Jul 24,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (July 2018)

Zero-sum reasoning prevailed in Russian writings. The United States is the enemy, and it must be weakened, which authors take satisfaction is happening. A contradictory approach to Trump is apparent: he is fighting valiantly against vested US interests, but his actions are contributing to a rapid decline in US influence. Optimism for Russia centers on […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

AIIB , BRI , CVID , EEU , Khasan-Rajin railway , SCO , Trump-Kim summit

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

Jun 11,2018 Open Forum

An Exchange with Alexander Lukin on Russo-Chinese Relations: The New Rapprochement

Below is a dialogue consisting of questions asked by Gilbert Rozman after reading the new book and responses by Alexander Lukin clarifying the arguments of the book. First are some comments to set the stage, considering that Russian thinking about East Asia is important in the 2018 context of intense diplomacy over North Korea, rising […]

Gilbert Rozman , Alexander Lukin

BRI , democratism , EAEU , free and open Indo-Pacific , SCO , THAAD

May 30,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (May 2018)

In the spring of 2018, Russians reacted to the drama over North Korea as they questioned their country’s place in Northeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region. Two figures loomed large in their writings: Donald Trump, representing a US government whose motives could never be trusted; and Kim Jong-un, ready to cut a deal with diplomacy […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

BRI , BRICS , free and open Indo-Pacific , Quad , SCO , Xi-Kim summit , Xi-Modi summit

Dec 08,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (November 2017)

Russian publications through the first half of the fall of 2017 were largely optimistic, assuming the decline of the United States, the reliability of China as a partner, and a considerable Russian leverage in East Asia, including in North Korea. Yet, they recognized that the Eastern Economic Forum failed to attract Asian investors, the Greater […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

APEC , BRI , Eastern Economic Forum , Great Eurasian Partnership , SCO , turn to the East

Sep 29,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (September 2017)

The summer in Russia saw claims of optimism about Sino-Russian relations without much substance and amid some talk of having to move beyond megaprojects, which appear no longer promising. In the background were growing concerns about how well the EEU and China fit together or instead become a conduit for bypassing the customs agents in […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

BRICS , Eurasianism , G20 , Moscow-Kazan , Power of Siberia , SCO , Silk Road , SREB

Aug 21,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (July 2017)

The divide over Russia’s Asian policies came into the open and sharpened as hopes for Trump changing US policy have been dashed and Putin’s prominent role at the Belt and Road Initiative summit failed to yield tangible benefits. The mainstream view calls for staying the course, tweaking the label from “Turn to the East” to […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

Eurasian Economic Union , Greater Eurasia , OBOR , SCO , Silk Road Economic Belt , THAAD , turn to the East

Jun 02,2017 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (May 2017)

Coverage of Russia in East Asia concentrated on the Belt and Road Initiative forum in mid-May with some attention given to the Korean Peninsula, as a new president was elected in South Korea. The first theme focused on mounting disappointment with Sino-Russian relations, as their visions of regional architecture diverged. Moreover, Putin’s place of honor […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

ASEAN , BRI Forum , BRIC , EEU , OBOR , Russian Far East , SCO , SREB

Mar 27,2017 Open Forum

Recent Views in Japan Concerning Sino-Russian Relations

How Japanese officials, media, and academics interpret the state of the relationship between China and Russia matters for Japan’s diplomacy with both countries and its foreign policy more generally, including with the United States. If they see a strong bond verging on an alliance with little chance of weakening, then Tokyo must accept that it […]

Yoko Hirose

8-point economic cooperation plan , Abe Shinzo , Arms sales , Balance of power , BRICS , energy , G7 , India , Kuril Islands , media