Asia & Pacific Archives - Foreign Policy In Focus

Laos: Power Trumps Reform

by John Feffer, Ronald Bruce St John | Dec 18, 2006

There is broad agreement today that a market economy works well within a Western democratic system, but there is much less consensus over whether it can function effectively in an authoritarian state. The contemporary political economy of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) provides an excellent case in point. The Lao experience since the Communist takeover in 1975 suggests real limits to a development model that combines single party rule with market economics.

Vietnam: The Changing Faces of Reform

by John Feffer, Andrew Wells-Dang | Dec 18, 2006

During the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit held in Hanoi in November, international media attention focused on the rapid economic changes in Vietnam. ÂSocialist Ideals are Fading as World’s Businesses Rush In,Â reads one subtitle. A young entrepreneur with a craving for Western luxury brands represents Âthe new face of Vietnam.Â And an American expatriate in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) reports that Âit’s all electric here.Â

Taiwan: A Key to Chinas Rise and Transformation

by John Feffer, Fei-Ling Wang | Dec 18, 2006

The peaceful rise of China is in the fundamental interest of the Chinese people and world peace. But as Chinese power and confidence increase rapidly, so has international scrutiny and reaction. The United States and its allies, the currently dominant powers, will very likely develop more misgivings about China’s rise, unless Beijing also becomes a responsible stakeholder in and shares the basic values and norms of the global community.

Postcard from Pyongtaek

by Christine Ahn, John Feffer | Dec 13, 2006

Just three hours south of the De-Militarized Zone, the South Korean government is waging alarming levels of violence and repression against villagers in the city of Pyongtaek near the U.S. base Camp Humphrey. For over four years, residents have refused to hand over their homes and farmland to the U.S. military.

China and Southeast Asia

by John Feffer, Evelyn Goh | Dec 12, 2006

For those concerned about a rising China, Southeast Asia is of particular interest. It is a region of diverse states and cultures that involves all the major powers in the Asia-Pacific in a multiplicity of strategic interests. It is thus a fluid arena, offering the potential of different strategic games, options, and uncertain outcomes, but without a significant crisis hotspot such as those in Northeast Asia.

Using India to Keep China at Bay

by Tim Beal, John Feffer | Dec 12, 2006

U.S. attempts to construct and consolidate an alliance to contain China’s seemingly inexorable rise registered another milestone in November when the U.S. Senate passed a bill to allow the government to transfer nuclear fuel and technology to India. The nuclear deal with India flies in the face of long-standing U.S. rhetoric about nuclear proliferation and is yet another blow to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Postcard from Sri Lanka

by Fred Abrahams, John Feffer | Dec 8, 2006

The mother of an abducted child in Sri Lanka holds a photo of her missing son. ©Fred Abrahams/Human Rights Watch 2006

China: What’s the Big Mystery?

by Emily Schwartz Greco | Dec 3, 2006

The latest recruitment brochure from the Central Intelligence Agency, which beckons the uninitiated to Âbe a part of a mission that’s larger than all of us,Â opens to reveal an image of the red-roofed entrance to Beijing’s Forbidden City. From an oversized portrait on the ancient wall, Chairman Mao and his Mona Lisa smile behold the vast granite expanse of Tiananmen Square. The Cold War is over, and the Soviet Union is gone. The cloak-and-dagger games of Berlin and Prague have been replaced by business and tourism. But ChinaÂland of ancient secrets, autocratic leaders, and memories of suppressed uprisingsÂstill holds out the promise of world-historical struggle that can help the CIA meet its recruitment goals.

Central Asia Between Competition and Cooperation

by Yu Bin, John Feffer | Nov 29, 2006

Great power competition in Central Asia ebbs and flows in a timeless and tireless fashion. Unlike in Europe and East Asia during the Cold War and after, the fault line for the current jockeying for position in Central Asia between Washington and Beijing is not easily discernible. Instead, fluidity, uncertainty, and even outright reversal of fortunes among the major players have been the norm.

Strategic Partnership or Strategic Competition

by John Feffer, Bonnie Glaser, James Nolt | Nov 28, 2006

As part of our China Focus, we asked two leading scholars to reflect on the tensions and possibilities in U.S.-China relations. Bonnie Glaser is a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. James Nolt is a senior fellow at the World Policy Institute. We asked them first about the potential for a strategic security partnership between the United States and China, then about their economic relationship.