February 16,2015 Open Forum

Beyond Geopolitics: South Korea’s Eurasia Initiative as a New Nordpolitik

Beyond Geopolitics: South Korea’s Eurasia Initiative as a New Nordpolitik 1 On October 18, 2013, at an international conference on Eurasian cooperation in Seoul, Park Geun-hye proposed the “Eurasia Initiative.” Under the watchwords of “one continent, creative continent, and peaceful continent,” the initiative projects a unified system of transport, energy, and trade networks across ..

Kim Taehwan*
Eurasia Initiative , NAPCI , National security , Nordpolitik , pivot state , Regionalism , trust-building
February 10,2015 Open Forum

Synopsis of Five-University Collaboration, Dec. 2014

Agenda: Five University Collaboration on East Asia Security Conflict & Cooperation File Download In mid-December, faculty and graduate students at five universities in five countries met again to exchange views on the state of security in East Asia. Prior conferences had produced thoughtful, constructive exchanges, but no reports were circulated on what they covered and how they served to st..

Editorial Staff
Obama-Xi Summit , Six-Party Talks , TPP , Trustpolitik
February 10,2015 National Commentaries

A US Perspective

"India-US relations:Developments from the Fall and Winter of 2014 to the 2015 Modi-Obama Summit"   A Successful Summit Revives US-India Strategic Partnership   In the late 1990s, after decades of geopolitical alienation during and the Cold War, President Bill Clinton called America and India “natural allies.” In the 2000s, the George W. Bush administration had b..

Daniel Twining
Balancing China , Economic Relations , Indo-US relations , Republic Day parade
February 10,2015 National Commentaries

A Japanese Perspective

"The India-Japan Special Global Partnership and the United States"   On the Republic Day of India, January 26, 2015, the Embassy of India in Tokyo hosted a national day reception at Hotel Okura Tokyo. Hundreds of people paid their respects to the ambassador and expressed friendship toward India. A similarly large crowd gathered at the same event last year, which coincided with P..

Takenaka Chiharu*
Abenomics , Make in India , Modinomics , Republic Day parade
February 10,2015 National Commentaries

An Indian Perspective

"India-US relations:Developments from the Fall and Winter of 2014 to the 2015 Modi-Obama Summit"   Between Symbolism and Substance: An Assessment of Obama’s India Visit   Taking a step forward from his September 2014 state visit to the United States, Prime Minister Modi invited President Obama to visit India as the Guest of Honour at the 66th Republic Day celebrations. ..

Rahul Mishra
2+2 Ministerial , BIT , civil nuclear deal , climate change , CliND , defense cooperation , qualitative reinvigoration , Totalization Agreement
February 05,2015 Special Forum

Abe Unleashed? Hardly

Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and his LDP chalked up a third consecutive election victory and extended their hold on the Diet for two more years with a convincing win in the snap Lower House election held in late December. While the victory consolidates the LDP’s grip on power and confirms that Abe is the real leader of the party—for now—, it is hard to call the results a mandate for hi..

Brad Glosserman
Abenomics , collective self-defense , Japan-US alliance , nuclear policy , Shinzo Abe , Territorial Disputes
February 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 his government’s view on Japan’s past history, Abe confirmed that it w..

James Przystup , Tatsumi Yuki*
ASEAN , collective self-defense , Futenma base , India , Japan-US alliance , ODA , Territorial Disputes
February 05,2015 Special Forum

US-Japan Relations under Abe Shinzo

When Abe Shinzo became prime minister for a second time, the reaction in Washington was decidedly mixed. In both the Obama administration and the policy/intellectual community of Japan-watchers, two sets of expectations and two sets of concerns quickly emerged. The first expectation was that Abe would focus on reviving the Japanese economy, as he had promised after assuming the LDP presidency on S..

Glen S. Fukushima
Abenomics , Futenma base , Japan-US alliance , rebalance , Shinzo Abe , TPP , Yasukuni Shrine
January 16,2015 Topics of the Month

Comparative Southeast Asian Military Modernization – III

Maritime Balance in the South China Sea: Submarines in Southeast Asia In recent years, Southeast Asian countries have pursued the acquisition of submarines with increasing vigor. Currently, four countries in the region operate them: Indonesia (with two Type 209 submarines), Malaysia (with two Scorpène-class submarines), Singapore (with two Archer-class and four Challenger-class submarines),1 a..

Felix K. Chang
defense community , military cooperation