Oct 05,2020 Open Forum

Weighed in the Balance: Abe’s Legacy of Searching for Supplementary Security Partners

The lives of Japanese diplomats and security planners were simpler in the old days. During the Cold War, Tokyo’s priority was to monitor the activities of Soviet aircraft and naval vessels in the vicinity of Japan, and to prepare to resist a hypothetical invasion from the north. Matters were made easier by the fact that, […]

James D.J. Brown

Abe Shinzo , Cold War , CPTPP , free and open Indo-Pacific , Quad , Self Defense Forces , Suga Yoshihide , US-China rivalry

Jul 29,2019 Open Forum

Washington Insights, Vol. 7, No. 4

Donald Trump keeps seizing the initiative, overshadowing Abe Shinzo at the G20 meetings, changing the narrative at will in diplomacy with Xi Jinping and Kim Jong-un, and, on every occasion, relegating human rights and democratization to the sidelines. Just as he sets the agenda on the world stage, he drives the discussion at DC think […]

Editorial Staff

“small deal” , 5G , G20 , Huawei , KORUS FTA , Quad , THAAD , US-China trade war

Apr 18,2019 Open Forum

Trump and Asia: Continuity, Change, and Disruption

The election of Donald J. Trump as president of the United States in 2016 sparked intense anxiety about the future of American leadership in Asia and the world. The new president’s attacks on alliances, trade, and global institutions; his praise of erstwhile adversaries such as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un; his adoption of the pre-war […]

Michael J. Green

"Belt and Road" Initiative , America First , Five Eyes , free and open Indo-Pacific , Quad , THAAD , TPP

Feb 11,2019 Open Forum

The Struggle to Maintain Momentum in the Australia-India Partnership

In late November 2014, in the flurry of foreign visits that marked his early months in power, Narendra Modi became the first Indian prime minister in almost thirty years to make an official trip to Australia, and only the third in history.1 Over four days, he attended the G20 summit in Brisbane, addressed a joint […]

Ian Hall

Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement , EAS , G20 , Malabar exercises , Quad , RCEP

Sep 27,2018 Open Forum

Washington Insights Vol. 6, No. 5

The start of the fall brought further confirmation that Trump is driving the agenda, whether by launching trade wars, disheartening allies, or refusing to attend the annual summit in East Asia. DC presentations and discussions proceeded against this unprecedented turmoil. At times, the Trump effect stayed well in the background as currents in the region […]

Editorial Staff

BRI , Eastern Economic Forum , JSOMIA , New Northern Policy , Quad , SCO , Silk Road

Aug 31,2018 Special Forum

US-China Rivalry and the Future of the Korean Peninsula

The ongoing “trade war” between the United States and China is not just a trade dispute in light of the two sides’ intensifying rivalry in the area of strategic technologies. The rivalry has deepened as China has stepped up efforts to overtake western countries in advanced technologies, especially for semiconductors (the silicon brains required to […]

Kim Sung-han*

alliance transition , CVID , Panmunjom Declaration , Quad , THAAD , US-ROK alliance , value alliance

Aug 28,2018 Open Forum

Washington Insights, Vol. 6, No. 4

The pace of change amid the perplexity of the Trump administration is proving overwhelming to many in DC, as elsewhere. Alarm about how badly it is handling North Korea—widening the divide in how to deal with that country—and the shock of an ominously looming trade war with China are but two of the pressing issues […]

Editorial Staff

BRI , Eurasian Economic Community , free and open Indo-Pacific , Greater Eurasia , Quad

Aug 21,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: China (April 2018)

China’s foreign relations are under extraordinary flux. Sino-US relations are viewed as more perilous than at any time since 1989 with some even going further back to 1979 or 1972. The often-troubled Sino-Japanese relationship has suddenly appeared to stabilize, as long-sought summits by Japan are presumed to be on track. The Sino-North Korean relationship abruptly […]

Gilbert Rozman

Act East Policy , BRI , Indo-Pacific strategy , inter-Korean summit , Quad , South China Sea , THAAD

Jul 02,2018 National Commentaries

An Indian Perspective

India-China relations have undergone surprising twists and turns in the past few years. Seemingly, complicated deadlocks and dramatic reconciliation efforts mark the relationship between the two Asian giants. This trend has only grown since Narendra Modi assumed the office of the prime minister of India in 2014, and President Xi Jinping acquired the status of […]

Rahul Mishra

"Neighborhood First" , BRI , BRICS , Doklam , Quad , SCO , Shangri-La Dialogue

Jul 02,2018 National Commentaries

Opening a Strategic Pandora’s Jar? US-China Uncertainties and the Three Wandering Genies in Southeast Asia

Uncertainty is nothing new in US-China relations. Indeed, it is a constant feature of all big power relationships. However, recent US-China interactions under Donald Trump and Xi Jinping have heightened uncertainties at multiple fronts, with an intensity that increasingly pushes the US allies and partners around Asia—including those in Southeast Asia—to reassess their fundamental outlooks […]

Kuik Cheng-Chwee*

BRI , Doklam , free and open Indo-Pacific , G7 , Quad , RIMPAC , SCO