Dec 30,2020 Special Forum

Introduction

This partial draft of the introduction will be expanded when the third article, which ranges more broadly across the Indo-Pacific region including the Southern Tier, has been elaborated. There is every expectation that Joe Biden will replace Donald Trump’s diplomacy, with stress on multilateralism. In Europe, this clearly means a reemphasis on NATO. In the […]

Editorial Staff

free and open Indo-Pacific , the Quad , US-China rivalry , US-DPRK diplomacy , values diplomacy

Dec 30,2020 Special Forum

Challenges to Biden’s pursuit of trilateralism

Trilateralism is the term used for US-Japan-ROK close strategic cooperation and understanding. For Tokyo and Seoul, trilateralism requires a fundamental reconceptualization of both national interests and national identities in the region closest to home—Northeast Asia. For Tokyo, the narrative toward this region has been driven by three symbols of identity: 1) slighting the 1990s Kono […]

Gilbert Rozman

ASEAN centrality , free and open Indo-Pacific , THAAD , the Quad , trilateralism , US-China rivalry , Wolf Warrior Diplomacy

Dec 30,2020 Special Forum

America’s Indo-Pacific challenge

Competing with China is the foremost external policy challenge for the incoming US Administration of President-elect Joe Biden. More precisely, the problem is how to manage China’s power and assertiveness in a state of competitive coexistence—in other words, how to prevent Chinese dominance without conflict. This is a global struggle, which includes domestic dimensions of […]

Rory Medcalf

ASEAN , COVID-19 , free and open Indo-Pacific , US-China rivalry

Dec 10,2020 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (November 2020)

The late fall of 2020 was eventful for Japanese foreign relations because it meant the start of a new relationship with a US president—this time with a new Japanese prime minister; renewal of diplomacy with China—more intent than before on driving a wedge between Japan and the US; the signing of a broad trade agreement—RCEP […]

Editorial Staff

ASEAN , free and open Indo-Pacific , Hong Kong , RCEP , Senkakus , South China Sea , Tokyo Olympics , TPP , US-China rivalry

Dec 10,2020 Open Forum

Washington Insights, Vol. 8, No. 6

The late fall of 2020 saw attention turn to Joe Biden, including his nominees for policy posts in national security and their thinking on the Indo-Pacific region. He prioritizes rebuilding alliances and partnerships, but some asked what would he seek from these countries. If Biden would not follow Trump’s lead in top-down diplomacy with Kim […]

Editorial Staff

BRI , free and open Indo-Pacific , Korean War , SCO , strategic patience , the Quad , US-China rivalry

Dec 02,2020 Country Reports

Country Report: Russia (November 2020)

Sino-US relations were foremost on Russian observers’ minds in the autumn of 2020, both before and after Joe Biden’s election victory. Anti-Chinese sentiments in the post-Soviet space drew attention, as did China’s troubling discourse about the Arctic and talk of the Arctic-Pacific as a construct—a new way of showcasing Russia’s centrality. India was another focus […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

Arctic Council , free and open Indo-Pacific , Hindu nationalism , Joe Biden , Sinophobia , Tibet , turn to the East , US-China rivalry , Xinjiang

Oct 12,2020 Open Forum

Washington Insights, Vol. 8, No. 5

Leadership change was on peoples’ minds in the late summer and early fall of 2020. What would a Biden administration do differently from Trump in the Indo-Pacific region? How does the departure of Abe Shinzo impact Japan’s foreign policy, given his personalized relations with the leaders in the US, China, Russia, and India as well […]

Editorial Staff

COVID-19 , Donald Trump , free and open Indo-Pacific , Joe Biden , US-China rivalry , Yoshihide Suga

Oct 12,2020 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (October 2020)

With Abe Shinzo’s decision to resign for health reasons at the end of August, discussion turned quickly to his legacy, including in international relations. One position was that he transformed Japanese politics, hollowing them out for foreign and domestic decision-making. He not only had been obsessed with amending the Constitution, he violated it with impunity, […]

Editorial Staff

"Belt and Road" Initiative , Donald Trump , free and open Indo-Pacific , Joe Biden , Northern Territories , Senkakus , US-China rivalry , Yoshihide Suga

Oct 08,2020 Special Forum

Contemplating US Policy on China and the Indo-Pacific: Some Thoughts regarding a Possible Biden Administration

By most accounts, the last four years have been something of a sea change in US foreign policy. During this time, the US has stepped back from its familiar leadership role in several multilateral initiatives, cast aspersions at global governance efforts, flirted with dictators and authoritarian regimes more openly and brazenly than ever in the […]

Amanda Trea Phua , Liow Joseph Chinyong*

COVID-19 , Donald Trump , free and open Indo-Pacific , Hong Kong , Joe Biden , Taiwan , US-China rivalry , Xi Jinping , Xinjiang

Oct 07,2020 Special Forum

Anticipating Japan’s Attitudes toward the US President in 2021

Japan has a very practical view on who the US president is. Throughout the postwar period, Japan’s national interest and security have been protected and advanced by the US-Japan security alliance. Its centrality will remain the same for the foreseeable future-just a reflection of geopolitical realities. Japan has to get along and deal with the […]

Akimoto Satohiro

Donald Trump , free and open Indo-Pacific , Joe Biden , Kamala Harris , Narendra Modi , Quad , US-China rivalry