Dec 27,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (December 2018)

The last part of 2018 was marked by the hopeful aftermath of the Abe-Xi summit and the new push by Abe and Putin to resolve the long-lingering dispute between Tokyo and Moscow. These themes are covered separately in an Open Forum article. Below, attention is directed at the less positive coverage of Japan’s relations with […]

Editorial Staff
"Belt and Road" Initiative , America First , APEC , East Asia Summit , free and open Indo-Pacific , Korea boom , Tokyo Strategy 2018
Dec 21,2018 National Commentaries

A Southeast Asian Perspective

Hedging Harder: Southeast Asia and the US-China Rivalry “I think it’s very desirable for us not to have to take sides, but the circumstances may come when ASEAN may have to choose one or the other. I am hoping that it’s not coming soon.” Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 15 November 20181 “Over the five, […]

Malcolm Cook , Ian Storey
"Belt and Road" Initiative , Asia rebalance , BUILD Act , East Asia Summit , free and open Indo-Pacific , the Quad
Dec 20,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: China (December 2018)

In late 2018, Chinese experts assessed China’s relations with India and India’s maritime strategy in the Indian Ocean under the Modi administration. They examined the revival of the quadrilateral security dialogue between the United States, South Korea, India, and Japan, evaluated the impact of South Korean citizens’ views toward the United States and China on […]

Danielle F. S. Cohen (assisted by Dong Jiaxin)
"Belt and Road" Initiative , America First , free and open Indo-Pacific , Quadrilateral Security Dialogue , THAAD
Nov 15,2018 Open Forum

Washington Insights Vol. 6, No. 6

North Korea had slipped into the background, US-Japan ties had lost some significance, and China loomed ever larger as the fall began in DC. Concern was raised that as trade and security tensions escalated, a wholesale evaluation would occur on both sides, leading to a cold war. What had been engagement laced with hedging was […]

Editorial Staff
Abe-Xi Summit , BRI , free and open Indo-Pacific , maximum pressure , Sharp power , TPP , Trump-Kim summit
Nov 08,2018 National Commentaries

A View from Japan

While the United States and China have fallen into a phase of confrontation, Abe Shinzo made the first official visit to China by a Japanese prime minister in seven years. Rows of Japanese national flags displayed in Tiananmen Square symbolized the rapprochement between Japan and China. Although Abe only stayed in Beijing for a little […]

Takahara Akio*
BRI , free and open Indo-Pacific , Peace and Friendship Treaty , Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands , Tiananmen Square , TPP
Nov 08,2018 National Commentaries

A View from the United States

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo had hoped to improve ties with Beijing ever since returning to office in 2012, and finally, as China’s relations with the United States were at their worst in decades, Abe was invited to a summit with President Xi Jinping. The visit was cordial, with both Xi and Abe emphasizing their shared […]

Sheila A. Smith
BRI , East China Sea , free and open Indo-Pacific , Hu-Fukuda agreement , Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands
Nov 08,2018 National Commentaries

A View from China

Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s Beijing tour in October of 2018 went well. It is not just the first time a Japanese prime minister has returned to Beijing in 8 years. The significance is that after years of lingering tensions over the Diaoyu/Senkaku territorial fracture, the two sides are ultimately and realistically seeking a new phase […]

Zhu Feng*
BRI , China-Japan Treaty of Peace and Friendship , Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands , free and open Indo-Pacific , RCEP , TPP
Oct 24,2018 Special Forum

The Mediating Role of National Identity in Democratization and Lessons from Post-Cold War Foreign Policy in Northeast Asia

Trade wars and security clashes are in the forefront across greater Asia, but we would be remiss to overlook the intensifying struggle over democratization as a factor in international relations. On the one side is China backed by Russia, both intent on foiling not only “color revolutions,” but also democratic processes in general. On the […]

Gilbert Rozman
color revolutions , Confucianism , free and open Indo-Pacific , Primorskii Krai , Russocentrism , Sinocentrism
Oct 08,2018 Country Reports

Country Report: Japan (October 2018)

Setting aside the rush of publications on China and North Korea—from Abe’s October visit to China to Japan’s response to plans for a new Trump-Kim summit—this report covers Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and India. The time span is the summer of 2018. Late in this period, Abe saw Putin surprise him with an […]

Editorial Staff
AIIB , ARF , BRI , BRICS , comfort women , EEF , free and open Indo-Pacific , Sharp power , the Quad , US-China trade war