Korea’s new president confronts coronavirus challenge
When Yoon Seok-youl takes office, he’ll have fewer administrative measures in place to deal with a pandemic that continues to rage. Read More Here
When Yoon Seok-youl takes office, he’ll have fewer administrative measures in place to deal with a pandemic that continues to rage. Read More Here
The pain is not confined to the car industry, for the shortage spans all sorts of chips, from the expensive, high-tech devices that power smartphones and data centres to the simple sensors and microcontrollers that have become a vital commodity… Read Here | The Economist
Ahead of an all-crucial meeting with high-ranking Chinese officials later this week in Alaska, top Biden administration officials are rallying regional allies for a united front against the Asian powerhouse. In their first foreign trip (March 15-18), the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have embarked on “two plus […]
The major Indo-Pacific powers of Australia, India, Japan and the United States concluded on Friday the first-ever summit of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, better known as “Quad.” The 90-minute event, conducted virtually due to Covid-19 restrictions, paves the way for a de facto “Asian NATO” amid growing concern over China’s increasingly assertive behaviour in recent […]
Only a decade ago, the phrase Indo-Pacific would have left most foreign policy experts scratching their heads. Today, it is not just stock language in Washington but a widely accepted reconceptualisation of Asia that is rearranging U.S. foreign policy. Read Here | Foreign Affairs
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga intends to continue Japan’s sweeping upgrades of its defense capabilities amid a major buildup of China’s military forces, increasing pressure from North Korea’s growing missile arsenal, and continued activities by Russia’s military in East Asia. Read Here | cfr.org
President Joe Biden entered the White House determined to restore the world’s confidence in the United States. That task is particularly important in the Indo-Pacific, a region that has become as central to geopolitics as Europe was during the Cold War. The United States’ presence, influence, and credibility in the region are flagging, and restoring them […]
The bigger question behind Wang’s charm offensive is of long-term global significance. Can a stable, confident, assertive and economically rising China leverage Japan and South Korea away from a chaotic, self-loathing, self-questioning and economically flailing United States? Read Here | Asia Times
Day by day, the US–China confrontation is heating up. The trajectory now appears irreversible. The nations of the Indo-Pacific, Japan included, are sandwiched between the United States and China. It is high time for them to consider strengthening effective regional cooperation by building on ASEAN-centred processes. Read Here | East Asia Forum
South Korea’s decision to end an intelligence-sharing agreement with Japan, part of a widening rift between the two U.S. allies, has the Pentagon on edge — and not just because it arrives amid stalled efforts to persuade North Korea to denuclearize. “China is the biggest winner here,” said Rob Spalding, a former senior official on President Trump’s National Security […]