September 27,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (September 2018)

The second half of the summer saw the build-up to the third summit of Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un as well as more wide-ranging diplomacy in North-South relations in the background. One occasion was the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) foreign ministers’ meeting in Singapore. Another was the closely-watched presidential speech on August 15. Finally, as the summer was ending Moon traveled to Py..

Kim Kimberly
ASEAN Regional Forum , inter-Korean summit , Kaesong Industrial Complex , Mount Geumgang , Panmunjom Declaration , Pyongyang Declaration
August 31,2018 Special Forum

US-China Rivalry and the Future of the Korean Peninsula

The ongoing “trade war” between the United States and China is not just a trade dispute in light of the two sides’ intensifying rivalry in the area of strategic technologies. The rivalry has deepened as China has stepped up efforts to overtake western countries in advanced technologies, especially for semiconductors (the silicon brains required to run smartphones), connect..

Kim Sung-han*
alliance transition , CVID , Panmunjom Declaration , Quad , THAAD , US-ROK alliance , value alliance
August 29,2018 Alternative Scenarios

Diplomacy II

Reviewing the most recent developments in security and military cooperation as well as diplomacy over the Korean Peninsula and the rise of China, this second view of the prospects for Sino-Japanese relations finds hope in what has been transpiring. The year 2018 shows signs of being a turning point in the relationship, leading to a win-win outcome for the region. Japan-China Security Coope..

Tanaka Hitoshi*
HA/DR , Japan-China Maritime and Aerial Communication Mechanism , Singapore Summit , US-Japan alliance
August 29,2018 Alternative Scenarios

Diplomacy I

Future Prospects for Japan-China Cooperation This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Japan-China Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Over these four decades, Japan-China relations have gone through a number of ups and downs as history and territorial issues have at times hindered political relations while economic interdependence has deepened. Recently, Japan-China relations appear to be on ..

Tanaka Hitoshi*
East China Sea , Japan-China-South Korea trilateral summit , Senkaku Islands , TPP-11 , US-DPRK summit , US-Japan alliance
August 28,2018 Open Forum

Washington Insights, Vol. 6, No. 4

The pace of change amid the perplexity of the Trump administration is proving overwhelming to many in DC, as elsewhere. Alarm about how badly it is handling North Korea—widening the divide in how to deal with that country—and the shock of an ominously looming trade war with China are but two of the pressing issues in daily news coverage. Yet, stepping back from this frenzy leaves some con..

Editorial Staff
BRI , Eurasian Economic Community , free and open Indo-Pacific , Greater Eurasia , Quad
August 23,2018 National Commentaries

Can Vietnam’s Doi Moi Reforms Be an Inspiration for North Korea?

North Korea’s future remains one of the biggest questions of current world politics. Not only because of the complexities related to denuclearization, but also, and potentially even more challenging, because of unprecedented questions on how to integrate a long-term rogue regime into the international system. This includes normalization of its economy and politics. The “Vietnam mo..

Huong Le Thu
APAC , ASEAN , Doi Moi , Vietnamese Communist Party , Workers’ Party of Korea
August 21,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: China (April 2018)

China’s foreign relations are under extraordinary flux. Sino-US relations are viewed as more perilous than at any time since 1989 with some even going further back to 1979 or 1972. The often-troubled Sino-Japanese relationship has suddenly appeared to stabilize, as long-sought summits by Japan are presumed to be on track. The Sino-North Korean relationship abruptly normalized, leading t..

Gilbert Rozman
Act East Policy , BRI , Indo-Pacific strategy , inter-Korean summit , Quad , South China Sea , THAAD
August 08,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: South Korea (July 2018)

From May to July 2018, South Korean news editorials continued to focus on bilateral dynamics among the two Koreas, the United States, and China. On inter-Korean relations, analysts assessed the second inter-Korean summit, which followed the North’s unilateral suspension of high-level talks and momentary refusal to allow South Korean journalists at the dismantling of the Punggye-ri nuc..

Eun A Jo
CVID , Kaesong Industrial Complex , KMEP , Panmunjom Declaration , Singapore Declaration , Trump-Kim summit , Xi-Kim summit
August 07,2018 Open Forum

Unwilling Bystander: Japan Befuddled Strategically in 2018

Compared to “shocks” in 1971-72 and 1987-89, when US policy shifted abruptly toward first China and then the Soviet Union, the shock of 2018 from the US shift toward North Korea is proving even more unsettling. It is seen as leaving Japan at greater risk, more seriously putting the alliance in jeopardy, and raising more profound alarm about the geopolitical logic behind the move. ..

Gilbert Rozman
CJK summit , CVID , maximum pressure , Moon-Kim summit , Trump-Kim summit , US-ROK military exercises
August 07,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (August 2018)

As Donald Trump wreaked havoc in international relations, confusing friend with foe, Japan was not at all immune. Unlike European allies, it was left essentially to fend for itself—with no clear partner. Japanese media registered concern, then alarm, and finally a degree of resignation. The late spring and early summer of 2018—when Trump left Abe and others aghast at the G7, made extravag..

Editorial Staff
BRI , CJK summit , comfort women , Senkaku Islands , TPP-11 , trade war , Trump-Kim summit