China’s establishment of the East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone has incited strong criticisms and increased regional tensions. Both authoritative and non-authoritative sources argue consistently and often emphatically that the zone is intended to improve safety and stability and is not directed at any particular country or target. Yet the vague language used to describe the zone, as well as the extensive and often hostile rhetoric toward Japan, suggests that such assertions are incorrect and disingenuous at best. While China has every right to set up an ADIZ, its failure to reassure other nations or clearly define the enforcement and intended impact of the zone has undermined any purported stabilizing intentions and damaged China’s larger strategic interests.
Assessments of the political strength of Xi Jinping have varied widely over the year since he became China’s new top leader. This article addresses the question of Xi’s power in light of the results of the 18th Central Committee’s Third Plenum in November 2014 and of other recent trends.
In a new book, Stanford experts analyze the challenges and opportunities confronting South Korea and Taiwan's maturing democracies. Much depends on the political leadership in those two countries rising above narrow interests to craft thoughtful and realistic public policies.
The world has been on edge recently, as the Chinese have serially dared Japan to stop them from encroaching on Japanese air and sea space, as well as making claims on disputed islands in the region. In such brazen efforts to translate its formidable economic clout into regional military power, the newly assertive China seems to be confident that Japan—with…
