September 29,2014 National Commentaries

A Japanese Perspective

"Reassessing the Park-Xi Summit"   For understandable reasons, the Japanese paid rapt attention to the July 2014 Seoul summit between China and South Korea. Perhaps, the most compelling reason was to see what stance the two would take on issues concerning Japan, especially the territorial and historical consciousness questions. At the prior June 2013 Beijing […]

Kimura Kan*
China , collective self-defense , Japan , joint ceremony of remembrance , missile defense , National identity , National security , public opinion , South Korea , Southeast Asia
July 25,2014 National Commentaries

US Perspective

"Sino-Russian Relations"   The Ukraine Crisis and the Future of Sino-Russian Relations President Vladimir Putin has described the improvement of relations with Beijing as one of his major foreign policy accomplishments. While this rapprochement has had concrete economic and political benefits, Russia tended to view relations with China instrumentally, using China as a “card” to […]

Jeffrey Mankoff
Anti-Western sentiment , Arms sales , Central Asia , CICA , Eurasian Union , financial sanctions , gas pipeline , naval maneuvers , revisionist axis , SCO
July 25,2014 National Commentaries

French Perspective

"Sino-Russian Relations"   China-Russia Partnership: Perceptions in Beijing and Tokyo According to Beijing and Moscow, relations between China and Russia have never been better. One could argue, however, that the solidity and future of the “global strategic partnership” between Moscow and Beijing can be questioned. In spite of a series of common interests on the […]

Valerie Niquet
Balance of power , divergent threat perceptions , G2 , Putin’s visit to Japan , Russia’s double game , soft balancing , Southeast Asia , the EU
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 […]

David Shambaugh
China containment tour , effusive receptions , people-to-people ties , realigned force posture , strengthening alliances , TPP
February 07,2014 National Commentaries

The Six-Party Talks and the P5+1: History Repeating Itself?

"Prospects for a North Korean Nuclear Deal" Mark Twain once remarked that history doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme. As Iran consummates the P5+1 Nuclear Agreement, one can hear the history of the Six-Party Talks rhyming in the air—with disturbing overtones. In the “other Six-Party Talks” (the P5+1), Iran has echoed the successful North […]

David Asher
Illicit Activities Initiative , Iran , P5+ 1 , Science and Technology Agreement , Six-Party Talks , Syria , Worldwide Threat Assessment