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 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
Aug 29,2016 Special Forum

Introduction to the Special Forum

Not long ago, there was talk of the “end of history,” as if the post-Cold War era gave the nations of the world—especially dynamic East Asia—a compelling opportunity to put aside troubled historical memories. Instead, history in the past quarter century has continued to divert progress toward forging a future-oriented regional community. Many looked to […]

Editorial Staff
Cold War , imperialism , militarism , Sinocentrism , Territorial Disputes , WWII
Aug 13,2015 Alternative Scenarios

Positive Scenario I: Five Reasons for a Positive Outcome

Unlike the old days when there was a Soviet Union and China and Japan were quasi-strategic allies, today the situation is different. As the world changes, the “good days” of the Sino-Japanese relationship are probably over. However, after a serious crisis over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands in 2012-2013, which sank the China-Japan relationship to the lowest […]

Ren Xiao*
collective self-defense , Economic Relations , Regionalism , Territorial Disputes , Yachi Shotaro
Feb 05,2015 Special Forum

The Foreign Policy of Abe Shinzo: Strategic Vision and Policy Implementation

On January 5, 2015, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo reaffirmed that his government will continue to pursue a “proactive contribution to international peace” in his first press conference of the new year. When asked about the statement he is anticipated to issue at the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in relation to […]

James Przystup , Tatsumi Yuki*
ASEAN , collective self-defense , Futenma base , India , Japan-US alliance , ODA , Territorial Disputes
Oct 17,2014 Special Forum

Sino-Japanese Competition and Its Multilateral Implications

While eyes are fixed on the Sino-US competition in East Asia, there is also a competition for influence between China and Japan. In the decade of the 2000s, this centered mostly on Northeast Asia (over the terminus of an oil pipeline across Russia, South Korea’s role in the +3 meetings of ASEAN+3, etc.), and this […]

Editorial Staff
demonization , India , multilateralism , Southeast Asia , Territorial Disputes , triangular relations , Vietnam
Sep 02,2014 Review Article

Japanese Publications on Japan-Russia Relations

Kaigai jijo, special Issue on turbulence in the sphere of the old Soviet Union, June 2014 Togo Kazuhiko, Hoppo ryodo kosho hiroku: ushinawareta gotabi no kikai [The Inside Story of the Negotiations on the Northern Territory: Five Lost Windows of Opportunity] (Tokyo: Shinchosha, 2007; rev. expanded paper edit. 2011). Kimura Hiroshi and Hakamada Shigeki, eds., […]

Gilbert Rozman
China , Japan , Mini-Soviet Union , National identity , National security , Putin’s visit to Japan , Russia , sanctions , Sphere of influence , Territorial Disputes
Jul 19,2013 Special Forum

China and the United States Might Not Be Heading for a “New Cold War”

A broad range of issues is plaguing Sino-US relations in 2013. Strategic prospects might now be grimmer than at any time since the normalization of bilateral relations in 1979. The cybercrime charge from the White House about China’s military intelligence unit espionage aimed at commercial secrets is a burning issue.1 Edward Snowden’s revelations are prompting […]

Zhu Feng*
Military Modernization , New Cold War , Rebalancing , South China Sea , Territorial Disputes