Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific
Author: Sebastien Peyrouse, George Washington University
On 30 August 2016, a suicide bomber attacked the Chinese embassy in Bishkek. It was the first time since Central Asian independence 25 years ago that Chinese state symbols have been directly targeted. Read more…
Author: Adam P MacDonald, Halifax
On 7 October 2016, President Barack Obama signed an executive order lifting most remaining economic sanctions on Myanmar. The move comes as the two states progressively normalise relations, though restrictions remain against doing business with Myanmar’s military — the Tatmadaw — and its associated economic conglomerates Read more…
Author: Michael Cucek, Temple University Japan
On 1 November 2016, the General Affairs Council of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) approved a proposal to allow party presidents to run for a third consecutive term. This decision paves the way — pending a rubber stamp vote on the proposal at a party congress in March — for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to continue in his current post past September 2018. Read more…
Author: Kishore Mahbubani, NUS
China is making some serious strategic mistakes in its dealings with ASEAN. It is sacrificing its long-term interests in favour of short-term objectives and its global interests in favour of regional concerns. And in the process, it is undermining a critical catalyst to its peaceful rise. Read more…
Author: Atif Ansar and Bent Flyvbjerg, University of Oxford
For over three decades, China has experienced a staggering public investment boom. In 2014, China spent US$4.6 trillion on fixed assets, accounting for 24.8 per cent of total worldwide investments and more than double the entire GDP of India. Read more…
Author: Editors, East Asia Forum
There are many things that endure in international relations because of the permanent and entrenched interests of nation states and that are independent of the personality and predilections of particular national leaders. But there’s no doubt that Donald Trump’s election to the US presidency has changed things, partly because of the uncertainties he himself has created about continuity in US policies, partly because of his unconventional conception of the awesome power he is now entrusted to assume.
Author: Kavi Chongkittavorn, Chulalongkorn University
Over the coming weeks, the transitional foreign policy team of president-elect Donald Trump has to make a crucial decision: will Trump attend next year’s ASEAN–US Summit in Manila? Trump’s decision will have far-reaching repercussions for US policy in Asia. Read more…
Author: David Camroux, Sciences Po (CERI)
If the main foreign policy objective of Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte was to make his archipelagic nation the centre of international relations concerns in the Asia Pacific, he has succeeded beyond expectations. Read more…
Author: Deepanshu Mohan, OP Jindal Global University
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently broke his silence on the ‘triple talaq’ controversy, consolidating his government’s position to protect the fundamental rights of Muslim women. While the enforcement of constitutional rights is the new dharma of Modi’s political institutions, the Prime Minister’s interjection to some (like All India Muslim Private Law Board) represents a personal attack on the Muslim community’s freedom to practice their religion. Read more…
Author: Purnendra Jain, University of Adelaide
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi left India on 9 November 2016 for an annual summit with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in Tokyo, two main items were on the agenda. Read more…
Author: Huw Slater, China Carbon Forum
The first post-Paris UN climate talks in Marrakesh last week were heavily affected by the result of the US presidential election. Delegates from around the world, including the United States’ own negotiators Read more…
Author: Yoichi Funabashi, RJIF
Now that Donald Trump has won the US presidential election, it is high time for him to end the inward-looking ‘America first’ movement and start talking about the United States’ role as a globally engaged leader. Read more…
Author: Aaron Jed Rabena, Philippine Council for Foreign Relations
In recent years, the Philippines, with the diplomatic and political support of the United States, has been a leading challenger of China’s historical and territorial claims in the South China Sea. Read more…
Authors: Xin Meng, Sen Xue and Jinjun Xue, ANU
For China, the global financial crisis marked the turning point from an export-oriented to a domestic demand-driven economy. In late 2008 and early 2009, China’s exports fell by more than 20 per cent Read more…
Author: Kyle Ferrier, KEI
As the dust settles on Donald Trump’s far-reaching campaign promises, one thing is clear: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is effectively dead. What replaces it will be of the utmost importance to Asia’s future. Read more…
