Oxford University Press has recently published The Oxford Handbook of the International Relations of Asia, edited by Saadia Pekkanen, John Ravenhill, and Rosemary Foot. The volume includes thirty-nine chapters, which cover all aspects of the international relations in the region. For folks who have access to the online series of Oxford handbooks, this volume is available here. …
U.S. Policy in the South China Sea
I recently published a short policy brief for the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University that examines the evolution of U.S. policy toward the disputes in the South China Sea since 1995. Here’s the executive summary: U.S. policy toward the disputes in the South China Sea has four features. First, …
China’s Dispute with Vietnam
Yesterday, I answered some questions from the NYT’s Edward Wong on the standoff between China and Vietnam over China’s deployment of an oil rig in the South China Sea. Click here for all the details.
China, Japan, and the U.S.—Will Cooler Heads Prevail?
I joined the conversation over the Asia Society’s ChinaFile on tensions between the China, the United States and Japan. Specifically, I addressed a question “will China attempt to take the Senkakus by force?” Let me pick up on Isaac’s first question, “will China attempt to take the Senkakus by force?” Iain Johnston and I recently analyzed data on the frequency …
Chinese signaling in the East China Sea?
Iain Johnston and I have written a short piece over on The Monkey Cage blog. Using new data from Japan’s Coast Guard, we identify a significant decline in the frequency of Chinese patrols around the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands and explore some reasons for this change in behavior. Read the story here.
Hainan’s New Fishing Rules: A Preliminary Analysis
Hainan’s provincial government has become an increasingly prominent and active player in the South China Sea disputes. In November 2012, Hainan’s People’s Congress issued new regulations on coastal border security that raised questions about freedom for navigation in the South China Sea (see analysis hereand here). In November 2013, the same legislative body issued “measures” (banfa, 办法) …
Case Studies and Formal Models
I’ve just finished a paper with a colleague from graduate school, Peter Lorentzen, and a talented graduate student at UC Berkeley, Jack Paine. In the paper, we explore how case studies (and in particular the process tracing of causal mechanisms) can be used to evaluate formal models. Here’s the abstract: In the ongoing debate about …
Xi Jinping and China’s Maritime Disputes
At the end of July, the Chinese Communist Party’s ruling Politburo held a special study session on the nation’s growing maritime power, which has helped cause controversy with several neighboring states. Official media reports about the meeting emphasized a speech by President Xi Jinping that repeated the main policy themes from the recent 18th Party …
China Has Not (Yet) Changed Its Position on Nuclear Weapons
In a recent op-ed in the New York Times, nuclear expert James Actonsuggests that China may be changing its nuclear doctrine. The principal basis for his argument is the absence of a specific repetition of China’s “no first-use” policy in the latest edition of Beijing’s bi-annual white paper on defense. Acton, however, misreads the recent white paper and draws the …
The Long Littoral Project: South China Sea
The Center for Naval Analysis has released another volume from its “Long Littoral” project, which examines changing maritime dynamics in the Indo-Pacific from the Arabian Sea to the Sea of Japan. This volume looks at recent developments in the South China Sea. I authored one of the three chapters, “Growing Competition in the South China …