November 04,2017 Special Forum

China and the “Definition Gap”: Shaping Global Governance in Words

Increasingly, China’s diplomacy is using key words commonly used by liberal democracies, but the meaning differs greatly. This evolution is changing the terms of the debate without changing a single term. The Widening “Definition Gap” China has very actively participated in high-level multilateral gatherings in recent years. Since he became president of the People’s ..

Alice Ekman
19th Party Congress , BRI , community of common destiny , UN Security Council
November 03,2017 Special Forum

Winning Projects and Hearts? Three Cases of Chinese Mega-Infrastructure Projects in Southeast Asia

Under President Xi Jinping, Southeast Asia occupies a special place in China’s foreign policy. Politically, the consolidation of good relations with countries there is an essential component of China’s periphery diplomacy. Within the framework of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Southeast Asia sits at the juncture of the Silk Road Economic Belt (mainland Sou..

Yun Sun
21st Century Maritime Silk Road , I , Kyaukpyu , Silk Road Economic Belt , Sino-Laos Railway , Sino-Thai Railway
October 23,2017 Open Forum

The Eastern Economic Forum September 2017: What to Make of It?

For the third straight year in early September Vladimir Putin traveled to Vladivostok for an international forum with ambitious aspirations. Three objectives stood in the forefront: 1) to spur development of the Russian Far East, thereby solidifying the continued sovereignty by Russia over this distant and sparsely settled frontier; 2) to “integrate” Russia into the Asia-Pacific r..

Gilbert Rozman
Keywords: economic development , security policy
September 11,2017 Open Forum

Keeping Northeast Asia “Abnormal”: Origins of the Liberal International Order in Northeast Asia and the New Cold War

Northeast Asia is at a crossroads. One road leads to continued economic growth, regional integration, and globalization, while the other leads to trade-wars, territorial disputes, and an arms race undergirded by resurgent nationalism. If history and geopolitics are our guide, the latter road will be taken. The region is riven by historical animosities, ideological tensions, and territorial di..

Hahm Chaibong*
abnormal states , Cold War , Peace Constitution , Thucydides trap , Yoshida Doctrine
July 03,2017 Open Forum

Japan’s Feelings of Marginalization in Spring 2017 and the US Factor

At this time of extraordinary flux, for some, Japan looms as an embodiment of stability and sound realist judgment. For others, it remains mired in the post-Cold War trap: stagnation without serious reform, revisionist obsessions without moves toward genuine reconciliation, and insularity without timely internationalization. In this article, I avoid these extremes to concentrate on the short-..

Gilbert Rozman
Abe-Trump summit , BRI , Moon-Trump summit , TPP , Trump-Xi Summit , US-Japan alliance
July 03,2017 Open Forum

Washington Insights (Vol. 5, No. 3)

In May and June, challenges mounted for observers of foreign relations in the Asia-Pacific region. Donald Trump kept throwing US policy into question. Clashing views of the Belt and Road forum left some anticipating Chinese leadership in regionalism and globalism, while others saw the forum as making little concrete progress. If the options for Japan and Russia appeared to narrow, each remain..

Editorial Staff
BRI , Donald Trump , G2 , TPP , US-Japan alliance , US-ROK alliance
June 29,2017 Special Forum

Introduction

Amid increasing uncertainties in Sino-US relations and Japan-South Korea relations, the late spring of 2017 prioritized US-ROK relations. After Moon Jae-in was elected as president, Seoul-watchers followed closely his policy and personnel decisions. In particular, they focused on their implications for US-ROK relations, as Moon awaits his first summit with Donald Trump, whose policies toward ..

Editorial Staff
comfort women , Donald Trump , FTA , Moon Jae-in , Moon-Trump summit , Sunshine Policy , THAAD , Xi Jinping
June 29,2017 Special Forum

Moon Jae-in’s Foreign Policy & Roh Moo-hyun’s Shadow

40 days into his presidency, Moon Jae-in appointed the nation’s first female foreign minister. However, fine-tuning for policy coherence and clarity on some key foreign policy items among his advisors has yet to happen. The main discord is not about national interests, but more ideological and philosophical, regarding South Korea’s position in the ROK-US alliance matrix and also th..

Lee Seong-hyon
FTA , Moon Jae-in , OPCON , Sunshine Policy , THAAD
June 29,2017 Special Forum

The ROK-US Summit: Divide in the South Korean Media

As the summit between newly elected Moon Jae-in and Donald Trump draws closer, South Korean newspapers are sharply divided over Moon’s policy posture, its potential impact on relations with the United States and China, as well as the prospects of revising Seoul’s approach to North Korea, which may be at odds with the US approach. Moon spoke on June 15 in honor of the 17th annivers..

Editorial Staff
America First , Donald Trump , Moon Jae-in , Otto Warmbier , Sunshine Policy , THAAD
June 29,2017 Special Forum

Moon Jae-in’s “Two-track” Japan Policy: Prospects for Success

President Moon Jae-in and his new government, launched immediately after the election results on May 9, 2017, is taking a “two-track” strategy towards Japan. For example, Moon Hee-sang, deputy chair of the National Assembly and former chair of the Japan-South Korea Dietmen’s League, who headed the special envoy team to Japan, mentioned on his way back home that the “co..

Lee Myon-woo
comfort women , GSOMIA , Moon Jae-in , Revisionism , THAAD , Two-track policy