Dec 02,2019 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (November 2019)

China was on Russian minds the most, relegating the Korean Peninsula to second among Asian interests. On the one hand, Putin’s announcement of Russia transferring its missile defense apparatus to China set the tone for optimistic pronouncements of an upgrading of strategic relations, even if the term “alliance” was not in the official lexicon. Some […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)
"Belt and Road" Initiative , Eastern Economic Forum , Force of Siberia , free and open Indo-Pacific , INF Treaty , Nuclear non-proliferation , turn to the East
Oct 31,2019 Open Forum

Asian Missiles on the March

In his Asian tour in August, US defense secretary Mark Esper said that he would like to deploy new ground-launched, intermediate-range missiles in Asia as soon as possible. That same month, the Pentagon conducted its first test of such a missile since the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, banning such weapons, expired in August. […]

Richard Weitz
anti-access/area denial , GSOMIA , INF Treaty , New START Treaty , No First Use policy , THAAD
Oct 16,2019 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (October 2019)

Japanese foreign policy drew increased criticism in the summer of 2019. On the left, there were harsh critiques of Abe’s diplomatic failures with Russia and North Korea (both putting Japan at increased risk), the breakdown of relations with South Korea, and the troubled state of the Japan-US relationship (Tokyo Shimbun, August 5). On the right, […]

Editorial Staff
"Belt and Road" Initiative , "Hate Korea” , GSOMIA , INF Treaty , Trump-Kim summit , US-China trade war , US-ROK alliance
Feb 19,2019 Special Forum

Military Aspects of the Russo-Chinese Alliance: A View from the United States

Recent official US statements postulate Sino-Russian enmity towards the US.1 Moreover, they rightly highlight an unprecedentedly close alignment of these two states against the US.2  In other words the triangular relationship is now a relationship of two against one. Following the US assessment, this article opposes the reigning academic view, expressed in numerous recent studies […]

Stephen Blank
BRI , C4ISR , FONOPs , INF Treaty , Northern Sea Route , Sino-Russian alliance , South China Sea , UNCLOS , Vostok 2018
Feb 19,2019 Special Forum

The Sino-Russian-US Triangle and Northeast Asia: A View from Japan

While there are various perspectives within Japan, here I set forth an individual viewpoint and analyze international politics as a long-time researcher of Russia. First, I couch my thinking in the context of today’s overall international situation and of a rough breakdown of the ongoing debate in Japan concerning the triangle and Japan’s ideal response. […]

Hakamada Shigeki
Aleksandr III , free and open Indo-Pacific , INF Treaty , NATO , Northern Territories , Senkaku Islands , TPP
Feb 07,2019 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (January 2019)

Sino-Russian relations remain the bedrock of Moscow’s Asia policy, as reaffirmed by when the Russian ambassador to China recounted at the start of 2019 how relations had been growing closer. The perceived sharp downturn in Sino-US relations only adds to the Sino-Russian momentum. One prospect is to take advantage in 2019 of the 70th anniversary […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)
BRI , EEU , G20 , Greater Eurasia , INF Treaty , SCO , Trump-Kim summit , turn to the East