Author: Jennifer Chen, Georgetown University

Taiwan will hold its fifth direct presidential election on 14 January. But many Taiwanese will go to the ballot box without understanding the specific differences between the two leading presidential candidates.

In Taiwan, people tend to vote for the colour — blue for the Kuomintang (KMT) and green for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) — rather than the strengths and qualities associated with each candidate. Read more…

Author: Jennifer Chen, Georgetown University

How do we resolve the territorial disputes in the South China Sea (SCS)? There is no clear answer, but the first step to settling any argument is to examine all sides of the story.

Media outlets tend to depict China as the aggressor infringing on the sovereign rights of other nations.

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Author: Jennifer Chen, CSIS, Washington DC

Vietnam’s Cam Ranh Bay has opened up to foreign navy vessels after eight years of closure. Read in context, this decision is neither sudden nor unexpected. Why? Because the bay’s opening is part of Vietnam’s strategy to counteract Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea.

At the ASEAN Regional Forum in July 2010, Secretary Clinton offered to facilitate a multilateral dialogue between ASEAN and China to solve territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Read more…

Author: Jennifer Chen, CSIS

In its diplomacy with Cambodia, Beijing has once again proved to Washington that it will continue to pursue an active, practical, and possibly manipulative, role in Southeast Asia. The US must change its approach if it is to be an effective actor in the region.

Since the China-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) went into effect on January 1, 2010, China and the Southeast Asian nations have gradually expanded their areas of cooperation. The Southeast Asian nations that have been least effective in diversifying their economic dependencies—namely Cambodia and Laos—have been particularly receptive to Chinese patronage. Cambodia, which has always maintained close historical and trade relations with China, was one of the first to fall to the Chinese charm. Read more…