November - December 2025

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Foreign Relations

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March 3, 2022 Country Reports · South Korea
Country Report: South Korea (February 2022)

In January and February, with increasing tension across the border between Russia and Ukraine, the US seemed to move the focus to Europe after its withdrawal from Afghanistan, […]

Shin Munkyoung

Beijing Olympics, free and open Indo-Pacific, Philip Goldberg, Quad, Taiwan, Ukraine, UNESCO
March 2, 2022 Open Forum
Stepping Up to the Challenge and Embracing Pragmatism: Two Visions of Foreign Policy in the South Korean Presidential Election of 2022

The South Korean presidential election is only days away and, unlike past elections, the outcome is difficult to predict. There is, however, one thing that we can be […]

J. James Kim

China, free and open Indo-Pacific, Lee Jae-myung, presidential election, Quad, Ukraine, Yoon Suk-yeol
February 28, 2022 Open Forum
Washington Insights (January-February 2022)

The beginning of 2022 saw Russia threaten war in Ukraine, China loom as an undiminished threat to Taiwan, and North Korea launch missile after missile as its threat […]

Editorial Staff

free and open Indo-Pacific, Quad, Russocentrism, Sinocentrism, Taiwan, Ukraine
February 14, 2022 Country Reports · Japan
Country Report: Japan (February 2022)

Two themes have garnered the bulk of attention in Japan’s foreign relations at the beginning of 2022: (1) Japan-Russia relations in the context of the looming war over […]

Editorial Staff

Cold War, Northern Territories, Russia, Ukraine, WWII
February 3, 2022 Country Reports · Russia
Country Report: Russia (January 2022)

In late 2021 and the beginning of 2022, close attention was paid to the Biden-Xi virtual summit, the summit of the democracies, Sino-US tensions over Taiwan, the impact […]

Editorial Staff (with the assistance of Olga Puzanova)

COVID-19, free and open Indo-Pacific, North Korea, Taiwan, US-China competition
January 20, 2022 Open Forum
China’s Rhetoric toward South Korea: Smile Diplomacy Baring “Wolf Warrior” Teeth

Awaiting a new president in Seoul, Chinese publications continue to treat President Moon Jae-in with tolerance mixed with low expectations and guarded warnings. They often draw a sharp […]

Danielle F. S. Cohen (assisted by Dong Jiaxin)

COVID-19, CPTPP, Taiwan, US-China competition, US-Japan alliance
January 4, 2022 Country Reports · South Korea
Country Report: South Korea (January 2022)

As the 2022 presidential election slated for next March looms large, South Korean newspaper headlines in November and December were dominated by coverage of the election campaign trails […]

Shin Munkyoung

COVID-19, Korean Peace Process, OPCON, US-China competition
January 4, 2022 Country Reports · Japan
Country Report: Japan (December 2021)

The autumn of 2021 was a time of transition in leadership without indication of any shift in foreign policy. The relationship with China had turned colder in 2020 […]

Editorial Staff

COVID-19, CPTPP, Taiwan, US-China competition, US-Japan alliance
December 29, 2021 Open Forum
Southeast Asian Naval Modernization and Hedging Strategies

For over a decade, Southeast Asia’s largest maritime countries—Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam—have engaged in extensive naval modernization programs. Though they have done so with varying levels […]

Felix K. Chang

Naval modernization, Nine-dash line, South China Sea
December 29, 2021 China · Country Reports
Country Report: China (December 2021)

In late 2021, Chinese analysts devoted significant attention to the Biden administration’s global technology policy, asserting that technological competition has become a key facet of the broader strategic […]

Danielle F. S. Cohen (assisted by Dong Jiaxin)

China-South Korea-Japan FTA, COVID-19, RCEP