Latest Articles about China and the Asia-Pacific
China’s New Aristocracy: Red Cadres and Red-Hat Businessmen
The scandal of Li Qihong, the female mayor of the Guangdong Province boom town of Zhongshan, highlights a backsliding of corruption in Chinese politics. Particularly, the increasing collusion between party cadres and businessmen has made the issue more acute. Even as the Chinese Communist Party... MORE
Major Reforms in the 12th Five-Year Plan?
As Western economies struggle to stave off contagion, Chinese leaders have been quietly working to chart the Middle Kingdom's triumphant return to the world's center stage. According to the most recent issue of Outlook Magazine (Liaowang), a weekly published by the official Xinhua News Agency,... MORE
Moscow Seeks Room to Maneuver as Crisis on the Korean Peninsula Intensifies
The sinking of the Republic of Korea’s (ROK) Corvette, Cheonan, on March 26, has proven to be a slow-building crisis, but one fraught with grave risks of conflict on the Korean peninsula. Moscow’s response has revealed much about the limits affecting Russian policy in the... MORE
The China-Pakistan Reactor Deal and Asia’s Nuclear Energy Race
In late April, China announced the sale of two nuclear reactors to Pakistan. This deal is clearly against the guidelines of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the spirit if not the letter of the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) [1]. Nevertheless, the United States has not... MORE
U.S.-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue: Not Exactly a “Dialogue”
More than 200 American officials converged on Beijing in late May for the second U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. After two days of intensive discussions with their Chinese counterparts, the American side boasted of many accomplishments. The State Department, working on the "strategic" track of... MORE
China’s Growing Maritime HA/DR Capabilities
China launched what it claims is the first purpose-built hospital ship (Type 920) in the world in 2007, stirring a considerable amount of international speculation regarding the Chinese Navy's future roles and missions. The use of hospital ships in non-military operations by the U.S. Navy... MORE
Premier Wen’s Four-nation Tour: A “Responsible Leadership Role”?
Premier Wen Jiabao’s just-completed weeklong tour to South Korea, Japan, Mongolia and Burma (Myanmar) provides a good opportunity for evaluating the extent to which China is playing a “responsible leadership role” in world affairs. In President Barack Obama’s National Security Strategy report released in late... MORE
Taiwan-Japan Rift over ADIZ
Taipei has rejected a proposal from Tokyo that would allow Japan to expand its air defense identification zone (ADIZ) to include airspace above areas west of the island of Yonaguni currently under the jurisdiction of Taiwan’s ADIZ. Yonagunijima is Japan's westernmost island in the Ryukyu... MORE
100 More Terrorist Groups Banned in India: What are India’s Counterterrorism Priorities?
India, one of the most terrorism-troubled countries in the world, is finally pursuing the idea of proscribing nearly 100 terrorist entities, both regional and international. The proscription will exist in tandem with the United Nations’ consolidated list of al-Qaeda and Taliban linked groups. Many of... MORE
An Ominous Break from the Past in Thailand: Implications of the Red Shirt Revolt
King Chulalongkorn (Rama IV-1868-1910) is responsible for initiating the modernization process in Thailand. Enamored with European civilization of the time, especially European economic and scientific gains, King Chulalongkorn embraced European rule of law, capitalism, education, and to a limited extent, politics. The king even introduced... MORE