Zhao Minghao, Professor, Institute of International Studies, Fudan University
Mar 20, 2017
A new crisis is brewing on the Korean Peninsula. In mid-February, North Korea conducted an intermediate-range ballistic missile test. On March 1, the United States and South Korea began a joint military exercise that is unprecedented in scale and intensity.
Doug Bandow, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute
Mar 08, 2017
Ironically, in launching its economic campaign to protest South Korean deployment of the THAAD anti-missile system, Beijing is effectively doing Washington’s bidding. U.S. policymakers long have worried about the PRC’s economic draw on the South. As China voluntarily curbs those ties, American officials couldn’t be happier.
Li Bin, Professor, Tsinghua University
Mar 06, 2017
The decision to deploy a Theater High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in the Republic of Korea (ROK) by the ROK and the United States caused strong diplomatic reactions from China. Further negative interactions between the ROK and China may develop if the two countries cannot find a solution.
Xu Duo, Fox Fellow, Yale University
Mar 03, 2017
The recent Lotte crisis is a recurring incident in East Asia’s power dynamic: one country wields economic weapons to score geopolitical goals against another. In a region where China and U.S. lack strategic trust and security cooperation, everyone stands to lose when economics and geopolitics get tangled. Keeping the two in separate dimensions and preventing risks from one realm spilling over into the other are imperative.
Yang Xiyu, Senior Fellow, China Institute of Int'l Studies
Jan 17, 2017
Chaos on the Korean Peninsula would have a direct and far-reaching impact on the security environment of China. China push for the principle of “no war, no chaos and no nuclear weapons” on the Peninsula will become even stronger amid uncertainties posed by the election of Donald Trump and the planned tests by the DPRK.
Darcie Draudt, non-resident James A. Kelly Korean Studies fellow, Pacific Forum CSIS
Nov 30, 2016
The Yellow Sea is an important fisheries resource for China and the two Koreas. However, several violent incidents this season have increased tensions between China and South Korea. With the media and public placing greater scrutiny of the Chinese trawlers, the Korean government has resolved to show stronger resolve against illegal fishing in their waters. For their part, Chinese civilian fishing vessels have become increasingly assertive in response to South Korea’s newfound resolve.
Beth Smits, PhD candidate, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University
Nov 30, 2016
China is not the only Asian country looking to the ancient Silk Road as a path to greater economic and political influence. Both Japan and South Korea have their own, albeit more modest, versions of Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative. While Seoul and Beijing have expressed public interest in collaborating along the Silk Road, Tokyo remains silent. Will the BRI be a driver for greater integration in Northeast Asia, or will these three nations prefer to follow their own paths eastward?
Yin Chengde, Research Fellow, China Foundation for International Studies
Oct 19, 2016
The confrontation regarding plans for the THAAD system might lead to unbearable consequences if the situation gets worse. The only reasonable course for Washington and Seoul is to abandon the deployment.