Nov 01,2016 Special Forum

Trilateralism and Realignment: Reassessing Three Triangles with South Korea

South Korea stands at the vortex of three geopolitical triangles and also in the shadow of the North Korean menace to regional stability. All of these trilateral configurations in the final months of 2016 are in the process of transformation and could evolve in unexpected ways. Foremost in most minds is the US-Japan-ROK alliance triangle, […]

Gilbert Rozman

5thnuclear test , comfort women , constitutional revisionism , Denuclearization , Eastern Economic Forum , Eurasia Economic Union , Eurasian Initiative , GSOMIA , Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative , Park Geun-hye

Oct 26,2016 Open Forum

Balancing China: Moving Beyond the Containment Fallacy

At a multinational defense forum with ASEAN nations’ defense ministers in late September, US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter repeated his call for like-minded nations to “catalyze the Asia-Pacific’s principled and inclusive security network” to ensure regional peace, prosperity, and stability. At the meeting, the defense ministers reaffirmed their shared commitment to strengthening cooperation in […]

Adam P. Liff

ASEAN , China threat theory , containment , deep engagement , Maritime Security Initiative , rebalance , RIMPAC , Shangri-La 2016 , South China Sea

Oct 18,2016 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (October 2016)

Russian articles in the late summer of 2016 found multiple reasons to take heart. The Sino-US relationship appeared more troubled, opening more space for Russia. Plans for transit between the Russian Far East and Northeast China are showcased as advancing. The Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok’s success, especially due to Abe Shinzo’s enthusiastic support for […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

ASEAN , BRICS , Eastern Economic Forum , EEU , G20 , SCO , Silk Road Economic Belt , South China Sea

Oct 18,2016 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (October 2016)

How did Abe’s meeting with Putin in Vladivostok contribute to a breakthrough in relations? How are growing tensions over the South China Sea (and divisiveness within ASEAN) and the North Korean nuclear threat impacting Japan? How are relations with South Korea seen now that payment to the “comfort women” fund has been authorized? In the […]

Editorial Staff

ASEAN , comfort women , G20 , rebalance , SCO , Sino-Russian rapprochement , South China Sea , THAAD

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

Oct 06,2016 National Commentaries

Can Australia Say “No”?

Growing trade and investment between their highly complementary economies ensures that Australia and China have a common interest in maintaining healthy bilateral relations. To be sure, Canberra and Beijing say “no” to one another every day of the week on consular matters of one kind or another. From time to time Canberra also vetoes Chinese […]

John Fitzgerald

China-Australia relations , Foreign donations , Foreign Investment , Political Institutions , South China Sea

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

Aug 29,2016 Special Forum

Chinese views of Japanese history

Sino-Japanese relations have been on a downswing in recent years, despite resumed meetings between the leaders Xi Jinping and Abe Shinzo since late 2014. Strategic and territorial differences over the East and South China Seas have exacerbated the sharp divisions over history that long plagued their relationship. While some may argue that geopolitics is the […]

Jin Linbo

East China Sea , militarism , Revisionism , South China Sea , Twenty-One Demands , WWII , Yasukuni

Aug 29,2016 Open Forum

A Chinese Take on India’s Eastward Strategy and Its Implications

India is rising, with growing economic power and expanding interests. India is not satisfied with being a dominant power in South Asia and the Indian Ocean. It is also looking toward other regions, east and west – the Middle East, Africa, East Asia, and Southeast Asia in particular. India’s eastward movement has some important implications […]

CHU Shulong

APEC , ASEAN , ASEAN + 6 , BRICS , East China Sea , One Belt, One Road , One Road" , RCEP , SCO , South China Sea