Dec 12,2016 National Commentaries

A View from Australia

The year 2016 marked the seventieth anniversary of formal diplomatic relations between Australia and the Philippines. It also heralded the election of Rodrigo Duterte as the Philippines’ 16th president. The new president has made numerous international headlines, both during the election campaign and since becoming his country’s head of state. As this article shows, Duterte’s […]

Darren J. Lim

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank , Australia , Australia-Philippines Comprehensive Partnership , Davao hostage crisis , Duterte , East China Sea , mutual defense treaty , One Belt One Road , Philippines , rise of China

Dec 12,2016 National Commentaries

A View from Malaysia

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak made high-profile visits to China from October 18-21 and from October 31 to November 5, 2016, respectively. It was the first China visit for Duterte since he took office about four months earlier (his first trip outside of ASEAN), and the third for Najib as […]

Kuik Cheng-Chwee* , Ithrana Lawrence

1MDB , Aman Youyi , ASEAN , CARAT , Comprehensive strategic partnership , corruption , Duterte , enhanced defense cooperation agreement , Infrastructure , Najib Razak

Dec 05,2016 Open Forum

Washington Insights(Vol. 4, No. 6)

The autumn of 2016 has been tumultuous in Washington, DC. Whereas in October the old agenda was still under discussion, after Donald Trump won the presidential election the struggle began to decipher the new agenda. This overview of meetings before and after the elections reflects the two-sided nature of a transitional period. Korea The agenda […]

Editorial Staff

Asia pivot , Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank , Eastern Economic Forum , energy , Korean 2017 elections , Middle Power Diplomacy , Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative , One Belt One Road , Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership , sanctions

Nov 01,2016 Special Forum

Synopsis of the Seoul Forum for International Affairs, September 23, 2016

In the early autumn of 2016, there were repeated seminars and exchanges in Seoul and Washington, DC on three interrelated topics: how to respond effectively to the North Korean threat, how to manage Sino-US relations with North Korea more than the South China Sea in the forefront, and how South Korea should reassert its drive […]

Editorial Staff

4th nuclear test , 5th nuclear test , ASEAN , East Asia Summit , Eurasia Economic Union , G2 , Maritime security , Maritime Silk Road , Nordpolitik , offshore balancing

Oct 20,2016 Open Forum

One Belt, One Road: A New Roadmap for a Sinocentric World?

Nele Noesselt1 Chair for Chinese Politics, University of Duisburg-Essen In May 2015, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China jointly issued a document entitled “Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road,” a […]

Nele Noesselt

China Dream , harmonious world , Maritime Silk Road , Multipolarity , New Silk Road , One Belt One Road , Silk Road Economic Belt , Sinocentrism , Tianxia

Oct 06,2016 National Commentaries

ASEAN’s Divided Approach to China’s Rise

In a speech marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN-China dialogue relations earlier this month, Chinese premier Li Keqiang offered an unsurprisingly positive view of the relationship, praising both the “extraordinary path” the two sides had taken as well as the concrete measures they had agreed upon ranging from production capacity cooperation to […]

Prashanth Parameswaran

1Malaysia Development Berhad , ASEAN-China relations , Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank , One Belt One Road , South China Sea

Sep 22,2016 Alternative Scenarios

Negative Scenario II

China-Russia relations appear to have gained considerable momentum in recent years. A think tank report published this year, co-authored by Russian and Chinese experts, argues that, in the security sphere, “both states have closely approached the line that separates strategic partnership from military-political alliance,” though neither state wishes to cross this line.1 This summer’s events, […]

Brian G. Carlson

Eurasian Economic Union , One Belt One Road , Power of Siberia , Russia Far East , Shanghai Cooperation Organization , Siberia , THAAD , US hegemony

Sep 22,2016 Alternative Scenarios

Positive Scenario II

Below I respond to the negative scenario for Sino-Russian relations, as presented by Brian Carlson, and attempt to discern the most realistic outcome for how this relationship will evolve in the short-term. The main argument is that the Chinese adage of “hot politics, cold economics” will continue to apply to Sino-Russian partnership, as bilateral trade […]

Gregory Shtraks

Eurasian Economic Union , G20 , One Belt One Road , Russia Far East , Shanghai Cooperation Organization , Silk Road Economic Belt , South China Sea , US hegemony

Sep 22,2016 Review Article

Chinese Perspectives on Economic Diplomacy

With China’s growing economic (and political) clout, economic diplomacy has become an important tool in Chinese foreign policy. Beijing has provided extensive inducements in the form of aid and investment to many developing countries in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, including its much-vaunted One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative. At times, it has also […]

Audrye Wong

ASEAN , Asian Infrastructural Investment Bank , One Belt One Road , Shanghai Cooperation Organization , Silk Road Economic Belt , South China Sea

Apr 07,2016 Open Forum

Mongolia’s Place in China’s Periphery Diplomacy

Under President Xi Jinping, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has reprioritized the country’s peripheral relations within its larger foreign policy portfolio. This marks a break with foreign policy since Deng Xiaoping, which placed a decided premium on great power relations, particularly with the United States, to ensure China’s growth and security.1 While the Xi […]

Jeffrey Reeves

Comprehensive strategic partnership , One Belt One Road , peripheral diplomacy , Steppe Road Initiative