East Asia

Looking Ahead: Economic and Social Reforms in China

Mr. Liu Mingkang, former chairman of the Chinese Banking Regulatory Commission and honorary professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s School of Business, highlighted several important areas for Chinese economic and social reform over the next decade. Speaking at the Atlantic Council on April 16, Liu focused on developments from the Chinese Communist Party’s […]

Manning and Przystup: Obama-Abe Summit should Overcome Dangerous ‘Mirror-Image Trust Gap’

By Robert A. Manning and James Przystup

As U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe gear up for a timely summit, a festering sense of uncertainty and unease stalks the U.S.-Japan alliance as it approaches a critical juncture. After an exciting first year marked by renewed economic dynamism and impressive efforts to enhance Japan’s global strategic posture, Abe’s pragmatic streak […]

Gates: US Response to Russia’s Use of Force Likely to Lead to ‘More Crises and Conflict’

By Robert Gates, Stars and Stripes

I think an actual invasion would be a very critical matter and a source of great concern. But I think — I think it’s a concern for the same reason that the invasion of Crimea or the seizure of Crimea is a concern.

US Warns China Not to Try Crimea-Style Action in Asia

By David Brunnstrom, Reuters

China should not doubt the U.S. commitment to defend its Asian allies and the prospect of economic retaliation should also discourage Beijing from using force to pursue territorial claims in Asia in the way Russia has in Crimea, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.

The Future of US-Korea Alliance and Extended Deterrence in East Asia

The US-Republic of Korea Defense Treaty, which continues to serve as the cornerstone of the bilateral alliance and underwrite its central role in Washington’s rebalance strategy to the Asia-Pacific, marked its 60th anniversary in 2013. Through extended deterrence and the full range of conventional and nuclear US military capabilities, the United States remains dedicated to […]

Empty Tough Talk from US Hawks

By Rajan Menon

You would think it’s self-evident that Ukraine’s current crisis and the controversies sparked before its eruption by Iran’s nuclear program, China’s muscle-flexing against Japan and the Philippines over disputed tiny islands, and Syria’s continuing carnage are distinct—that they have little, if anything, in common. Well, you’d be wrong, at least in the eyes of the […]

President Obama’s Foreign Policy is Based on Fantasy

By Editorial Board of the Washington Post

For five years, President Obama has led a foreign policy based more on how he thinks the world should operate than on reality.

Strengthening the US-Japan Alliance

On February 26, 2014, the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security held a not-for-attribution roundtable briefing on the US-Japan alliance and what it portends for US extended deterrence in Asia. The briefing featured Mira Rapp-Hooper, Stanton nuclear security fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and was presided over by project co-chair Richard […]