Author: Anthony V. Rinna, Sino-NK

As the United States takes the first steps to deploying the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defence system on the Korean Peninsula, China and Russia have continued their vociferous objections. Read more…

Author: Hugh White, ANU

To America’s anxious allies, President Donald Trump’s plans for a big boost to the US defence budget might appear to be welcome news. Despite the strong strand of ‘America first’ isolationism in his campaign, the new president seems ostensibly committed to upholding America’s strategic commitments, and preserving its role as the guarantor of peace and stability in key regions. Read more…

Author: Micha’el Tanchum, Truman Institute

Like a weathervane, the recent visit to China by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman points to changing strategic directions in the Middle East–Asia security architecture. The significance of the Saudi monarch’s meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top officials goes well beyond the hefty US$65 billion in economic and trade deals signed between Riyadh and Beijing. The visit confirmed the nascent strategic partnership developing between China and Saudi Arabia as Beijing seeks to promote stability on its 21st century Maritime Silk Road (MSR). Read more…

Author: Micha’el Tanchum, Truman Institute

On 25 January 2017, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev made a landmark televised address to the nation announcing a constitutional reform process that would devolve several powers of the presidency onto the country’s parliament. The 76 year old president has served for over a quarter of a century Read more…

Author: Alexander Bukh, Victoria University of Wellington

As Russia’s foreign policy has become more assertive over the last few years, views of Russia in the West are becoming increasingly negative. But in Southeast Asia, a region whose history of relations with the USSR and Russia is fundamentally different from that of the West, perceptions of Russia today are markedly different. Read more…

Author: Anthony V. Rinna, Sino-NK

The US military’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile system is slated to be operational in Seongju, South Korea by the end of 2017. THAAD has been met with vocal opposition among South Korean citizens as well as diplomatic protestations from China and Russia. Read more…

Author: Rensselaer Lee, Foreign Policy Research Institute and Artyom Lukin, Far Eastern Federal University

Russia is well-positioned to play a central role in managing the unrestrained acceleration of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. A larger role for Russia to deal with North Korea might yield some progress in scaling back Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions — a potential contribution that is seldom acknowledged in Western public discourse. Read more…