New Asian perspectives
By circumstance, three countries of Northeast Asia — China, South Korea, and Japan — are being marked this autumn by the attempts of political elite to reform the existing regulations binding the term of office of the executive branch representatives. «New Asian Perspectives» blog gives an overview.
ShortOn October 25–27, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte paid his first visit to Japan. The controversial leader used the occasion to secure an economic and defence cooperation deal with Prime Minister of Japan Minister Shinzo Abe, as well as to demand that the U.S. military bases be withdrawn from the Philippines. This is a plot that the New Asian Perspectives blog finds all too familiar…
ShortRussia–Japan relations continue to follow a familiar pattern, with the two sides still testing the waters with regard to ways of resolving the territorial dispute. Prime Minister Shinzō Abe’s brother, Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Nobuo Kishi, and then Minister for Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida, have refused to rule out the possibility of handing two of the disputed islands over…
ShortRussia and China have established a joint Arctic research centre at the Far Eastern Federal University and Harbin Polytechnic University. This achievement is yet another example of the growing interest that Asian countries and China in particular are taking in the Arctic. New Asian Perspectives has decided to recall other recent events demonstrating Asia’s turn to the Arctic.
ShortIn his speech at a meeting of the Council of Elders on September 14, 2016, President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow noted that the country’s oil and gas sector should be oriented towards making finished products, rather than exporting raw materials to foreign countries. If this foreign policy turns into a long-term trend, not only for Turkmenistan, but also for other regional…
ShortThe New Asian Perspectives Blog has already featured an article dedicated to the tensions in Australia–China relations caused by the blocking of investments in strategic agricultural and electric power grid assets for national security concerns. It seems that the sides have already found a compromise following a tough conversation between Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull and…
ShortTensions in Australian-Chinese relations spread gloom over developments in the past week. At the Group of Twenty summit in Hangzhou, Chinese President Xi Jinping reproached Malcolm Turnbull for hindering Chinese investment in Australia. At the same time, Labor Senator Sam Dastyari was forced to resign from the opposition’s Shadow Cabinet following a controversy over the payment of his expenses…
ShortVladimir Putin will pay an official visit to Japan on December 15, 2016. The President of the Russian Federation and his Japanese counterpart confirmed the news during the recent Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. The fact that the visit, which had been consistently postponed since 2014, has finally materialized indicates that bilateral relations between the two countries continue to…
ShortLast week, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe began his exploits in Rio at the Olympics closing ceremony by taking up the torch for Tokyo as Mario, the famous video game character from Nintendo, known to many for the Pokémon games. Last weekend Mr. Abe was in Nairobi at the 6th Tokyo International Conference of Africa's Development (TICAD) where he pledged USD 30 billion for African states from…
ShortThe last few months have seen numerous staffing and financial decisions in various international development banks in Asia. The “New Asian perspectives” blog reviews these events in organisations which cooperate and compete with each other at the same time, compares their “performance characteristics”, and studies the political context.
ShortThe last few months have seen numerous staffing and financial decisions in various international development banks in Asia. The “Aziatskaya Gramota” blog reviews these events in organisations which cooperate and compete with each other at the same time, compares their “performance characteristics”, and studies the political context.
ShortOver the last few days, two women took over important political offices in Japan. Yuriko Koike won the Mayoral elections in Tokyo; in the past, Ms. Koike held the office of Minister of the Environment in Junichiro Koizumi’s government, and the office of Minister of Defence in Shinzo Abe’s very first government in 2007. In Shinzo Abe’s new government, post-electoral reshuffling saw Tomomi…
ShortIn June 2016, Tashkent hosted the 15th anniversary summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which concluded with the signing of a final declaration. It should be noted that neither the official rhetoric around the summit, nor the majority of the related analytical pieces mentioned another memorable date – the 50th anniversary of the 1966 Tashkent Declaration, which established a…
ShortThe IOC decision to allow the Russian team to take part in the Olympic Games in Brazil did not dispel rumours about a possible ban on Russia’s participation in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeonchang, South Korea. Notwithstanding the political and ethical implications of the doping scandal on the eve of Rio 2016, it is worth examining the "windows of opportunity" the three following Olympic…
ShortOn July 12, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in favour of the Philippines and against China’s claims to priority rights in the South China Sea. Japan supported the position of the Philippines and has stated that the verdict was final and binding. This is in line with Tokyo’s policy, which regularly calls for a rules-based order in the Asia-Pacific Region and generally…
ShortTwo parliamentary monarchies in the Asia-Pacific (and bosom buddies) – Australia and Japan – held parliamentary elections at the same time. The leader of the ruling Liberal–National coalition, Malcolm Turnbull, called a general election to secure a long-term mandate for reform. Shinzo Abe, Japan’s Prime Minister, needs support for economic and constitutional reforms – but with a lower…
ShortPoll conducted
-
In your opinion, what are the US long-term goals for Russia?
U.S. wants to establish partnership relations with Russia on condition that it meets the U.S. requirements 33 (31%) U.S. wants to deter Russia’s military and political activity 30 (28%) U.S. wants to dissolve Russia 24 (22%) U.S. wants to establish alliance relations with Russia under the US conditions to rival China 21 (19%)