SPECIAL FORUM

“South Korea Edging toward Bipolarity, 2020-2022”

National Commentaries

“The November 2022 Summits”

A View from the US

President Joseph Biden played a prominent leadership role at the summit of the COP-27 in Egypt, the ASEAN and ASEAN-led regional summits in Cambodia, and the G20 summit […]

A View from China

After a visit to Myanmar in January 2020, Chinese president Xi Jinping decided to forego foreign visits for more than two and a half years due to the […]

A View from Southeast Asia

In Southeast Asia, November is typically a season of summits, as the rotating chair of ASEAN hosts the ASEAN and related summits that involve leaders of all ASEAN […]

Country Reports

South Korea
Country Report: South Korea (February 2023)

Marking the first anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war, the regional division around the Korean Peninsula, the US-led alliances on one side and North Korea-China-Russia on the other, has […]

Country Report: South Korea (December 2022)

In the months of November and December, as in previous months, Pyongyang continued its missile salvo firing 25 ballistic missiles in 12 rounds, amounting to a total of […]

Country Report: South Korea (October 2022)

The early autumn of 2022 saw conservative and progressive news sources focusing on ongoing issues without the drama of the Ukraine War and the Taiwan Strait conflict rising […]

Country Report: South Korea (August 2022)

In July and August, the strategic dilemma of South Korea in navigating the contest between the US and China was put into sharp relief by the ratcheted-up military […]

Country Report: South Korea (June 2022)

Country Report: South Korea (May & June 2022) Munkyoung Shin and Jung Seyoon President Yoon Suk-yeol’s first two months in office gave a glimpse of South Korea’s shift […]

China
Country Report: China (February 2023)

Chinese analysts continue to devote a great deal of attention to Southeast Asia and South Asia. They assessed diverse conceptions of national security among various ASEAN member states. […]

Country Report: China (December 2022)

In late 2022, Chinese analysts devoted a great deal of attention to the Indo-Pacific. They assessed the role of minilateral cooperation in the US Indo-Pacific strategy. They examined […]

Country Report: China (April 2022)

In the first months of 2022 Chinese international relations coverage examined how the Biden agenda was affecting Japan and South Korea. Chinese relations with both US allies had […]

Country Report: China (September 2022)

Chinese writings in the late summer appeared in the shadow of the Ukraine war and of deep strains in Sino-US relations. Often, they raised a triangular context, usually […]

Country Report: China (July 2022)

In mid-2022, Chinese analysts reflected on Sino–US relations under the Biden administration, prospects for improvement, and whether the two countries are entering a “new Cold War.” While largely […]

Japan
Country Report: Japan (March 2022)

The winter of 2023 saw Kishida Fumio make a celebrated visit to Washington, while clarifying the new security strategy of Japan in the face of dangers from China, […]

Country Report: Japan (December 2022)

On December 28, Yomiuri looked back at 2022, naming Russia’s invasion of Ukraine the No. 1 overseas news and the resulting spike in oil prices No. 6. The […]

Country Report: Japan (November 2022)

As discussed in the September/October issue of Kaigai Jijo, we are at an historical turning point. With the war in Ukraine ongoing and Taiwan recognized as the next […]

Country Report: Japan (September 2022)

The late summer of 2022 saw responses to multiple bilateral relationships in Japan. At the forefront was the Japan-China nexus, commemorating fifty years since normalization in September. Not […]

Country Report: Japan (July 2022)

The year 2022 has unfolded strikingly differently from Japanese expectations. Although already in retirement, Abe Shinzo had set the agenda that was expected to prevail. This included not […]

Russia
Country Report: Russia (January 2023)

At the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023 Russians were asking about how much room they had to maneuver in Asia given their dependence on China. […]

Country Report: Russia (November 2022)

At war in Europe, Russia sees Asia in a new light. The mainstream has grown more dominant, and dissent, if that word were used liberally, has narrowed much […]

Country Report: Russia (September 2022)

Russian coverage in the late summer of East Asia centered on Sino-Russian relations with some interest also in North Korea and Japan. The impact of the “special military […]

Country Report: Russia (July 2022)

The shadow of the Ukraine war loomed large over Russian writings on East Asia, whether China, the Korean Peninsula, Japan, or the BRICS. China’s success versus the US […]

Country Report: Russia (March 2022)

February 4 and February 24 stand as watershed moments in Russian coverage of relations with China, with spinoffs for discussions of India and Japan. In January, there was […]