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

Apr 24,2018 Special Forum

South Korea

Despite the announcement on October 31, 2017 to improve South Korea-Chinese bilateral relations,1 and the summit between presidents Moon Jae-in and Xi Jinping in December 2017, South Korea is still under China’s economic and trade retaliation over the THAAD issue. China has not been shy about using its economic tools to coerce South Korea in […]

Choi Kang*

BRI , Confucius Institutes , Qi Guohong , Sharp power , THAAD

Feb 27,2018 Special Forum

Introduction

As the diplomatic prospects for resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis took center stage while the military focus remained fixed on North Korea’s persistent advances and the “fire and fury” that President Trump threatened to unleash, it remained important in the first months of 2018 to keep the eyes of the international community on South […]

Editorial Staff

comfort women , KORUS FTA , Pyeongchang Olympics , THAAD , US-ROK alliance

Feb 27,2018 Special Forum

South Korean Public Opinion

The year 2017 brought unusual dynamism all around the world and particularly related to the Korean Peninsula. In the United States, an unprecedented type of president was inaugurated with scant appreciation of alliances and apparent lack of knowledge of the relations between the United States and South Korea, bringing an unfamiliar and wary air to […]

Kim Jiyoon*

Cheonan , KORUS FTA , Pyeongchang Olympics , THAAD , US-ROK alliance

Feb 27,2018 Special Forum

US-ROK Alliance

North Korea’s Olympic outreach brought an easing of tensions between North and South Korea after a year of escalating tensions throughout 2017. After delivering a somewhat conciliatory New Year’s address, Kim Jong-un sent a substantial delegation to the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, led by the North’s titular head, Kim Yong-nam, accompanied by Kim Yo-jung, Kim […]

Sue Mi Terry

comfort women , Kim Yo-jung , KORUS FTA , OPCON , Pyeongchang Olympics , THAAD , trilateralism , Victor Cha

Feb 20,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: China (February 2018)

In late 2017 to early 2018, Chinese analysts explored Modi’s Indian Ocean policy and evaluated the construction of the Indo-Pacific as a region and its implications for quadrilateral security cooperation between the United States, Japan, India, and Australia. They also analyzed the security dilemma on the Korean Peninsula and China’s security relations with the states […]

Danielle F. S. Cohen (assisted by Dong Jiaxin)

"common security" , free and open Indo-Pacific strategy , proactive pacifism , Project Mausam , Quadrilateral Security Dialogue , THAAD

Feb 05,2018 Open Forum

Washington Insights

The mood in DC approached alarmism at the beginning of 2018. Following the Olympic Games in South Korea, not only was it assumed that North Korea would revert to provocative behavior, but Moon Jae-in was not trusted to apply more pressure, trying to sustain the rosy atmosphere that took shape in January. The Trump administration’s […]

Editorial Staff

BRI , free and open Indo-Pacific , North-South talks , Pyeongchang Olympics , Quad , THAAD

Feb 02,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (January 2018)

From November 2017 to January 2018, South Korean news editorials discussed North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, Hwaseong-15, and covered bilateral dynamics: South Korea-China relations following the Moon-Xi summit; US-North Korea relations following Tillerson’s proposal for unconditional talks; US-South Korea relations following the release of Trump’s national security strategy and the suspension of […]

Eun A Jo

comfort women , freeze-for-freeze , Hwaseong 15 , Moon-Xi summit , Pyeongchang Olympics , THAAD

Jan 29,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (January 2018)

The late fall and early winter was a quiet period for Russian diplomacy in Asia and analysis after the busier period from September to mid-November. Optimism about Sino-Russian relations was less pronounced than in recent years, but it is still present, while pessimism failed to gain much momentum. The 2016 interest in Japan faded without […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

BRI , EEF , Russian Far East , Silk Road , THAAD , Trans-Siberian Railways

Jan 04,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (December 2017)

In late 2017, a succession of galvanizing themes dominated media coverage in Japan. At the beginning of November and again in mid-December, the media focused on Moon Jae-in’s turn toward China. Through much of November, it was Donald Trump’s travels to five countries in Asia, beginning with Japan. By early December, the focus had turned […]

Editorial Staff

North Korea , Russiagate , THAAD , TPP , Trump-Xi Summit , US-Japan FTA , US-ROK alliance