Programs

Should the US retrench from South Korea? Part 2: No

A couple of days ago I laid out the arguments for a US withdrawal from South Korea. Today, I lay out the arguments for staying. This topic is rarely discussed. In the US, the…

China-Japan competition: Hugh White responds

The four excellent responses to my post on China-Japan relations all present important points about Japan's situation and its options in the face of China's growing power. Just…

India links: Independence Day, Pakistan talks, Central Asia, GM crops, Hindutva and more

Last week, Prime Minister Modi delivered his first Independence Day address, which was widely well received. Vivek Dehejia and Rupa Subramanya argue that this speech 'marks the…

Pacific island links: Sean Dorney, Fiji elections, West Papua, Gold Ridge mine and more

A selection of news, analysis and commentary from and about the Pacific island region. Nominations for Fiji's general elections closed on 18 August. Twelve of the received…

China links: SCO, Muslim faith revival, graft, China dream, Taiwan, Xinjiang and more

There are reports that a group of North Korean defectors held by China on the Laos border have been released rather than being repatriated as usual. Activists in Taiwan and Hong…

Should the US retrench from South Korea? Yes

Over at War on the Rocks, Christopher Lee (a former officer in the US Forces Korea [USFK]) and Tom Nichols (of the US Naval War College) have gotten into a useful debate on…

A breakthrough in Chinese climate policy? Not likely

I argued back in April that China's 'synthetic natural gas' (syngas or SNG, which is gas made from coal) is 'bad economics, bad science and an environmental catastrophe'. I also…

Are we measuring international trade correctly?

Perhaps the most fundamental change in international trade in recent decades has been the development of multinational 'supply chains'. The production process has been 'unbundled'…

What Beijing fears most: Intra-Asian balancing

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a rising China, in possession of a modernising military, must be in want of a non-militarised Japan. So is Beijing being foolish by…

China's strategy to sow distrust of Japan

Promoting mutual distrust in the Asia Pacific now appears central to Chinese strategy. As Hugh White has argued persuasively, China seeks greater influence in Asia through…

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