November - December 2025

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Economic Relations

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September 25, 2020 Country Reports · Russia
Country Report: Russia (September 2020)

Russians faced at least five Indo-Pacific regional challenges in the late summer of 2020, most of which were not being discussed forthrightly. No doubt the one looming in […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

"Belt and Road" Initiative, Abe Shinzo, One China policy, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Taiwan, US-China rivalry
September 2, 2020 Country Reports · South Korea
Country Report: South Korea (September 2020)

In the summer of 2020 foreign policy was largely on hold. The pandemic effect, the wait for US elections, and the relative caution shown by North Korea unwilling […]

Sanghwa Hong

OPCON transfer, Paik Sun-yup, Special Measures Agreement, US-China rivalry, Yang Jiechi
August 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 […]

Brad Glosserman

"Belt and Road" Initiative, COVID-19, free and open Indo-Pacific, Hong Kong, Senkaku Islands, Shinzo Abe
August 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 […]

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
August 31, 2020 National Commentaries
A South Korean Perspective

South Korea places human rights as one of its main policy principles and is a member of seven international treaties. In recent months, the Moon administration has faced […]

Yumi Ko

byungjin policy, Hong Kong, Moon Jae-in, Sunshine Policy, US-China rivalry, Uyghur, Xinjiang
August 31, 2020 National Commentaries
A US Perspective

If those who predict an ideological cold war are correct, then we stand at the dawn of an open, intense clash between the United States and China over […]

Editorial Staff

Donald Trump, free and open Indo-Pacific, Hong Kong, Joe Biden, South China Sea, Xinjiang
August 27, 2020 Special Forum
Introduction

On the northern tier of Asia, rethinking about geopolitics centers on three arenas. The first is the Sino-Russian nexus looking outward, particularly at the US role in Asia […]

Editorial Staff

COVID-19, Liberal international order, US-China rivalry, US-Japan alliance, US-ROK alliance
August 27, 2020 Special Forum
Multipolarity versus Sinocentrism: Chinese and Russian Worldviews and Relations

On July 3 Hu Xijin of Huanxiu Shibao inserted a needle in the bubble of Sino-Russian harmony, which some may be tempted to equate to Mao Zedong’s response […]

Gilbert Rozman

"Belt and Road" Initiative, Bipolarity, COVID-19, Eurasian Economic Union, Multipolarity, Russocentrism, Sinocentrism, US-China rivalry
August 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 […]

Eun A Jo

COVID-19, free and open Indo-Pacific, GSOMIA, OPCON, THAAD, the Quad, US-China rivalry, US-ROK alliance
August 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” […]

Stephen Nagy

"Belt and Road" Initiative, COVID-19, free and open Indo-Pacific, Hong Kong, the Quad, US-China rivalry, US-Japan alliance