December 23,2015 Special Forum

Introduction to the Special Forum

A lot has happened in Sino-Russian relations in 2014-2015, but some observers still are pondering whether this is a serious, alliance-like relationship with far-reaching impact on the Asia-Pacific region or something more ephemeral, subject to clashing regional interests that could turn the two against each other. Just two years ago a Special Forum assessed Sino-Russian relations in triangular co..

Editorial Staff
National security , North Korea , Regionalism , SCO
December 23,2015 Special Forum

Mongolia Hangs in the Balance: Political Choices and Economic Realities

Year 2015 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of Mongolia’s democratic revolution. Ever since it escaped the protective embrace of its northern neighbor, Mongolia maintained an astute foreign policy, pursuing positive dialogues with China and Russia and also reaching out to its so-called collective “third neighbor,” usually understood to be Western countries plus Japan. The election of ost..

Sergey Radchenko
Economic Relations , Good Neighbor policy , Khalkin Gol Battle of 1939 , Neutrality , Regionalism , third neighbor policy
December 23,2015 Special Forum

Russia, China, and Central Asia: Time for Decision

When the Soviet Union disintegrated, one might have expected Central Asia to become a natural region of rivalry between Moscow, which could no longer exercise formal political control over the region, and Beijing, whose rising power was no longer contained by a sealed Soviet border reinforced by powerful armed forces. But China and Russia have thus far cooperated considerably more than they have ..

Richard Weitz
Arab Spring , EEU , Regionalism , Silk Road Economic Belt , Uighur militancy
December 18,2015 Alternative Scenarios

Negative Scenario for Modi’s India “Acts East” Take Two: What Should It Be?

Without getting into a quibble with Mr. Twinning’s analysis, parts of which I respectfully disagree with, allow me to use this opportunity to rather take a long view from New Delhi about what India’s foreign policy should be over the next decade. What are the levers that can enable and constraints that can hobble government from embracing these imperatives so that India’s larger strategic o..

Manish Tewari
Indian exceptionalism , Indo-Japan relations , National security , Neighborhood diplomacy , Regionalism
December 18,2015 Country Reports

Country Report: China (December 2015)

No indications were found in Chinese publications of realist thinking about how to resolve security challenges such as the threatening North Korean military build-up or the increasingly confrontational atmosphere in the South China Sea. Explanations were missing for why China has resumed high-level meetings with Japan despite its continued demonization of that country and its leader. The US disa..

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Dong Jiaxin*)
Asian values , CJK summit , East Asian Community , Economic Relations , One Belt, One Road , One Road" , Regionalism
December 18,2015 National Commentaries

The Malaysian POV: The Elephant in the Room – Is the Emerging Third Pillar Reshaping Asian Architecture and Regional Responses?

"The November Summits in Retrospect"   There was an elephant in the room at the recently concluded Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Manila as well as at the East Asia Summit (EAS) and other ASEAN-based meetings in Kuala Lumpur last month: the quiet, potential sway of China-centered initiatives and arrangements on the future of Asian architecture, amid the incre..

Kuik Cheng-Chwee*
"Belt and Road" Initiative , China hub , Common Destiny , Regionalism
December 18,2015 National Commentaries

The United States POV: Southeast Asian Reactions to the Firmer US Posture in the South China Sea

"The November Summits in Retrospect" Summitry is often seen as a way for national leaders to directly hash out disagreements and reach some accommodation. That was not the case at this year’s East Asia Summit (EAS), where leaders seemed more interested in underlining their differences than reconciling them. Not surprisingly, the South China Sea dispute was the summit’s most cont..

Felix K. Chang
National security , Regionalism , South China Sea Initiative
December 18,2015 National Commentaries

The Japanese POV: Japan-US-Australian Trilateralism

"The November Summits in Retrospect" The “quasi-alliance” (jundomei) is an increasingly fashionable term of the Japanese government as well as the wider policy community in Tokyo to describe its rapidly growing security relationship with Canberra.1 Although the precise meaning of the term is yet to be defined (and the government certainly does not have in mind the meaning for thi..

Yusuke Ishihara
Capacity-building assistance , China gap , National security , Naval cooperation , Quasi-alliance , Regionalism , Rules-based order
December 07,2015 Open Forum

South Korea’s Middle Power Multilateral Diplomacy:1 Optimistic and Pessimistic Views

Throughout the second half of 2015, President Park Geun-hye has engaged in active summit diplomacy and tried to play the role of reconciler-in-chief. For instance, she took credit that her attendance at the September 3 military parade in Beijing brought the dividend Tokyo had sought through resumption of the China-Japan-Korea (CJK) summit. She also obtained the approval of Washington following t..

Lee Shin-wha*
MIKTA , NAPCI , National security , Regionalism , Trustpolitik
December 02,2015 Alternative Scenarios

Negative Scenario for Modi’s India “Acts East”

In the past eighteen months, the prime minister of India has travelled abroad thirty times roughly translating into two overseas visits a month. In the next two months another seven trips are on the agenda. Are there any substantive upsides for India of these outings? In this assessment, I raise concerns about the value of this diplomacy, beginning with ties to South Asia, turning next to Afgha..

Manish Tewari
China , India , Pakistan , Regionalism