB , Cyberwar , Russian Pivot to Asia , Sino-US Relations
April 30,2015 Open Forum

Washington Insights (Vol. 3, No. 2)

Different options have recently been aired before Washington think tanks for the regional architecture of Asia/the Asia-Pacific/the Indo-Pacific. Comparisons of four of these and the responses to some by the audience should be instructive. They are: 1) deferring to China centered on the South China Sea, promoting sinocentrism; 2) endorsing an invigorated EAS, capable of establishing the Asia-Pacif..

Editorial Staff
APC , EAS , mililateralism , NAPCI , pivot to Asia , Sinocentrism , sub-regional multilateralism , TPP
April 09,2015 Special Forum

Four “Middle Power” Pivots to Asia

In this cluster of four articles on pivots to Asia, we expand the range covered in the Special Forum on pivots to Asia posted in the final issue of 2014. There, we included the United States, China, India, Russia, and Japan, concentrating on great powers. We now turn our attention to middle powers, adding Europe as a force that falls short of a great power, given its lack of cohesion and the hesit..

Editorial Staff
Middle Powers , National security , Sino-Russia rebalance , US-China rebalance
April 09,2015 Special Forum

Europe’s Incomplete Pivot to Asia

We have been talking about the pivot to Asia, and discussing for so long about the US turning its back on Europe. I have always been convinced that we should together pivot to Asia, the US and the EU. It’s our joint interest, and it would be a strategically powerful move. The reality at the moment is that somebody else is pivoting to Asia. Yes, we have do have a security challenge now, which is ..

Daniel Twining
AIIB , EU , Transatlantic relations , Transpacific relations