Feb 01,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (January 2017)

Three shocks left Japan’s media groping for answers at the end of 2016 and the start of 2017. The Trump shock kept playing out after the initial alarm and adjustment in November. This journal covered the first month’s response in detail, so this theme is not a focus here, even as the implications for Asia […]

Editorial Staff
abductions , Abe Shinzo , anti-globalization , ASEAN , Australia , comfort women , Crimea , Diaoyu islands , energy , GSOMIA
Dec 28,2016 Review Article

NBR’s Strategic Asia Volumes at the End of an Era

Ashley J. Tellis, Abraham M. Denmark, and Greg Chaffin, eds., Strategic Asia 2014-15, US Alliances and Partnerships at the Center of Global Power (Seattle & Washington, DC: The National Bureau of Asian Research, 2014); Ashley J. Tellis with Alison Szalwinski and Michael Wills, eds., Foundations of National Power in the Asia-Pacific (Seattle & Washington, DC: […]

Gilbert Rozman
ASEAN , Australia , burden-sharing , comfort women , Duterte , GSOMIA , India , Indo-Pacific , Indonesia , Maritime Silk Road
Dec 16,2016 Special Forum

Japanese Media on the Impact of Donald Trump’s Election on Japan and China

Japanese awakened to Donald Trump’s victory in disbelief, coining the label “Trump shock” to go with other “shocks” memorable in their history with the United States.1 A failure had occurred: of the US media, of the US role as the beacon of democracy, and of both a model of capitalism2 that was supposed to forestall […]

Gilbert Rozman
Abe Shinzo , Abenomics , ASEAN , Asia pivot , Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank , Balance of power , burden-sharing , containment , cross-Strait relations , Duterte
Dec 12,2016 National Commentaries

A View from Vietnam

President Duterte sparked a media frenzy on his recent visit to China when he declared that the Philippines would "separate" from the United States and align itself with two of America’s top rivals. At a moment when the United States is locked in a power contest with China, losing a critical ally like the Philippines […]

Vu Truong-Minh* , Ngo Di Lan
accommodation , ASEAN , Balance of power , Duterte , France , freedom of navigation , hedging , Hollande , India , Modi
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
Oct 15,2014 Open Forum

Can Indonesia Fulfill Its Aspirations to Regional Leadership?

There is much talk today about Indonesia’s rise and aspirations to regional leadership as a middle power. Supporters of this proposition often cite a raft of facts and statistics to validate this claim: Indonesia’s impressive economic growth rates in recent years (averaging 6 percent) relative to other Asian countries, its young population and vibrant democracy, […]

Liow Joseph Chinyong*
ASEAN Security Community , Bali Democracy Forum , Cambodia , Indo-Pacific Treaty , Indonesia , Malaysia , Philippines , regional leadership , Singapore , Thailand
Oct 15,2014 Open Forum

Malaysia-China Relations after MH370: Policy Change or Business as Usual?

Malaysia and China have seen one of the most cordial and productive relationships in the Asia-Pacific throughout the post-Cold War era, one with implications beyond their bilateral ties. Despite their rocky past during the Cold War due to ideological and political problems, bilateral relations have undergone a transformation since their rapprochement in 1974, evolving from […]

Kuik Cheng-Chwee*
ASEAN , flight MH370 , hedging , Malaysia , Philippines , PLA navy , South China Sea , threat perceptions , tourism , Trade
Oct 01,2014 Topics of the Month

Comparative Southeast Asian Military Modernization – 1

Southeast Asia’s military modernization over the last half decade has been impressive. Defense expenditures across the region have risen, on average, by nine percent each year since 2009, but the region’s countries have not been uniform in their approaches. The degree to which those countries with maritime interests have modernized their militaries appears to be […]

Felix K. Chang
Arms sales , code of conduct , defense expenditures , Indonesia , long-term commitment , Malaysia , maritime interests , Philippines , territorial ambitions , Vietnam