Aug 31,2020 National Commentaries

A Japanese Perspective

Japan’s human rights policies, freighted with a historical baggage that South Koreans are well-aware of, are subtle, nuanced – and ultimately, quite frustrating. Governments in Tokyo continue to wrestle with the appropriate weight to give human rights in foreign policy. While recognizing that Japan’s status as a leading industrialized nation demands rhetorical support (at least) […]

Brad Glosserman
"Belt and Road" Initiative , COVID-19 , free and open Indo-Pacific , Hong Kong , Senkaku Islands , Shinzo Abe
Aug 31,2020 Country Reports

Country Report: China (August 2020)

In the summer of 2020, Chinese analysts continued to grapple with the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the future of multilateralism and globalization. They questioned whether the pandemic would accelerate existing competitive and nationalist trends or serve as a turning point toward a more cooperative international environment. They also assessed US opposition to China’s […]

Danielle F. S. Cohen (assisted by Dong Jiaxin)
"Belt and Road" Initiative , COVID-19 , Digital Silk Road , free and open Indo-Pacific , US-China rivalry , US-China-Russia Triangle
Aug 27,2020 Special Forum

Double Allegiance: Moon Jae-in’s Strategy amid US-China Rivalry

Can a state be a credibly ally and still partner closely with its rival? During the Cold War, no country was allied to one side and strategically tied to the other; it may have accommodated the rival to a degree, but this fell short of any actual aligning behavior. Today, in what is now frequently […]

Eun A Jo
COVID-19 , free and open Indo-Pacific , GSOMIA , OPCON , THAAD , the Quad , US-China rivalry , US-ROK alliance
Aug 27,2020 Special Forum

Accommodation versus Alliance: Japan’s Prospective Grand Strategy in the Sino-US Competition

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has lately appeared to want it both ways: to tighten the alliance with the United States to the point of joining the “five eyes” in intelligence sharing, and to boost relations with China by insisting on going forward with a state visit by Xi Jinping as the key to upgrading ties […]

Stephen Nagy
"Belt and Road" Initiative , COVID-19 , free and open Indo-Pacific , Hong Kong , the Quad , US-China rivalry , US-Japan alliance
Aug 04,2020 Open Forum

Washington Insights, Vol. 8, No. 4

In mid-2020, US policy took a decidedly more negative turn toward China, driven by leaders whose foreign policy judgment was highly suspect. While there was bipartisan consensus on what was objectionable in Chinese foreign and domestic policies and on the necessity of a more robust pushback by the US and its allies, the specifics and […]

Editorial Staff
"Belt and Road" Initiative , COVID-19 , free and open Indo-Pacific , GSOMIA , Hong Kong , the Quad , US-China rivalry , US-Japan alliance , US-ROK alliance , Wolf Warrior Diplomacy
Jul 29,2020 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (August 2020)

Japanese were asking in the late spring and early summer what the collapse of Sino-US ties means for their country and for bilateral relations with both parties. Would Abe’s pursuit of Xi Jinping, awaiting a delayed state visit by the Chinese leader, harm ties to the US? Would a lack of outrage about China’s policies, […]

Editorial Staff
COVID-19 , free and open Indo-Pacific , G7 , Hong Kong , Northern Territories , US-China trade war
Jun 06,2020 Special Forum

Democracies with Preexisting Conditions and the Coronavirus in the Indo-Pacific

Around the globe, democracy is ailing. In the past 15 years or so, an increasing number of democracies worldwide have suffered from gradual erosion and decay. According to the most recent Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) report,1 examples can be found in most regions of the world including the United States and the European Union, where […]

Aurel Croissant
COVID-19 , democratic backsliding , free and open Indo-Pacific , Varieties of Democracy
Jun 06,2020 Special Forum

Soft Power and Sharp Power: The View from Australia

Australians of late have been shocked by the unravelling of US soft power globally and China’s offensive use of sharp power targeting their country. At issue is the prospect of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific upheld by the norms and institutions of a liberal rules-based order. This matters because, while Australia is partly dependent on […]

John Fitzgerald
COVID-19 , free and open Indo-Pacific , Sharp power , soft power , the Quad , United Front
Jun 06,2020 Special Forum

Hedging in Post-Pandemic Asia: What, How, and Why?

As the US-China rivalry intensifies amid the COVID-19 crisis, more observers have opined that the “hedging” by smaller states—widely interpreted as a “middle position” between being fully aligned with the US camp and fully bandwagoning with China—is irrelevant, irresponsible, and even dangerous. I engage this debate from a Southeast Asian perspective, addressing the what, how, […]

Kuik Cheng-Chwee*
"Belt and Road" Initiative , Balancing , Bandwagoning , COVID-19 , free and open Indo-Pacific , hedging , Trans-Pacific Partnership