September 15,2017 Alternative Scenarios

Negative Scenario I

The strategic partnership of Russia and China (as people like to call this relationship, eschewing the word “alliance”) is one of the key factors shaping all of world politics. However, this partnership is still quite fleeting and weakly grounded, inasmuch as it is based on the personal relationship of the two countries’ leaders and their similar views on US global hegemony,..

Ivan Zuenko
"Belt and Road" Initiative , Russian Far East , strategic partnership , Trans-pamir alliance
September 05,2017 National Commentaries

A US Perspective

Polarization is a state of international relations familiar from the Cold War era. Even through there was an early non-aligned movement and some states insisted on their strategic autonomy, the process of polarization continued. China spent almost a decade denouncing both camps before it reversed its position and joined one of them. Is polarization reviving some three decades after the end of..

Gilbert Rozman
ARF , Donald Trump , THAAD , TPP
September 05,2017 National Commentaries

A Japanese Perspective

With no end in sight for North Korea to back down from its hardline military stance, and continued worries about Chinese aggression in the region, there is no shortage of concerns that countries across the Asia-Pacific share. The challenge, however, is not identifying the common threats facing the world’s most populous region, or even coming up with potential solutions that could ensure..

Shihoko Goto
Abe Shinzo , AIIB , Pax Americana , TPP
September 05,2017 National Commentaries

A Southeast Asian Perspective

The annual ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM) and the related ASEAN-plus meetings—a series of ASEAN-led forums involving foreign ministers from 27 nations across the Indo-Pacific—were held from August 2-8, 2017 in Manila, the capital of Philippines which holds the rotating chairmanship of the 10-member grouping. This year’s meetings marked the grouping’s 50th anniversary. They ar..

Kuik Cheng-Chwee*
ARF , ASEAN Way , BRI , concentric multilateralism , EAS , hedging , Nine-dash line , North Natuna Sea , South China Sea