June 13,2014 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (June 2014)

The most important event in Japanese foreign policy during this time period was the visit of Barack Obama to Tokyo in late April. Yomiuri shimbun showcased its success as it published a long interview with Obama on April 23 and trumpeted the success for Japanese foreign policy of Obama’s decision to declare unambiguously that the Security Treaty applies to the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands. It credit..

Editorial Staff
Japanese Abductees , Southeast Asia Abe-Obama summit , state branding , territorial issues , textbooks , TPP , triangles , US election
June 13,2014 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (May 2014)

With Russia’s attention having been primarily focused on the Ukrainian crisis in the past months, the coverage of Asia in Russian media and academic reports has been even sparser than usual. Not surprisingly, much of the writing on Asia is framed in the context of the Ukrainian crisis. Putin's recent visit to China and the gas deal between Gazprom and CNPC, however, have sparked some debate in R..

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)
debt forgiveness , Gas deal , sanctions regime , Turkmenistan , Ukraine , US-Japan alliance
June 13,2014 Open Forum

China’s Charm Offensive to Korea: A New Approach to Extend the Strategic Buffer

It is understood that peace and stability have been China’s major security interest on the Korean Peninsula for many centuries. Given its strategic location and its geographical proximity, the peninsula has been recognized by Chinese leaders as the core strategic area for protecting China’s vital security interests and maintaining regional stability. Traditionally China has identified Sino-Kor..

Han Sukhee*
Ahn Jung-geun , Charm offensive , competition for influence , hedging , Jan Song-Thaek , Kim Jong-un , periphery diplomacy , public opinion
May 23,2014 Topics of the Month

Multilateralism in Northeast Asia – 1

In Northeast Asia the search for multilateralism has taken an abrupt turn. In the 2000s the Six-Party Talks gave hope that North Korea would bring five other states together, tying security and economic multilateralism together and offering the default position of five plus one to keep pressure on the North and keep common interests in the forefront. In the 2010s, especially in 2014, the US allian..

Sergey Radchenko
Central Asia , civilizational debates , comrades , natural resource appendage , polarization , Sino-Soviet rapprochement , strategic allies , Ukraine
May 23,2014 Topics of the Month

India’s New Leadership and East Asia – 1

India’s election has produced a decisive majority for the political alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Incoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi promises to reinvigorate an economy whose annual growth rates have halved from near double-digit rates in recent years. He has pledged to tackle endemic corruption and create a slimmed-down, more effective state through what he calls “maxim..

Daniel Twining
Asian commons , economic vitality , elections , India , Modi , regional security order , Southeast Asia , strategic reengagement
May 23,2014 Special Forum

China’s Regionalism in Asia

President Obama’s “tour around China” and China’s response that “China is right here whether he (Obama) comes or not”1 reflect a delicate US-China estrangement. The China-Japan Diaoyu Island dispute is further complicated by Prime Minister Abe’s Yasukuni Shrine visit, fanning the flames of nationalism. Is geopolitics returning to Asia, or has it never gone away? Can Asian regionalism..

Zhang Xiaotong* , Li Xiaoyue*
community of common destiny , community of common interest , evolving attitudes toward regionalism , expanded FTAs , regionalism with Chinese characteristics , TPP
May 23,2014 National Commentaries

America Reengages Asia

In late April 2014, President Barack Obama paid his fifth official visit to Asia—a tour of four nations intended to reassure nervous allies of America’s commitment to them, to send signals to China that the United States was standing fast in its regional presence and commitments, and to provide tangible proof of Washington’s “pivot” (or “rebalancing”) policy towards the region. On al..

David Shambaugh
China containment tour , effusive receptions , people-to-people ties , realigned force posture , strengthening alliances , TPP