East Asia

First Chemical Weapons Removed From Syria to Danish Ship

By BBC and AP

From BBC:  The first consignment of Syrian chemical weapons materials has left the country on a Danish ship.

North Korea: Expect the Unexpected

By Robert A. Manning

Where is North Korea headed? When we last heard from the Boy General, Kim Jong-un, he was rationalizing the sudden and brutal execution of Pyongyang’s No.2,  Jang Sang Thaek, followed by threats to “strike mercilessly without notice” in response to anti-Kim protests in Seoul.

China and Russia Bring Back Cold War Tactics

By Anne Applebaum, Washington Post

We in the United States may not believe that there is any real threat to our longtime alliance structures in Europe and Asia, but other people think those alliances are vulnerable and have set out to undermine them.

Chinese Military Ship Will Help Guard Destruction of Syria’s Chemical Weapons

By New York Times, Reuters, & South China Morning Post

From Jane Perlez, New York Times:  The same day that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel of the United States blasted the actions of a Chinese ship in the South China Sea as “irresponsible,” China announced that it would deploy a military ship to work with an American vessel involved in the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons.

Why are European Allies Arming China?

By David Lague, Reuters

If the People’s Liberation Army went to war tomorrow, it would field an arsenal bristling with hardware from some of America’s closest allies: Germany, France and Britain.

Three Cheers for China!

By Robert A. Manning

At a moment when few give the Obama administration much credit for either competence or strategy, a cascade of events in East Asia in recent days, not least John Kerry’s trip to Southeast Asia, point to important gains for the stabilizing and offshore-balancing role of US policy toward the Asia-Pacific.

China Ascendant: Is Conflict Inevitable?

By Rajan Menon

Thucydides’ purpose in his great epic was to account for “what led to this great war falling upon the Hellenes.” He acknowledged that what we know as the Peloponnesian War was produced by many different disputes and depicted them masterfully, laying bare their specificities. But, in the opening pages, he warns us that dwelling on […]

Chinese Hackers Spied on Europeans Before G20 Meeting: Researcher

By Reuters and New York Times

From Jim Finkle, Reuters:  Chinese hackers eavesdropped on the computers of five European foreign ministries before last September’s G20 Summit, which was dominated by the Syrian crisis, according to research by computer security firm FireEye Inc.

Obama Refocuses on Asia

By Robert A. Manning

Sometimes foreign-policy success occurs almost inadvertently—and when least expected. When President Obama cancelled his planned visit to Asia in October during the recent US government shutdown, doubts amongst many in the region over the durability of the US “pivot” to Asia reached a crescendo. But a cascade of recent events, highlighted by B-52s defying a Chinese air-defense identification […]

China, North Korea, and Extended Deterrence in Northeast Asia

On December 3, the Atlantic Council’s Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security hosted the third not-for-attribution workshop on extended deterrence in northeast Asia. This session focused specifically on in China and North Korea. The chairmen of the workshop series, Richard Armitage, president of Armitage International, and Kurt Campbell, chairman and chief executive officer of the […]