Foreign Policy Blogs

Tag Archives: East Asia

South Korea’s Strategic Importance Forgotten Amidst the Trump-Abe Honeymoon

South Korea’s Strategic Importance Forgotten Amidst the Trump-Abe Honeymoon

While the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye paralyzed South Korea’s diplomatic service, Japan has worked to strengthen Trump’s commitment to its defense.

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Did Hanoi just Deploy Rocket Launchers in the South China Sea?

Did Hanoi just Deploy Rocket Launchers in the South China Sea?

A recent report appears to suggest that Vietnam has placed rocket launchers on five bases in the Spratly Islands, pointing them toward Chinese facilities.

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Obama Lifts Arms Embargo on Vietnam

Obama Lifts Arms Embargo on Vietnam

Despite concerns human rights violations in Vietnam, Obama opted to fully lift the arms embargo on lethal military equipment during his recent visit.

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U.S. Show of Force in the South China Sea

U.S. Show of Force in the South China Sea

In a show of counterforce, the U.S. has sailed an aircraft carrier, two destroyers, two cruisers, and the command ship of the Japan-based 7th Fleet into the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

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U.S. Confronts China Over Airspace in South China Sea

U.S. Confronts China Over Airspace in South China Sea

I had not given much thought to the flight plan of the airline I recently booked to go back to the U.S. from Vietnam, but recent events in the airspace over the South China Sea prompted an online search. As I discovered, my commercial flight will be flying not far from where a U.S. surveillance plane was warned on Wednesday to leave by a Chinese radar operator.

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Global media interpretations of China’s rescue of stranded passengers off Antarctica vary

Global media interpretations of China’s rescue of stranded passengers off Antarctica vary

The Chinese icebreaker Xue Long‘s rescue of the passengers aboard the stranded Russian research vessel MV Akademik Shokalskiy has made headlines around the world. Since December 24, the Russian ship has been stuck in pack ice near Antarctica’s Cape de la Motte, approximately 1,700 miles south of Tasmania. MV Akademik Shokalskiy was about midway through the month-long Australasian Antarctic Expedition, run by the University of New […]

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U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue: What Not To Do

U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue: What Not To Do

Secretary of State John F. Kerry is in New Delhi for the annual U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue.  He’s receiving plenty of good advice (examples here, here and here) on what he and Salman Khurshid, the Indian foreign minister, can do to energize the nascent strategic partnership that just a few years ago looked so promising but which now is stuck […]

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The Problem With “42 Allies”

The Problem With “42 Allies”

You might think most foreign policy wonks were looking forward to last night’s presidential debate but most I know were actually dreading it. It was well known that the difficult and pressing questions on foreign policy would not be asked, and to be honest, foreign policy requires far more nuance and complexity than can fit […]

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Child maltreatment and abuse ripe in East Asia and Pacific

Child maltreatment and abuse ripe in East Asia and Pacific

In East Asia and the Pacific, the number of children who face maltreatment is shockingly high.  Roughly 10% to 30% of the 580 million children –one quarter of the world’s children — in the East Asia and Pacific regions are victims of forced sex and other physical abuse according to a report by UNICEF.   The […]

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Drones on the Cocos Islands: A Cat Amongst the Pigeons

Drones on the Cocos Islands: A Cat Amongst the Pigeons

According to a report by the Washington Post just over 2 weeks ago, US officials have engaged Australia in informal discussions over a proposed US drone base in the Cocos Islands 2,000 kilometers north-west of Perth. Allegedly, the proposed base would house a fleet of Global Hawk drones. At a unit cost of $218 million […]

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Advancing the Strategic Partnership

Advancing the Strategic Partnership

The state visit to New Delhi by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in December 2010 focused on the potential for mutual economic cooperation. Wen arrived with a large business delegation that promptly signed some $16 billion worth of deals. The two governments also pledged to take their $60-billion trade relationship to the $100-billion level by 2015. […]

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Knocking on APEC’s Door

Knocking on APEC’s Door

Having made the calculation that America’s security and prosperity would be enhanced by partnership with India, the United States over the last decade has promoted New Delhi’s admission into global governance structures.  For the Bush administration, this meant doing the heavy lifting required to enroll India into the Nuclear Suppliers Group, an informal cartel governing […]

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