This week, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung oversaw the launch of the Vietnam Fisheries Resources Surveillance force, set up to ensure the enforcement of fishing laws in the East Sea, otherwise known as the South China Sea. As established under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the force will assist deep-sea fishermen and […]
Japanese fighter jet pilots are getting no rest these days. In a statement released Wednesday, the Japanese Defense Ministry revealed that Japanese fighter jets were scrambled against Chinese planes a record high 415 times during the year ending in March. That number is up 36 percent from a year earlier – and is the highest […]
When discussing the Pacific region, a frequently mentioned concern on the part of Department of Defense and other government officials is China’s lack of transparency about its military modernization. During a presentation given at the AFCEA West Conference last month Captain Jim Fanell, head of the Navy’s Pacific Fleet Intelligence Staff, remarked , “he didn’t know […]
Following the release of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s new energy plan, nuclear reactors are set to restart across the island nation three years after the Fukushima disaster, leaving many fearing another radioactive plume. Citing economic and environmental concerns, Abe unveiled his government’s 20-year Basic Energy Plan on February 25, which aims to restart at […]
Like many other African countries, Mozambique has enormous potential, but there are many gaps to fill. Led by its natural resources, the economy has been booming with real GDP growth reaching 7.4 percent in 2012, seven percent in 2013 and is predicted to reach 8.5 percent between 2014–16, according to the World Bank. London based […]
In the latest spark added to the ongoing fire over territorial waters in the South China Sea, a diplomatic protest was handed to Beijing’s charge d’affairs in Manila on Tuesday. The move follows the alleged firing of a water cannon by a Chinese government vessel on January 27 to drive away two Filipino fishing boats […]
Relationship managers across Asia have a potently difficult year ahead as news reports continue to highlight actions and words that are anything but conducive to cooperation and understanding between regional states. When a former British ambassador to North Korea writes an op-ed in the Daily Telegraph titled “Are China, Japan and South Korea fanning the […]
Gokudo Uyoku Connection is a new series of documentaries by Sebastian Stein, director of Twilight of the Yakuza. Like his earlier film, Stein gives his audience a rare inside look into a group few foreigners (and few Japanese) ever get to see up close. In his new series, Stein draws attention to the connection […]
After Beijing unilaterally declared an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea last month, to include the disputed Tokyo-controlled islands called Senkaku in Japanese and Diaoyu in Chinese, the reaction by regional neighbors and the U.S. was swift. But with each action, a subsequent and escalating reaction has been triggered. China’s […]
“47 Ronin” is based on a true story that didn’t involve witches or demons or dragons. Here is a rough summary of the historical incident from the early 18th century. Asano Naganori, a young daimyo (warlord) from Ako, was ordered to Edo (modern-day Tokyo) to pay his respects to the shogun (military dictator). This was […]
A perusal of reader comments on Chinese news websites following Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent visit to the Yasukuni war shrine in Tokyo reveals an online explosion of nationalist fury. Despite U.S. attempts to dissuade Abe from visiting the shrine and U.S. criticism following his visit, America has not been spared the anger of […]
China and the United States were both right to condemn Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s official visit to the Yasukuni war shrine in Tokyo on Dec. 26, 2013. For once China and America are on the same page. China’s leaders will waste no time, however, in exploiting the incident to stir up anti-Japanese nationalism at […]
China presumes “great power” status for itself equal to the United States. What has China done recently to demonstrate its readiness for such a role? It has raged incoherently at Japan for a modest increase in military spending and accused a video game of “cultural aggression” against China. In response to China’s saber-rattling in the […]
China sent the diplomatic world into a spin on November 23 by declaring an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea. This is cause for some concern, given the state of Sino-Japanese relations. The concern has been boosted by some vague and rather provocative Chinese statements but also by the fact that […]
In a rare slap in the face to Beijing, last week the U.S. flew two of its unarmed B-52 bombers into China’s newly-established East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone. The air defense zone had been recently created in order to assert Beijing’s claim to disputed territorial waters of the East China Sea and to […]